The Patriot Post® · A Predictable Jill Biden Puff Piece

In case you’re looking to catch up with your humor reading, First Lady Jill Biden is on the cover of the August issue of Vogue. It is a perfect study in public relations, in which an organization (in this case the Biden White House) partners with a friendly media outlet (in this case Vogue, but if you’re a Democrat, then most any American media outlet will do) to put out some favorable chatter for the masses.

The tone for this piece is set from the first paragraph in which the writer uses a “Welcome Dr. Biden” sign at a community college visit to launch a snide comment about the “scolding Biden was subjected to back in December for using the title she has every right to.” You can almost reach out and touch the self-righteousness, just like when the Biden administration insisted back in December that we refer to the First Lady as Dr. Biden. Forgetting for a moment the gobs of ego it takes to insist that people mention your degree every time they mention your name, it turned out that upon closer scrutiny, the dissertation that earned Biden her degree was more of a participation trophy with a lot of typos.

This sort of fawning goes on for 7,000 words. You can read about how everywhere Biden goes, she is honored for her work; about how naturally stylish and beautiful she is for her age (this is Vogue, after all); and how integral she is to her husband’s administration. Like Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton before her, Biden isn’t just a first lady; she’s part of the conversation. It is an axiom of liberal media that Democrat first ladies are dynamic and smart and potential future presidents themselves, while Republican first ladies going back to Nancy Reagan are portrayed as old, out of touch, simple, or, in the case of Melania Trump, just ignored altogether.

In all fairness to the magazine that published this puff piece, Vogue is not known for doing breakout journalism. It’s in the business of featuring fashion and high lifestyle. Now you can ask how this sort of magazine deigns to feature Jill Biden but not Melania Trump, who has traveled the world, is highly cosmopolitan, and speaks six languages. The answer, though, is quite obvious.

Melania Trump received almost no media coverage from women’s magazines during the Trump administration. Some such magazines made it their avowed editorial policy to not write about Mrs. Trump because they were in a forever snit that her husband won the presidency over Super Woman Hillary Clinton. Even a casual observer would say that Melania Trump is just the sort of woman who would, could, or should be on the cover of Vogue. But she never was. Not once.

What really gets the Biden Vogue piece into trouble is when it tries to get political. Take a look at this gem from the profile: “Meanwhile, countless editorials began marking the first 100 days of the Biden administration, many expressing surprised relief over how much was getting done, how much legitimately helpful policy was moving through the system, how little drama, how few flubs or fumbles or ugly fights.” Really? If that was the mood of the Biden White House after the first 100 days, then its current downward spiral in policy and popularity makes more sense.

What can anyone expect from a Vogue profile on a Democrat first lady but a trite, soulless piece of writing that puffs her up to be more than she truly is? Of course, you won’t see this magazine, or just about any other for that matter, pose the hard questions to Jill Biden: about how she claims to be for education, but is against charter schools. Or about how she claims to run with the academics, but is in fact an intellectual lightweight.

This is because the media is also adept at holding leftist heroines like Michelle Obama and Jill Biden to a double standard. They can sound off all they want about politics and policy because they are smart, accomplished women and they deserve a seat at the table. But the moment they are honestly questioned or challenged about their stance, the source of inquiry is attacked as a misogynistic, chauvinistic neanderthal.

Let Vogue print its propaganda. It is only preaching to its own followers, and it is highly unlikely to change any minds. Instead, let’s write and read about the people that should be written about, the people who truly inspire, and the people who are doing good for America. You know, all the things Dr. Biden isn’t.