NY Times panned after op-ed claims it's been '36 years' since a man and woman ran together on Dem ticket
Hillary Clinton takes shots at NYT Opinion columnist Maureen Dowd following a false claim about women in past Democratic presidential runs
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An opinion piece published in The New York Times on Saturday that incorrectly asserted it has "been 36 years since a man and woman ran together [in a presidential election] on a Democratic Party ticket" was immediately panned on Twitter, prompting The Times to delete its tweet and correct the column.
The article, written by Opinion Columnist Maureen Dowd, is titled "No Wrist Corsages, Please" and asks the question, "Has America grown since 1984, or will the knives still be out for [Joe] Biden’s running mate?"
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s hard to fathom, but it has been 36 years since a man and a woman ran together on a Democratic Party ticket. To use Geraldine Ferraro’s favorite expression, 'Gimme a break!'" she wrote.
The piece also was promoted on the NYT Opinion Twitter account, quoting Dowd.
However, many pointed out that Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine was chosen as Hillary Clinton's running mate just four years ago.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"How does an error this significant get past an editor?" journalist Yashar Ali asked.
"The NYT may have just deleted this ridiculous tweet, but they’re really going to have to delete the entire article," National Republican Senate Committee adviser Matt Whitlock suggested.
"Maybe one day an African American will also be the headliner on a Democratic Party ticket, @maureendowd @nytimes," Daily Wire contributor Harry Khachatrian quipped.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate took to Twitter herself to respond to the claim.
"Either @timkaine and I had a very vivid shared hallucination four years ago or Maureen had too much pot brownie before writing her column again," Clinton wrote.
At a little after 10 a.m. ET -- about 40 minutes after it had been published -- the NYT Opinion Twitter account removed its tweet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Almost 20 minutes later, they posted the same article with a newly revised caption.
"It’s hard to fathom, but it has been 36 years since a man chose to put a woman on the Democratic ticket with him, writes @MaureenDowd. To use Geraldine Ferraro’s favorite expression, 'Gimme a break!'" the second tweet read.
In a thread, NYT Opinion added a correction note.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"An earlier version of this column incorrectly said it had been 36 years since a man and a woman ran together on a Democratic Party ticket. It has been that long since a man chose a woman to run as his vice president. We’ve deleted a tweet that repeated the error," they said.
That correction itself was also ridiculed across social media for saying it's been 36 years "since a man chose a woman to run as vice president," ignoring Sen. John McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate on the 2008 Republican ticket.
In the article itself, Dowd writes of a "feminist fairy tale" ahead of the announcement of former vice president Biden's "veepstakes" winner.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dowd harkened back to the 1984 presidential race -- though, ultimately, clinched by incumbent Republican President Ronald Reagan -- in which Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale had picked Queens, N.Y. Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro for his partner.
Sept. 18, 1984: Ferraro holds up a document claiming President Ronald Reagan has failed to support a single arms control agreement which six previous U.S. presidents have. Ferraro, addressing the Young Lawyers Division of the Philadelphia Bar Association, claimed Reagan’s policies led to an “arms control gridlock” that does not reduce the risk of nuclear war (AP). (AP)
"Ferraro walked the same tightrope that tripped up Hillary Clinton when she wondered if she should wheel around in that debate and tell the creeping Donald Trump to scram," Dowd said, noting that after Reagan's landslide victory Democrats were turned off by "feminized" tickets and that Ferraro had put out a memoir in 1985 about just how condescendingly sexist Mondale's own aides were to her.
"We don’t know whom Biden will choose but we do know the sort of hell she will endure at the hands of Team Trump," she penned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But, Dowd says the "bright side" of sexism lies in the power of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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On Friday, Senate Minority Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wanted to call Pelosi a "lioness," while referring to her seemingly failed negotiations with Republicans on an enormously-important economic relief bill.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He reportedly checked with Pelosi first to see if she would prefer to be called a lion instead.
"The Speaker chose lioness," Dowd concluded.