Do You Kiss Your Mother with That Mouth?



The hole story: Daily News editor Stalberg.

Daily newspapers divided into two camps this week — those that quoted Gov. George W. Bush’s unintentionally audible reference to a New York Times reporter as an "asshole" and those that alluded to what Bush said (like the Washington Times’ tortured "rectal aperture").

Locally, the Daily News carried a Reuters’ report that used the word, while the Inquirer opted for "a—hole."

Historically, however, the Inquirer has been far more liberal with the word, using it 12 times since 1984, according to the paper’s online archives. (Most recent use: Aug. 6, quoting Police Commissioner John Timoney as yelling "Move, asshole!" at a TV videographer in his path.)

The Inquirer’s style manual lists asshole as a Category One obscenity, meaning they "may not be published without explicit approval from one of the top editors of the paper…" In case you’re wondering (and we know you are), Category One also includes the following words, listed with the number of times they’ve appeared in the Inquirer: bullshit (7); cocksucker (0); cunt (0); dickhead (2), fuck (0), motherfucker (0), and shit (13). (Category One also includes several words with legitimate meanings that make it difficult to determine if they’ve ever been used, well, illegitimately: cock, dick, eat, prick, pussy, screw and suck.)

The Daily News doesn’t group words as obsessively as the Inquirer (there are two other categories of less offensive terms). Publishing Bush’s quote in all its glory "was a pretty natural decision for us," says editor Zack Stalberg. He and managing editor Ellen Foley approve obscenity uses on a case-by-case basis.

"We’re the designated assholes," Stalberg notes. Foley, piping up in the background during the phone conversation, adds, "Because it takes one to know one."

Still, the Daily News has been slightly more cautious with questionable language. Prior to Bush’s gaffe, the Daily News had published asshole only three other times since 1980, most recently in 1986. It’s used shit 14 times, once more than the Inquirer, and bullshit 13 times, almost twice as frequently. And it’s never used dickhead.

Media watcher kausfiles.com is calling Bush’s Reaganesque slip-up a possible positive for the candidate: "To the extent it has any effect, Bush’s overheard comment will help him. Finally a genuine emotion, expressed with Trumanesque vigor!" Personally, we’re suddenly tempted to like him — not vote for him necessarily, mind you, but like him — after viewing a bizarre clip from a wedding video in which a straight-faced Bush playfully insults the groom and other guests. Watch it (www.thesmokinggun.com/bush/bush_movie.html) and try to imagine Al Gore doing the same thing.

—Frank Lewis