“Women in politics” is the topic on the minds of “men” in the chattering class these days.

First, all ten people watching Chris Matthews’ show last week on MSNBC would have been witness to a scene comparable to that of a gaggle of petty middle school girls.  Matthews played GOP Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell’s latest television ad and joked around with guests Alex Wagner of Politics Daily and MSNBC political analyst Richard Wolffe that O’Donnell was cute and her mannerisms (and those of Sarah Palin) were “attractive as he–,” but basically she had nothing going on upstairs.

He then joyfully ran a recent CNN clip of O’Donnell analyzing the political ramifications of Obama vetoing his own health care law close to the 2012 elections.  She said it could leave him vulnerable to — and has already seen ads in support of — a Hillary Clinton run in 2012.  Of course, Matthews and his panel laughed this off, saying that she must be making this up.

Big Journalism calls out Matthews and his lack of Googling: “Breitbart.tv, CBS, Politico, and even Gawker seemed to find the ads on what’s known as the ‘Internet,’ but the subject is strangely absent on the search engine on MSNBC, so I guess we can excuse Chris this once because it appears that MSNBC would not cover it. ”

We “conservative cuties” profoundly disagree with Chris Matthews, and it just kills him.  Why?  Perhaps the young Republican he asked to the prom said “no” and he’s never recovered — or maybe he’s just a troglodyte. 

Secondly, Tom Junod of Esquire feels perfectly comfortable saying that “The Democratic Party is boring.  And its women are either old or unattractive.”  I may agree with the boring part, but the rest is just catty.  Come to think of it, both guys are being catty.  So “boys,” put your claws away and just report the news please.

WANTED: Experienced blogger to take up residence adjacent to Random House CEO Markus Dohle to conduct consistent surveillance on the Dohle family and provide regular blog posts on their activities.  Minimum six-month commitment.  Experience as a voyeur or peeping tom a big plus!  Will provide advance finances to locate and rent accommodations in Scarsdale, New York.

Concerned Women for America would never do this.  Why?  Because it’s wrong, and everyone on the left and the right would fully agree that it’s wrong.  However, Sarah Palin’s stalker/unofficial biographer is doing the same thing, and Random House is paying him for his services.  Why is it wrong (as I know everyone on the left would agree) for CWA to hire a blogger/stalker to do twenty-four hour surveillance on Markus Dohle (and his family) and right for Markus Dohle to pay someone to stalk Palin?  The answer is, of course, one word: Ideology.  Palin is a conservative and, therefore, fair game because there is a double-standard.

What if the public figure we are discussing was Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-California)?  The so-called “feminist” groups would go wild.  If a conservative blogger moved in next door and monitored her comings and goings 24/7 (perhaps even listening in on her conversations) we would never hear the end of it.  Of course, the left would be right to be upset because it’s WRONG!

Liberals may defend the “journalist” by saying Palin is a public figure, but aren’t even public figures entitled to some modicum of privacy?  What about Palin’s children?  Are they also public figures?

Mr. Dohle’s address, complete with picture and price of his home, took only seconds to find on the Internet.  But given that he lives in a $3 million dollar home in a well-to-do neighborhood in a suburb of New York City, it would seem that his family values their space and privacy.  I get that.  However, I would think that Mr. Dohle would recognize that same need for others.  I find it unconscionable that Random House is essentially paying a peeping tom, and I believe it crosses all sorts of ethical lines of journalism.  A talented journalist doesn’t need to be a voyeur to write a biography.

Where are the feminists on this?  I recommend the left carefully think through their reaction to Sarah Palin’s plight, otherwise, they may find their friends in similar circumstances.