Washington Post apologizes for Clinton joke

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The Associated Press
Thursday, August 6, 2009 11:38 AM

WASHINGTON -- Two Washington Post journalists are apologizing and their satirical online video series has been canceled following criticism of a joke they told about Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli killed the "Mouthpiece Theater" series Wednesday after pulling the latest episode from the paper's Web site Friday.

In the video, columnist Dana Milbank and White House correspondent and blogger Chris Cillizza appeared in smoking jackets to discuss the kinds of beer politicians might drink. Milbank said he couldn't reveal to whom President Barack Obama would serve a drink called "Mad Bitch Beer." That line was followed by a brief picture of Clinton.

The group Women, Action and the Media complained to the Post in a letter signed by 32 women. They called the video "sexist" and "tasteless."

"I regret that we put up that image," Milbank said, "and while I highly doubt the secretary of state has seen 'Mouthpiece Theater,' I would be honored to have the opportunity to apologize to her over a beer."

Cillizza said the joke was over the line and that the show was not funny.

Brauchli called the joke "a serious lapse."

The episode follows an apology from Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth last month after a flier surfaced announcing plans to charge business leaders and lobbyists for intimate dinner chats at her home with government officials and the newspaper's journalists.
Washington Post apologizes for Clinton joke
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