Late last week, Politico published an
article that in the headline alone referred to Tara Reade as a
“manipulative, deceitful, user” who “left a trail of aggrieved
acquaintances.” It had all the framing of a bombshell report, and the
dramatic intensity of an old-school TV detective slamming shut a case
file. Yet the piece itself failed to deliver any evidence around
Reade’s allegation of sexual assault against Joe Biden. Instead, it put
another subject under the magnifying glass: Reade’s economic stability.
The “aggrieved acquaintances” were but a handful of former landlords.
The damning behavior behind the trumpeted claim of dishonesty and
wrongdoing? Reade allegedly struggled to pay her rent, and sometimes she
pleaded for her landlords’ sympathy.
This is not a bombshell report. Instead, the article
is a smear job that digs up details from Reade’s personal life that are
unrelated to her sexual assault allegations. This may not be so
egregious as the defense attorney who puts an accuser’s sexual history
or style of dress on trial, but it engages in the same kind of character
assassination supported by the myth of the “perfect victim.” In this
case, Reade’s economic class is Exhibit A.