Elizabeth Lauten, the communications director for Congressman Stephen Fincher (R-TN) and the woman who targeted Sasha and Malia Obama in a Facebook post about their clothing, resigned Monday morning. Mounting pressure from an online campaign, #FireElizabethLauten, and a Change.org petition with over 4,000 signatures led to her resignation.
After seeing the Obama girls standing with their dad at the White House turkey pardoning, Lauten wrote on Facebook: "Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar." Her post was captured in a screenshot before it was removed. But by then, it was too late. Lauten's comments went viral and backlash poured in. Lauten became the target and she was labeled a cyber-bully.
Soon thereafter, Lauten issued an apology saying that "after many hours of prayer" she realized how hurtful her comments were and said she judged Sasha and Malia in a way she would have never liked as a teenager. That apology was deleted as well. However, as Lauten has since learned, the Internet never forgets.
The outrage spawned by Lauten's comments spread through Twitter over the weekend, calling for her termination. Her employer's phone number was included in many tweets. Others just wanted to get in their own jab or two. Several posted a photo that allegedly shows Lauten holding a beer bottle in her mouth and using that as evidence that she is compromising her "classy Christian values." And, of course, the gratuitous charges of racism are in the mix. Here is a sampling:
Well, the campaign worked. The glee is already starting to pour in:
Question, though -- How many resignations were demanded during those instances when George Bush's daughters were targets of the media? Or even more often, Sarah Palin's children? Who could forget Trig Palin being called "the greatest prop in world political history"?
