You may have read about Susie Madrak (yeah, Susie!) telling David Axelrod off:
That girl-and-bleachers reference wasn't an obvious one for me (it's a cultural thingie).
Some fireworks at the end of an otherwise uneventful conference call with White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod, when blogger Susie Madrak took the White House to task for their continued swipes at the "professional left."
Madrak asked, "I'm a blogger, and I don't know if you know this term, but are you familiar with the term hippie-punching?"
There was about a 15-second pause. "Go ahead," said Axelrod.
She continued. "Liberals and bloggers feel like we're the girl you take under the bleachers but won't be seen with in the light of day." She mentioned a series of incidents where the White House distances themselves from their base, and wondered how that helps Democrats regain enthusiasm from those same people. "We're not big numbers, but we raise money and we encourage people to vote and get involved. You have to help us help you," she concluded.
But once I got it I found it brilliant: Susie made the point and she made it in a way which made the reader (assuming the reader is a liberal/progressive) identify with the girl, in a good way. Metaphors in politics are often drawn from the world of male sports and the readers or viewers are expected to identify with those, too. I found this one an improvement.
What do you think?