In conversation with former New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue in Washington, D.C., last month, the New York Times columnist with a penchant for pop-culture references said she’s been asking why Republicans wouldn’t pick someone like the FBI director as their candidate for the White House.
Dowd, who’s currently promoting her new book, The Year of Voting Dangerously: The Derangement of American Politics, called Comey “smart,” noting that “he stood up to the Bush administration on torture.” That’s when she made the comparison to Fonda, the star of Grapes of Wrath and other Hollywood classics.
Ultimately, Dowd lamented that the GOP could never actually choose someone like Comey since the nominee “has to be who raises the money or who has the celebrity.” We’ll have to wait and see whether she’s still bullish on him after his latest intrusion into the presidential campaign.