What is the meaning of "henny penny"

[englishstudent]

Hi,

This is from Maureen Dowd's column about Hillary Clinton
criticizing Rumsfeld in the context of the Iraq war.

There was a pause while Rummy summoned all the condescension he usually reserves for doltish reporters.

“My goodness,’’ he exhaled finally, firing off a defense that could have been translated as: “Where do I start educating you on your utterly superficial understanding of the enemy, you harridan hippy-dippy Henny Penny?”

What does "Henny Penny" mean here?

Thanks

[DavyBCN]

Originally Posted by englishstudent

Hi,
This is from Maureen Dowd's column about Hillary Clinton
criticizing Rumsfeld in the context of the Iraq war.
There was a pause while Rummy summoned all the condescension he usually reserves for doltish reporters.
“My goodness,’’ he exhaled finally, firing off a defense that could have been translated as: “Where do I start educating you on your utterly superficial understanding of the enemy, you harridan hippy-dippy Henny Penny?”
What does "Henny Penny" mean here?
Thanks

Google tells me Henny Penny is a children's story character - a foolish woman who came to a terrible end. It is not a story I know.

Rumsfeld trully is a dreadful man - if only for his regular destruction of the English language.

[englishstudent]

Originally Posted by DavyBCN

Google tells me Henny Penny is a children's story character - a foolish woman who came to a terrible end. It is not a story I know.
Rumsfeld trully is a dreadful man - if only for his regular destruction of the English language.

Thanks DavyBCN. I should have checked Google.

I think in this column, this is Ms Dowd's view of what Rumsfeld might have
said. But I understand your point. For that matter, isn't W worse, or
rather _the_ worst? Birds of a feather, eh? :)

[Ouisch]

Henny Penny is a character in a classic children's story. She is a chicken who, when an acorn falls on her head, believes that the sky is falling and spreads alarm all through the barnyard.

When someone is referred to as a Henny Penny, it usually means someone who is an alarmist, or someone who reacts to a situation without knowing all the details.

[englishstudent]

Ouisch, thank you for the explanation.