It does intelligent women no favors to promote a woman based on her curb appeal and other superficial qualities. That Sarah Palin has self-confidence is terrific, but it's below bar and insulting to all the women who have sought an education and struggled to gain experience and know-how in their respective fields.
As Gail Collins points out in her "Talking in Points," an op-ed piece in the NY Times: "This entire election season has been a long-running saga about the rise of women in American politics. On Thursday, it all went sour. The people boosting Palin’s triumph were not celebrating because she demonstrated that she is qualified to be president if something ever happened to John McCain. They were cheering her success in covering up her lack of knowledge about the things she would have to deal with if she wound up running the country." (10/4/08)
On another note: the premiere of _Dexter_ was really good. Why am I drawn to the reflective killer who, for the first time since the show began, killed spontaneously and couldn't handle it? The show has one hell-of-a production artist. I love the colors and the quirky characters. I also liked _Californication_...good writing; a fumbly, smart, cynical-but-sexy leading man; and palpable sexual vibes with his leading lady (and quite a beauty). But my shame show that I've caught myself intrigued with is the Rachel Zoe Project...a third because I once worked as a stylist in New York, another third because I once worked as a personal assistant to celebrities and a third third because I once loved following fashion trends. But I hated that world and all the over-indulgence of hipness that never quite stood the test of quality and class and often rewarded bitchy emptiness. So, maybe I like the show because Rachel seems the quintessential product of hip, flashy, sometimes beautiful nothingness that once confused me since I saw so much of it, and "it" was always so confidently asserted that I wondered and wondered about its origins. There is knowledge involved, mind you. It's just designer field knowledge. I suppose it has its place within an arena, but it becomes a big bugger that grows and grows and doesn't know what it doesn't know, but the confidence is immense.
Come to think of it, that takes me back to Sarah Palin! Now, in fairness to Rachel Zoe, she knows her haute couture! You could learn a bit from her on vintage Chanel or De La Renta. Does Palin's field knowledge compare? You should earn your wings in your field by doing the work and learning from history. If you're going for the top, you should know more than anyone else. You should be the best. Rachel Zoe passes this test, and Sarah Palin fails miserably.
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