Reverse sexism

7:30am
From this morning's St. Pete Times
For a job that requires wearing a neck-to-toe robe - think of it as sort of the American Bar Association's version of a burqua, an awful lot has been made of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan's looks.


While Kagan may not be the prettiest lass in the world, she is preparing to join an institution that is hardly comprised of the Chippendales meet Sex in the City.


There certainly is some perverse reverse sexism going on here. A simple question raises its ugly head.


Suppose, for the sake of argument, that Sarah Palin possessed the looks of Elena Kagan.  Would she ever been elected governor of Alaska? Would John McCain have ever remotely considered her as his VP running mate?

And, if by some remote chance McCain - in the midst of the mother of all senior moments - had not picked the turn-tail governor to join him on the ticket back in 2008, would Palin today be the pin-up girl for Fox News, not to mention the reigning Betty Boop of the Tea Party Inquisition?


The answer is no to all of the above.


There is precious little dispute that while Kagan may be Vogue-challenged, she is an extremely bright, intellectually accomplished woman of considerable heft in the legal acumen racket.  She simply does not ... uh, photograph well.


Meanwhile, Palin, an ambitious ladder-climber who spent less time in elective office than Faisal Shahzad did lingering around Times Square and who needs crib notes scribbled into her palm in case she is asked what color is an orange, has become a national political figure and potential presidential candidate to legions of fawning admirers on the basis of her appearance.


At the same time, Palin has been joined on the right-wing cuckoo perch by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, also an elegant, stylish walking sitcom, who once famously said "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another Democratic president, Jimmy Carter. And I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence."

Interesting?  Certifiably insane maybe, but at least Bachmann looked simply swell when she said it.  If Bachmann found that tortured swine flu connection interesting, she really must be befuddled by things like --- door knobs.


Palin and Bachmann, the Thelma & Louise of the Heritage Foundation, couldn't find the Supreme Court building with the help of Lewis & Clark, Predator drones and Google maps.  Yet they are regarded as the leading philosophical torch-bearers of the Republican Party - but arent' they fetching in leather?

In the wake of schoolyard taunting attacks on Kagan's appearance by the thugs with microphones, perhaps a prima facie case can be made for that while beauty is only skin deep, meanness goes all the way down to the bone.

OK, now I can get off my high horse and on with the day.