Pretty woman

Practically by his own admission, Charles Krauthammer's thin case isn't worth making fun of–"he's going down with the ship" out of fears that Obama would not frighten the Beejeebus out of our terrorist enemies, like Bush does now.  Which he doesn't.  More interesting is Kathleen Parker's continued presence on the Washington Post op-ed page.  Sure she has had the stones to say that Sarah Palin doesn't belong in national office (I would add municipal to that as well), but she hasn't somehow regained rational powers.  

Today, for instance, wondering what drove John McCain to pick Sarah Palin for VP, she offers the dirty old man or viagra thesis:

But there can be no denying that McCain's selection of her over others far more qualified — and his mind-boggling lack of attention to details that matter — suggests other factors at work. His judgment may have been clouded by . . . what?

What could it be?

Science provides clues. A study in Canada, published by a British journal in 2003, found that pretty women foil men's ability to assess the future. "Discounting the future," as the condition is called, means preferring immediate, lesser rewards to greater rewards in the future. 

Right, "science."  Add other decisive clues (Parker's husband's unfortunate candor among them) and you arrive at the following mind-blowing conclusion:

It is entirely possible that no one could have beaten the political force known as Barack Obama — under any circumstances. And though it isn't over yet, it seems clear that McCain made a tragic, if familiar, error under that sycamore tree. Will he join the pantheon of men who, intoxicated by a woman's power, made the wrong call?

He probably made the wrong call–especially if he wins.  But this gets worse:

Had Antony not fallen for Cleopatra, Octavian might not have captured the Roman Empire. Had Bill resisted Monica, Al Gore may have become president, and Hillary might be today's Democratic nominee.

If McCain, rightful heir to the presidency, loses to Obama, history undoubtedly will note that he was defeated at least in part by his own besotted impulse to discount the future. If he wins, he must be credited with having correctly calculated nature's power to befuddle.

My sense was that, pretty or not, he just miscalculated the amount of BS even the American media was willing to tolerate.  And no one can blame him for that.

3 thoughts on “Pretty woman”

  1. McCain, rightful heir to the presidency,

    It’s galling that a member of the group of people who sit back and level thinly veiled accusations of demagoguery at Sen. Obama would couch her loyalty to Sen. McCain in terms of fealty. 

    By what right of ascendancy does she derive this claim?  I was unaware such a system even existed in these United States. Among the several bizarre assertions to issue from Mrs. Parker’s pen, this might be the worst.

  2. If McCain, rightful heir to the presidency, loses to Obama, history undoubtedly will note that he was defeated at least in part by his own besotted impulse to discount the future. If he wins, he must be credited with having correctly calculated nature’s power to befuddle.

    Wow. So… If McCain loses, he’s stupid. If McCain wins, he’s smart.

    The “wow” part is that she does not know whether or not he is stupid or smart; she will only know after the election. I guess she thinks that makes her smart.

  3. Well – I think to me it’s clear that Ms. Parker is being hyperbolic in using phrases like “rightful heir,” although I guess it’s dangerous to ascribe meaning either way.

    I think the image of Sarah Palin as Circe is interesting, and makes for entertaining copy.  But we will have to wait for the full historical accounting of how McCain’s campaign came to pick this relative unknown from a tiny state (population-wise) for such a grand stage.  It’s easy to point to her looks, lacking any other credentials.  It may well have been attractiveness or it may have been her neo-conservative or her religious views.  It may have been “all of the above,” or it may have been something else entirely.  Ms. Parker is speculating as are all of us.  I for one will eagerly await the PBS “Frontline” update that tells how McCain chose Palin. 

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