Sarah Palin: Intimations of Sexism As The Fertile Female Dances With The Big Dogs

Despite Sarah Palin's lack of any redeeming qualifications for high office, well proven by her inability to grow as a politician, policy wonk or person during the 2008 presidential campaign, her staying power as a magnet for publicity becomes less mysterious the longer she's out there making a fool of herself and the Republican Party.

That staying power begins and ends with the fact that to some if not many men she is a babe, and arguably the most babe-a-licious pol to ever take the national stage, while no amount of indignant brickbattery from feminists who are offended by this reality is going to make it less so.

I know. I know. I should be writing about health care or cap and trade, but I am sufficiently fascinated by the Palin As Phertile Phemale Phenomenom to keep returning to it.

This brings me to "It Came From Wasilla," Todd Purdum's takeout on -- and takedown of -- the narcissistic and hypocritical prevaricator in the latest Vanity Fair.

The veteran reporter writes that:

"Another aspect of the Palin phenomenon bears examination, even if the mere act of raising it invites intimations of sexism: she is by far the best-looking woman ever to rise to such heights in national politics, the first indisputably fertile female to dare to dance with the big dogs. This pheromonal reality has been a blessing and a curse. It has captivated people who would never have given someone with Palin's record a second glance if Palin had looked like Susan Boyle. And it has made others reluctant to give her a second chance because she looks like a beauty queen."

As I wrote here, this sixtysomething bald guy with a paunch is madly in love with a woman who becomes more beautiful by the year because she not only is physically attractive but is beautiful inside, as well.

Palin, on the other hand, is a turnoff. I've never been attracted to women who use their sexuality as a cudgel, and make no mistake about it: Palin was not being used by the men who ran the McCain campaign, let alone the grouchy old guy himself. If anything, she used them.

The estimable Ta-Nehisi Coates has this to say regarding the babe factor:

"Purdum thinks the mere mention of this notion invites attacks from people who spend their days waiting to accuse people of sexism. He is wrong. They invite attacks from people who wonder why he's speaking as though there have been a parade of women who have scaled the national political heights. In the literal sense, there has only been one other -- Geraldine Ferraro. Thus Purdum is basically arguing that Palin is better looking than Ferraro. A more charitable interpretation throws Hillary Clinton into the mix. . . .

"What we are talking about is who is fuckable, and who isn't. Frankly, speaking as a man, I'm always skeptical of the "fuckability" concept. I've seen to many men step to with women carnal intent, and then deny it later. Usually after rejection and dismissal, but sometimes after success. This game of fuckability, or 'indisputable fertility,' is exactly that. It allows men to assert control over a situation, in which, most frighteningly, they often have very little."

I dispute Coates' contention that Ferraro is the only other woman to scale those political heights. Or to put it another way, be as good or better than men at playing what traditionally has been a men's game, and that to include Clinton is merely being charitable.

Clinton certainly is not a babe in the usual sense, but did do a pretty credible imitation of coming close to winning the Democratic nomination, and given the abysmal McCain-Palin campaign, by default the presidency.

In fact, Coates notes later in his post:

"Hillary Clinton haunts the dreams of no less than half the men who rag on her appearance. And should she ever step to any of them, there'd be very little dispute of any kind. Indeed, it would offend the senses of a polite society were we ever to honestly contemplate exactly how large a portion of womankind men regard as 'indisputably fertile.' "

Most right-wing Republicans are staying far, far away from the babe-a-licious angle and their response to Purdum's piece, when not fighting among themselves for who is the holiest, can be summarized thusly: If Palin is such a zero, why does she continue to be such a hit on the Republican fundraising circuit?

That's easy: Because what's left of the party doesn't want a smart and disciplined president like Barack Obama. Republicans want a president who channels the wisdom of Jesus like George Bush does, pretends to be against big government like Ronald Reagan did, and believes in denying certain personal freedoms as John McCain -- whom we have to blame for this wack job -- would never have.