Watching this debate from MSNBC on youtube.com, I could not help but reflect on the strange ways in which politics and entertainment have come to intersect. Candidates appearing on talk shows, Hillary Clinton's "Soprano's" spoof:  the line between serious politics and entertainment is disappearing. Now that most Americans have color televisions,  candidates not only must have solid plans, but they must be able to present these ideas in a way that not only sounds good, but looks good. Our attention spans are dwindling, and the organizers of this televised debate certainly knew that many fickle viewers would be watching with their remote in hand, ready to click to the next station if this discussion over the U.S. economy proved less than gripping...

Honestly, I cannot pretend to know a lot of background information on the ecomony, or even the GOP candidates. Therefore I will make no pretense at being able to craft a sophisticated discussion of their policies. Joe Schmoe and I have no idea. What I will focus on in my first blog entry, is not the issues, or even the demeanor of the candidates themselves. The main thing I noticed about this debate was the fact that it was introduced and moderated by a gorgeous woman, Maria Bartiromo. Her role in the debate really grabbed my attention, but for a different reason than the producers probably intended.

The concept of women taking leadership roles in the workforce, politics, academia, etc., is still a relatively new phenomenon. The integration of women into these forums has not always been well-received, to put it mildly. Actually, putting things mildly isn't really my style: women have fought against intense, hostile criticism from men as they sought to expand their sphere of influence. "Women make dinner, not decisions," was the outcry. Pushing ourselves OUT of the kitchen, and into the corporate world, into politics,  has been a frustrating process, and the transformation is far from complete. As a young woman myself, about to embark on a professional career, I have already begun to notice and emulate the delicate balance between authority and feminity that women have to achieve in order to be accepted by the men in their field. In the instance of Bartiromo, her career has been made as a news anchor and reporter of financial news. While she is obviously skilled in rhetoric, this skill alone has not brought her fame. Her sultry looks are a huge part of her popularity, and she knows it. According to wikipedia.com:

"Bartiromo was nicknamed  the 'Money Honey' during the boom years of the stock market in the late 1990s due to her striking looks. She was also nicknamed the 'Econo Babe'. Since the `90s, the nickname 'Money Honey' has spread to refer to attractive female financial news reporters in general."

I think this is sooo disrespectful to someone who should be admired for their mind. What bothers me even more is that Bartiromo is so eager to play the game by the men's rules, by subtly flaunting her sex appeal. "On January 16, 2007, Bartiromo filed to trademark the term [Money Honey] for herself." This disgusts me. It honestly does. No one calls handsome male anchors "Money Hunks"...ew.

Anyway, back to the debate. I was impressed that Bartiromo was so seemingly at ease participating in an event that was so overwhelmingly male-dominated. She asked great questions and was not afraid to briskly cut the candidates off when they got too long-winded. She made an obvious effort to dress conservatively. She was wore a black jacket and white blouse that was so dowdy, my grandmother wouldn't have been caught dead in it. Heh.

I wanted to look up to her. There are so few role models. Unfortunately, although her clothes asserted, "take me seriously," her makeup proclaimed, "check me out, boys." Her long, shiny hair was worn loose around her shoulders, and her face was caked in full-makeup, including the dark, smokey eye shadow that one typically associates with shall we say...other professions.
Stop flaunting yourself!

Anyway, I'm getting carried away with my feminist rant. I have other papers to write tonight. I realize that I did not mention what I thought of any of the actual candidates. Maybe I will attach my notes in another blog entry. For now, I will have to agree with Andrew Hoffman's observation that:

The rest is padded out with generic candidates who didn't make much of an impression beyond how generic they were.

Maybe if Ron Paul and Fred Thompson had been oozing with sex appeal, people would actually CARE about what they had to say. Let's exploit the men! Just kidding!

Needless to say... Get it, Hillary!