I'm Too Sexy for My Shoes
Ann Althouse has some great comments about reports concerning Condoleezza Rice's fashion statement when she landed in a US airfield in Germany. Secretary Rice wore an all-black skirt and coat ensemble accessorized by knee high black leather boots with stilletto heels. Her choice of clothes was--how to be delicate--freakin' sexy, and Base10 strongly advises that traditional male readers click on the last link for a photo. Althouse artfully writes,

Women with power easily unleash ideation about sex -- and sex and power. If the woman can't be contained by the thought that her powerfulness has removed her sexuality altogether, then the thought becomes that her sexuality has merged with her power. In the case of Condoleezza Rice, who has a high position of power and is distinctly attractive, she seems to become a strange new being -- a superhero like Neo in "The Matrix"!

Is it wrong to talk about powerful women this way? I say no. Image, fashion, and beauty are all important. And we certainly didn't refrain from talking about how the male candidates for President looked in 2004. We obsessed over their ties, their hair and their makeup, and the bulges under their clothes. So go ahead and spout your theories about the meaning of Condoleezza Rice's high-heeled boots.

Mine is: these boots are made for running for President.

Surely this is a position that appeals to both the traditional male demographic and the non-traditional female one. But if Rice is not your choice for a candidate in 2008, check out the Weekly Standard where Fred Barnes makes the argument that Dick Cheney is the better choice for 2008. He rightly points out that Condi Rice has never run for anything. Running for President as your entry into politics might not be a great idea.

Obviously, 2008 is a long way away. But it is painfully obvious that Hillary Clinton is positioning herself as a moderate Democrat already and she will probably pick up the pieces after the Howard Dean led Democrats self-destruct in the primary fight. Dick Cheney is a hard sell against a moderate and very popular Hillary Clinton. In her favor, Secretary Rice is a former National Security Advisor and now Secretary of State. Her experience in government and her academic credentials certainly balance out the senate victory that Hillary brings to the table.

Republicans sure have come a long way. Base10 thinks the country is ready to accept a female President. Base10 also thinks America can except a black female President as qualified and intelligent as Ms. Rice. It would be great if it was the Republican Party that could make this happen.
- posted by Base10 @ 11:35 AM