Sexy Sarah Palin—Did Alaska Governor's Looks Undermine Her Political Appeal?
By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Did Sarah Palin's much-discussed good looks undermine her in last fall's elections? According to a new study, voters who found her, ahem, physically appealing were less likely to find her politically appealing. Or not.
Actually, as amusing as the study is—and as great as it is to be able to put "Sarah Palin" and "sexy" in the same headline—it sounds just a bit too good (or bad) to be true.
The study involved having undergraduate students write about either Palin or that other noted hot politician, Angelina Jolie. According to the researchers, independents and Republicans who wrote about Palin's looks were more down on her competence, smarts, and capability than those who wrote about Palin's personality.
Hey, maybe there's something to this. And maybe there's more room for study here. Like using voters of all ages instead of college students (did the 133 undergrads vote or plan to vote?). Maybe a future study could include other female pols of, ahem, all shapes and sizes. Is it that hot female politicians are taken less seriously? Or is it that Sarah Palin is taken less seriously?
And in the specific case of Palin, a future study might control for other factors. Like the fact that she was clearly unprepared to be a national candidate. That might also have had something to do with peoples' views of her.
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Reader Comments
Sarah is just getting started
Sarah Palin is only just beginning as a thorn in the side of the liberals. Most people in the United States are good moral people. Once people realize that there is a real alternative to the crap we have been putting up with there will be a historic change in politics. We do not have to put up with thieves and liars running our government. Sarah scares the pants off your everyday politician because they realize that she is just what people have been looking for, an honest person. I know that I had much rather trust the future of our country to someone like Sarah that is seeking God's will than some liberal that is seeking what little money I have. Dare to believe people! A true alternative is at hand.
Challenging one post about Sarah Palin.
I read the article where Sarah Palin's beauty is allegedly inverse to her brains. I am a male member of Team Sarah. I am a Southern Baptist minister, single, fifty-three years old single. I quoted the article I read by Politico on this subject on the Team Sarah web site as a blog. Everyone there basically said the idea was bunk, and that it's just one more liberal attack against Sarah Palin. I agree wholeheartedly. Team Sarah is so sick of these liberal media attacks, that Team Sarah has a group on the web site called NewsWatch, specifically to challenge these attacks. I am one such member. So I am doing my part in this group, replying now.
While I'm at it, I might as well treat another old hat subject: that she's allegedly not qualified for national office. I'd like to give just one quick example to challenge that: the December 2008 Alaska Gas Initiative Act. This is a law many people thought would never come to pass. But in Gov. Palin's standard form, she got environmentalists and gas industry people, who had been fighting each other hard for years, to calm down, find common ground and compromise enough to get this bill passed. This is the standard form you would see when it's God's will for her to be in national office: basically the old school of politics where people who usually don't agree put their differences aside enough for the larger good of their constituants to get positive things done, not the win at all cost bipartisan fighting we see in Washington now.
Because I could let it roll and give readers a book instead of a quick e-mail, I will close off with a few words: Be on the lookout: Gov. Sarah Palin's national political career by all means has only begun. And, the reason why liberals fight her so hard so often is exactly because they know the threat she is to liberalism. So hold on to your hats when you hear "Sarah Palin" in the future.
Shelly there ya are again ya old hag...
Shelly again I find you! On ANOTHER forum about Sarah Palin even though in everything you say about her you say "I WISH SHE WOULD GO AWAY!" Wow, for someone who claims to be sooo sick of hearing about her you sure spend a lot of time searching for her don't you? You are the epitome of a ugly, jaded, unachieved, marmish woman that is jealous of Sarah and so tries to bring her down so you don't feel bad for being a failure! What have YOU done with YOUR life? Besides spend your days going from Sarah forum to Sarah forum to bash her? Nothing you even say about Sarah is true, it is all rumors, came from EDITED interviews is misinformation or blatent lies. Not ONE things you said about her in your post was true..NOT ONE! Anyway you are just so ridiculous why do I waste my time on you? So I was going to say....Sarah is brillant! Her ideas are breathtaking and her beauty only enhances her! She is what this nation will need to push forward in four years when we are in a proverbial cold war state ! GO SARAH 2012!! I trust you !!!
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