Palin: Don't Hate Her Because She's Beautiful

Did Sarah Palin seduce influential Republicans with her looks? And is she now getting dumped for the same reason?

Todd Purdum makes that argument in his new Palin excavation in Vanity Fair. If it's true, it's totally pathetic. But I'm not sure it's true.

Purdum writes of Palin that "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 phenomenal 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."

It is true that some conservative men appeared to be captivated. As National Review editor Rich Lowry memorably wrote after Palin debated Joe Biden, "I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, 'Hey, I think she just winked at me.'" He went on to describe her performance as sparkling, mesmerizing, and sending "little starbursts" through the screen.

Please. I saw that debate and agreed with reviewers who rated her performance as barely adequate. And that had to be a relief to her handlers, given her earlier interviews with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson.

While Palin's looks are certainly part of the package, I have to think her appeal stemmed much more from her relatability (mom with Down syndrome baby and pregnant teen daughter) and that exotic frontier quality (Alaska, moose-hunting).

She is far from the only former beauty queen in politics. Right now there are several in Congress, as well as Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Elizabeth Dole, the former senator and Cabinet secretary, was Duke University's May Queen.

It may be true that Palin is the best-looking woman to "rise to such heights," if by that we mean vice presidential nominee. The only other female was Gerry Ferraro in 1984 -- very attractive and just a bit older than Palin. But she didn't have a new baby. And she was a congresswoman steeped in the conservative Capitol Hill dress code. She didn't have a long, sexy hairdo. She didn't wear hot outfits and open-toed pumps.

Purdum's assertion that Palin is now being penalized for her looks begs belief. Let's give turned-off Republicans some credit here. There are so many real reasons to wonder about her capacity or suitability to serve in national office.

If some Republicans are disinclined to give Palin a second chance, maybe it's because she is not studying up on issues, she likes to stoke tabloid headlines, and she can't seem to assemble or keep a competent staff. And none of that has anything to do with how she looks.