Treat ‘Em Like A Prostitute

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Treat ‘Em Like A Prostitute
By: Spencer Ackerman Tuesday January 27, 2009 1:26 pm	Tweet

Apologies for not being able to find a better picture, but I noticed while getting lunch that The National Interest — once a Very Serious foreign-policy journal — has run a cover image comparing Hillary Rodham Clinton, Janet Napolitano and Susan Rice to Farrah Fawcett, Jacklyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. (Or, if you prefer, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz.) I mentioned yesterday how if I were born a woman I would probably have killed someone by now, and this, I think, speaks to the point.

These are three cabinet secretaries with laundry-lists’ worth of accomplishments. Susan Rice was the youngest assistant secretary of state in history and one of the country’s leading thinkers on the role of human rights in statecraft. Janet Napolitano was an astonishingly successful governor who managed to move Arizona politics in a progressive direction during the age of Bush. Hillary Rodham Clinton pretty much makes history for a living. Strangely, none of them is a jiggly airhead crimefighter created for men’s entertainment. It might make sense to treat them accordingly if you want to be taken seriously.

(I know, I know: men are so humorless.)

6 Comments

6 Responses to “Treat ‘Em Like A Prostitute”

macaquerman January 27th, 2009 at 2:00 pm

The “if I was…kill someone” line has appeared about a half-dozen times.
Frankly, it’s demeaning. If you, yourself, are unwilling to put in the effort necessary, then don’t try to climb on.

WarrenTerra January 27th, 2009 at 3:21 pm

I don’t understand Macaquerman’s comment (though the commenter’s handle is fairly clever), but in addition to propagating incoherence the aforementioned monkey-man is clearly traducing Ackerman: whatever problem our simian friend had with Ackerman’s actual statement, it’s just unfair that in their criticism Macquerman rephrased Spencer’s Cri de Coeur so as to render it ungrammatical.

Remember: the subjunctive is your friend!

Spencer Ackerman January 27th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

In response to WarrenTerra @ 2

I think you’ve got a pretty clever commenter handle yourself.

dakine01 January 27th, 2009 at 3:26 pm

Not to be a PITA (but I will anyway) but in fact Cheryl Ladd replaced Farrah Fawcett in the original Charlie’s Angels. The first “Angels” were Kate Jackson, with Jaclyn Smith and Farrah Fawcett.

macaquerman January 27th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

In response to WarrenTerra @ 2

I resent your statement that I’m clearly traducing Spencer or any linkage with clarity.

As for your other point, I can only say
friend good!

Pace on you Warren

Kilo January 28th, 2009 at 5:34 am