How is Sarah Palin like Anna Kournikova?

Sarah Palin has been in the news again as an author and an X-men character, Rogue. But what does she have in common with a Russian tennis star? Sarah Palin's continued success has to do with her marginal amount of political talent and success, combined with the fact that she's hot. Though many liberals goggles are clouded, objective observers have to acknowledge that this former beauty queen is very attractive. And she's attractive in the perfect way for this moment. While Cougars and MILF's are all the craze, here is Sarah Palin, a mom with those librarian that could go wild at any moment glasses.

And in America, looks still go a long long way for women.

In fact, for women to be famous in America, there is an inverse relationship between talent and beauty. Meaning that if a woman is extremely talented she does not need to be as attractive. And for someone with extremely good looks she needs only marginal talent. And that's the side of the spectrum where Sarah Palin comes in. On the one side you have your Hillary Clinton's, your Madeleine Albrights, your Sonia Sotomayors. Eminently qualified women, but not the head turners that sell magazines and books. On the other hand there is Sarah Palin, a governor of one of the least populous states in the union, and a gimmick pick for VP running mate, who is famous beyond her political skills.

Anna Kournikova was a tennis player who had only once, briefly, entered among the top 10 female tennis players. And yet she is probably the most famous name in Female tennis. This is because her small amount of skill combined with her ridiculously good looks, makes for a winning combination.

In the inverse example which shows some promise for the future, is Susan Boyle. The British singer, unattractive but extremely talented, has now had the best selling CD release in Britain, ever. With lots of talent, perhaps beauty can sometimes take a back seat. But for now, plan on seeing a lot of Sarah Palin and Anna Kournikova, and not much else.