Why do women see through Sarah Palin more easily than men do?

There is a strong backlash among women to the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. If you Google [Women against Sarah Palin], you get organized places where you can go to feed your interests.

Here were the top 3 in my Google search:

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.org/

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

http://snoringkatz.vox.com/library/post/women-against-sarah-palin.html

Though I am not a woman, I can imagine there are plenty of reasons for women to find disfavor with Gov. Palin, regardless of political ideology. The severe thoughts on abortion, the whining, the hiding from the press, the way she willingly outed her unwed, "pregnant" teenage daughter.

And there is talk of cats against Palin here and here.

But men seem to like her, and since I am a man, I can address this issue. From the CNN Opinion Poll from September 9, 62% of men had a favorable rating of Palin vs. 53% of women. There was a 7% difference in unfavorable (30% for women, 23% for men).

If you Google [Straight Men against Sarah Palin], you don't get an outlet. So there isn't this realm of organization against her. (To distinguish, I picked straight men since gay men are less likely to be influenced by her physical beauty.)

But is it just her looks? Yes, this is dangerous ground: judging a political candidate based on looks. But honestly, didn't John Edwards seem to have an advantage based on his hair? John Edwards had great hair, but also had ideas, passion, and experience. Didn't John F. Kennedy have some advantage over Richard "Five O'Clock Shadow" Nixon? JFK was considered handsome, but he knew what to do at 3 a.m. Edwards and Kennedy had to prove that they were solid thinkers underneath the good hair.

I noticed the family portrait against the mountain backdrop, and did pick up on her attractiveness many months ago. But I'm not the only one. I still recall sitting at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo on August 29 when Palin was first introduced by John McCain, and the responses from the men besides, "Who is she" were variations on "She's hot."

Plus, her family released the now famous photo of Palin in college, of her wearing a T-shirt that reads: "I may be broke but I'm not flat busted"?

The Republicans played up the "hottest VP" element on buttons in St. Paul. These are the same people who now think attacks on Palin's background and trouble with the truth are sexist.

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And there are other traits that she has that appeal to men: she likes sports -- she is a hockey mom and she likes to hunt, even if it takes some bizarre turns. You get the impression that Sarah lets Todd be his own man.

There is more to a candidate than hotness or comfort with sports. If they were serious considerations, then Pamela Anderson could be vice president? (She is old enough but she's Canadian.)

But the reaction from women has nothing to do with Palin's looks or "hotness," but knowing that where a candidate stands on the issues and the example of leadership that is set is crucially important.

So why was there the talk of Hillary Clinton supporters jumping over to the Republican ticket because they added a woman to the ticket?

The SNL sketch with Palin and Clinton was played up for laughs, but there was a lot of truth to it. There is a backlash against Palin because the pick is seen as patronizing toward women ("Just find me a woman, any woman") and because Clinton was seen as qualified to be president and Palin isn't.

When I talk to women, I get that they hate Sarah Palin in ways that are beyond politics, and they're confused as to why any Hillary Clinton supporters would jump to Sarah Palin. But I think I know why.

Most of the Hillary/Palin support is anecdotal and exaggerated by the MSM to create conflict where it doesn't exist. But there is one more reason: some of those Hillary Clinton supporters weren't dyed-in-the-wool Democrats.

When Hillary Clinton decided to run for president, there were many supporters who liked her for a number of reasons. But it's reasonable to believe that some of them wanted her to win because she is a woman. Even those that disagreed with her on the issues were excited about the prospect of having a woman be commander in chief.

So when Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic Party primary to Barack Obama, the supporters were upset. When Obama didn't pick a woman, it opened the door for McCain to pick a woman, and he did.

McCain is 72, and it's reasonable to expect that Palin would have a very good chance to take over, temporarily or permanently, in the next 4 years if elected. If having a woman in the White House is your issue, then the Republicans or Cynthia McKinney is your ticket in 2008.

But for the vast majority of Clinton supporters, they wanted her to be president because they believed she would be the best leader for the horrible times in which we live. And this is what the McCain campaign didn't realize.

Sarah Palin is great for energizing the base, but she has very little crossover appeal among independents. What appeal she does have is predominantly for men.

But there are many reasons straight men shouldn't fall for Sarah Palin, even if these reasons are a little patronizing. Sometimes, patronizing works for straight men.

Her stance on abortion isn't cool if you don't want to have a child. She likes fighting wars, which is bad if you get asked to fight those wars. You might come back injured or killed.

She lies with ease, an unappealing trait. She doesn't know how to control her spending, an undesirable trait. She is loyal, almost to a fault, but if she perceives that you double-crossed her, she will get revenge.

To all straight men out there, yes, Sarah Palin is pretty, but you have to consider her record and approach to our nation's problems. Don't vote for her because she's pretty -- she's not running for junior class president in high school. You can't date her, she's married.

Vice President of the United States is a very important role: if the VP did a good job, I wouldn't care if that person looked as horrible as Dick Cheney.

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