Vain Is a Pain

"You can't see the world through a mirror."

 - Avril Lavigne, Canadian born singer

Bernadette Malone, in what I think is a hilarious op-ed she wrote for The Union Leader, provides us with one female's reaction to some of John Kerry's recent comments:

"John Kerry probably lost untold numbers of votes when he announced he and his new running mate John Edwards have 'better hair' than their opponents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a vain man."

She goes on to talk about what she believes are some of Kerry's other missteps:

"Kerry had already committed several offenses in this category that were starting to make me feel uncomfortable. The first was when he posed for Vogue magazine wearing an electric blue wet suit. It's only borderline acceptable for a man to pose for Vogue, and it's only borderline acceptable for a man to wear an electric blue wetsuit. The combination of the two, however, took things a wave too far. Real men just don't do that.

Then there were other reports...that Kerry receives Botox treatments to diminish his wrinkles. I thought it was great that his wife admits to using Botox, but women are supposed to be vain. The thought of my next President lying back in the dermatologist's chair to have botulism bacteria injected into his facial muscles so his eyebrows and smile will freeze in place and look taut makes me queasy."

Ms. Malone continues her criticism of the "vain male" with observations about Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Kerry's new running mate, John Edwards. She also opines about how Hillary Clinton might have become Kerry's choice for vice-president had she only recognized John's fixation with hair.

I'm wondering if Malone's turn-off with the "vanity thing" in men is a prevalent attitude among women. Somehow I don't believe it is based on comments I hear women making about Edwards' good looks, or the teeny-bopper adulation expressed toward Bill Clinton by the mostly female Oprah Show audience when he was a guest there a couple of weeks ago.

It is amusing to see the kinds of things that cause some voters to cast their ballot for a candidate and to realize how little some of these things have to do with that person's ability to perform the job. I suppose this will always be the case, however, especially with the advent of television and the ability of the media to create an image of a candidate that may or may not reflect who that candidate really is.