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I think Salon is missing a point here. Of course beauty pageants aren't presidential elections. And yes, beauty pageants demean women. But Salon staffers who assert that a simple geography question was inappropriate devalue young Ms Caitlin and her fellow contestants even more.
It was a perfectly valid question for an 18-year-old honor student participating in a contest that supposedly stresses beauty And brains.
Her answer could have included obvious comments on American Education: We need more teachers and better schools. People should stay in school. American schools should stress more geography. People spend too much time online or watching TV and not enough time learning.
When the Today Show gave her a do-over, Caitlin did in fact touch on several of those themes. But even after a three-day prep she still sounded like a mindless Valley Girl who could not, I'm convinced, herself find the US on a map.
A friend's 16-year-old daughter spent the summer building schools in Africa as a result of what he calls "the Angelina Jolie effect." I'm guessing that's the only reason Miss South Carolina included Iraq in her ramblings -- Ms Jolie is currently visiting our soldiers there.
