As someone with Pakistani roots, I'm thoroughly embarrassed by the dirty-old-man behavior of the sleazy crook Zardari. In Pakistan he is known as Mr 10% because he would pilfer 10% of all government contracts into his own personal bank accounts. That country is now run by a lascivious lying crook. I, too, felt sorry for Palin having to be subjected to this creep(though it didn't last long).

While Americans are hyper-sensitive about the whole "don't tell a woman you find her attractive in the business place lest you get sacked for sexual harrassment," the rest of the world doesn't quite do it that way. And it's not necessarily lecherous or even offensive. An example: my husband works for an international manufacturing company owned by an Italian corporation. The CEO is Italian. When he first came to meetings in this country, he always went out of his way to tell the senior women they were very beautiful. He was astonished to learn that it's bordering on sexual harrassment to do that in this country. In Italy, he noted, it's a social AND a professional courtesy. When several people took him aside to explain the cultural issue, he was surprised. He meant no offense or any harm, and he doesn't do that here anymore.

Cultural differences.

This certainly gives some context to TCF's view of men. We need to get these women from broadsheet some positive male role models. Gross.

I'm not going to excuse Zardari's sexist comments, but he isn't exactly a backwoods raving chauvanist. His wife was Benazir Bhutto, for cripes' sake!

Sarah Palin is going to have to face these statements for what they are. Zardari didn't say that stuff because he wanted to have sex with her or even flirt, he said those things to establish dominance. If it was a male-male interaction, and he thought he could get away with it, he would have said something comparably belittling, but not sexist.

So, Ms. Palin has to make it clear that she will not be dominated by petty sexist remarks from heads of state or anyone else. Smiling uncomfortably ain't going to cut it...think of Angela Merckel's look of horrified shock when GWB gave her a backrub...she wasn't smiling uncomfortably, her expression made it clear that his behavior was unacceptable.

If Sarah Palin is looking for guidance here, I suggest she consider how Hillary Clinton would react to such a remark.

It would be rather unusual for men in South Asia to step up to women they were meeting professionally and comment on their looks. And especially in Pakistan, where they generally prefer their women to be covered up from head to toe, this would be unthinkable and depending on the part of the country involved therecould be a kangaroo court declaring the woman to be of loose morals.

Cultural differences.

Several years ago I worked at a resort hosting an event for a group of US senators. The behavior and dialogue between many of the senators (from both parties) and some of the women working the event was disgusting. (This observation is being made by someone with little patience for PC complaints.) You can add to this the Oval office behavior of our last president. There's no reason to expect any better behavior from Pakistan's leaders than from our own.

(linkback) Funny or Foul? Pakistani prez ogles Palin, "You are even more gorgeous in life" [VOTE] - http://www.thriveorfail.com/9c610

or are men "unnaturally" hypersexual because they are starved for feminine interaction, or because they are "unnaturally" dominant due to support from their culture or are they just acting like normal men in the absence of an environment where testosterone is "unnaturally" suppressed due to the low social status of men and and the fact that men are inhibited out of fear that their status and prospects will decline even further if they are not. What sort of evidence does exist or can exist that would shed genuine light rather than just a confirmation of preconceived ideas. I CAN think of one aspect of the situation that I think everyone probably can agree is universal and that might serve as a starting point: men, no matter what their beliefs or situation NEVER feel that women are too sexual with them individually, they may feel that women are too sexual in general or with other men but they always have a positive reaction to a female sexual response to them personally, it may be overridden in some cases by fanatical beliefs but it is always there.

I despise John McCain. He does not respect women. Witness how he treats his wife and his ex-wife. Witness the glazed salivation in his eyes when he stands next to Palin, his "soul mate." He picked an idiot who happens to be a woman to be his vice presidential nominee. Palin is unqualified and clueless. What else is Zardari going to do? Give her an impromptu lesson on Pakistani politics? No. He's going to make small talk. Which would be appropriate if she were a first lady. But she's supposed to be vice president!

If she were qualified, if she had any idea what was going on, she could have cut that shit short with a few incisive questions. (I could have given her a few tips.) Zardari, being from a society rather more patriarchal than this one, is not going to automatically assume that he should respect Palin. She's a woman; she's going to have to prove herself to him. But she is simply not prepared. She doesn't have what it takes, intellectually, to cut it. She is clever, yes, and ambitious. I used to think she might be smart, but not anymore.

She is going to set the cause of respect for women in leadership roles BACK, way back, because she does not belong on a presidential ticket and it's obvious to anyone with eyes (and no cognitive dissonance).

Just call her Auntie Thomasina.

Or "Bible Spice." That one was funny.

Does TCF really think Palin brings anything to the table other than her face?