McCain took his lumps on the View just like he did from Ellen, and Bill Clinton also faced the female firing squad of Whoopi, Joy, Elisabeth, Sherri and Babs. Though we all love to rag on Elisabeth, I think Sherri, whom Trasiter calls "increasingly radicalized," is perhaps the most interesting part of the View's particular alchemy. A Salon commenter articulates Sherri's growth during this election really well. "Although people over on the Huffington Post frequently deride Sherri Shepherd for some of her naive pronouncements, I find it fascinating to watch someone in the process of trying to work out a political worldview," writes a commenter named Benthead, "In particular, her attempt to negotiate her religious belief with a commitment to civil rights and pluralism."

Obviously, a huge part of the appeal of The View is that the women on the panel are much more accessible to the viewing public than a wonky news anchor on CNN or even the more partisan MSNBC and Fox News. The one danger — and this is a criticism I've heard aimed at satirical shows like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show — is the possibility that a show like The View is a person's only source of political news. However, I'd imagine that anyone who looks to Babs and the team for their sole political fix probably wouldn't be reading anything about the election otherwise, so perhaps it's better that they get information in a less than serious way than not at all.

How The Election Ate Daytime Television [Salon]

John McCain Goes Through A Gauntlet Of Tough Broads On The View
Sherri Shepherd Unleashes Rubber-Necking Rage On Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Sadie sadly got the short end of this particular stick, as I would suggest that platinum blonde is probably not her shade. But, she does get the most jewelry of any of us.

Actually, tangerine looks kind of good on Jessica, and the Hillary-do isn't completely terrible.

Dodai is much, much prettier than Palin and takes no photos of herself winking. She also doesn't need to tease up the back like that.

I'm just too fair to pull off the dark hair, I think, but I was about the right amount of happy to be up on stage next to Obama. [Hands off, lady. -Ed.]

Hollywood Hair Virtual Makeover [InStyle]

• The original terrorist — not the fist bumping kind — knows who he wants us to elect. Surprise! It's John McCain. [US News & World Report]
• That might be because he escaped us at least twice by going into Pakistan and because our troops weren't allowed to walk into Pakistan, and John McCain plans to continue that policy. [CBS News]
• And, like he plans to leave Pakistan alone, McCain's decided to leave Michigan alone, too. Guess they figured that they wouldn't be able to disenfranchise enough foreclosed-upon voters to eke out a win after all. [Washington Post]
• Since he's staying the course in Philly, though, voter intimidation tactics continue apace. [Philly.com]

• Because, if he doesn't, he's pretty well fucked in the electoral college. [Politico]
• Sort of like Sarah Palin's wrist supposedly is. Unless it's just a tactic to garner some sympathy, which it totally is. How many women around John McCain have to sport bum wrists before someone starts asking questions? [Politico]
• Barack and Michelle will celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary tomorrow with a quiet dinner that Barack requested the press pool leave them alone for. Fat chance, sucker. We want pictures, and so does Axelrod. [Huffington Post]
• Oh, hey, Bob Barr is still running! He thinks McCain is a hypocrite. Run, Bob, Run! [The Hill]
• Also, women find Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is a sexist hypocrite. [Pandagon]
• Wall Street Journal reporter Dorothy Rabinowitz thinks that overreaching surveillance by our government that is eroding our civil rights is totes okay with her because people died on September 11th. What's that saying? Those who would sacrifice freedom for security... [Washington Independent]

• Apparently emboldened by last week's success in Milan, Bruno — aka Sacha Baron Cohen — crashed Stella McCartney today. "With his red thong clearly visible above his jeans, the comedian — who was virtually unrecognisable in a flamboyant leather gilet, with his slicked-down hair dyed blonde and brown — sucked Tampax, clapped along to the music and generally disgruntled the front row by continually pushing aside those sitting in front of him for a better look at the models." He then delivered a "lone standing ovation." [VogueUK]
• In total radness: DVF to design a comic book in connection with her Wonder Woman-inspired collection. Really hoping she has to make the rounds of the comics conventions. [Fashionista]
• Chloe Sevigny gets into menswear. Well, Gallo will wear it. [Nylon]

• Andre Benjamin's clothing line is for the modern fop. "To create a persona for his fashion line, Mr. Benjamin combined his surname with that of Bill Bixby. The character is a world traveler whose wardrobe includes things like a $995 cotton corduroy blazer, a $350 felted waistcoat and a $95 newsboy cap." [NY Times]
• Whoever wears that will surely be the intended demographic for "J. Crew's first book." "Written by Max Blagg and illustrated by Hugo Guinness, What a Man Should Know is a collection of 50 (very) whimsical tips for the modern male. So what should you know? Chess, wine, and figure-drawing." [Men.Style]
• Some people claimed Heidi stole the Project Runway premise — aka the same setup every single competition reality show has ever had ever. A judge, not surprisingly, dismissed it. [wwltv]
• Michelle Obama sports H&M on the campaign trail. [BlackBook]
• Lagerfeld video. Nuff said. [NY Mag]
• Scary Spice Mel B wants a Project Runway-style reality show. Get in line, kid. [E]
• Rather than going bargain basement, Target courts recessionistas. [Business Week]
• More on Miss Sixty's woes. [BBC]
• Sorta It-Girl Cory Kennedy to replace Kinda It-Girl Daisy Lowe as the face of Docs. [Fashionista]
• Levi's tries way, way too hard: "The San Francisco company has launched a new viral effort it hopes will attract young men to pass along videos of customized "beasts" emerging from the button-fly of Levi's jeans. At Unbuttonyourbeast.com, visitors can choose from nine different animated characters with names like Trout Troutman, Paul the Pincher and Sock Nasty, then customize the beast's message by calling a toll-free number. The effort, unsurprisingly, is geared to young men just out of college." The emails are titled, "Do you dare to unbutton my beast?" [AdWeek]
• India eases the way for the burgeoning luxury market. [IHT]
• Guy Ritchie's first hit since hooking up with Madge: a Nike ad gets big on YouTube. [Telegraph]
• Naomi Campbell's gonna walk for Hermes; everybody flips out. [Fashion Week Daily]
• I wish these celebs would stop calling their mix tapes "albums." Anyhoo, Heatherette designer Richie Rich's, "Celebutante," is about to drop. [Fashionista]
• "If there were a gold medal for marathon modeling, Shalom Harlow would surely win it for the Viktor & Rolf fashion film that will begin today on the Dutch duo’s Web site. 'It was like the fashion Olympics,' said Rolf Snoeren, who, with Viktor Horsting, reenacted a high-tech version of 'Funny Face' to showcase their spring collection. 'It was 14 hours a day on high heels, but she was a champion.'” [WWD]
• 80's power shoulders are big (sorry) on the Paris runways. [WSJ]
• That gold statue of Kate Moss was just unveiled. [Mirror]
• UGGS are like cockroaches: all that will be left after a nuclear holocaust. While everything else is foundering, UGGs is way up! [WSJ]
• The Lauren Conrad line forlorn and unbought. [Page Six]
• Bossy new bikini has "decorative beads" that change color when UV rays grow dangerously high. [Telegraph]
• Screw Jimmy Choos. Cheap shoes make more sense for actual walking. [Daily News]
• "Margherita Missoni, meanwhile, has experienced some teasing for wearing vintage sparkling Harper’s Bazaar frames — due to an eye problem. 'Suzy Menkes says it’s my Sarah Palin look,' she laughed. 'It is definitely not inspired by her.'" [WWD]

Because she says, "Anytime a woman runs, women win," which I completely disagree with, but at least she follows it up with "That doesn't mean I'm going to vote for her, but I do think that a woman running gives little girls the opportunity to say, 'Wow, I can do this,'" which I guess means that she's at least not pulling a Lady Forester de Rothschild and, well, basically my expectations are so low at this point that I'll take anything that isn't an out-and-out endorsement of Palin from a second-waver who thinks it's important to get a woman in office even if its at the expense of women's issues.

She then answers questions about the disapproval Palin has faced because of her family:

"Comments about the way that Governor Palin organizes her family are ridiculous. We'd never ask Senator Obama how he organizes his family, because we assume that his wife is taking care of it. How many of us have been working mothers all of our lives? Millions of us! When [Congresswoman] Pat Schroeder was asked by one of the more senior members of Congress how she could be a mother and run for office, she said, 'Because I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both.' I always loved that."

Okay, well, first off, I second the Pat Schroeder love. I can't say I'm as much of a fan of the concept that women are in charge of "organizing" families — be it Michelle Obama or Palin — but, as everyone already knows, I do think the criticisms of Sarah Palin's family have gone overboard on occasion. So, while I'll point out that the same sexism that Ferraro decried mere months ago when applied to Hillary she holds up as a stereotype about the Obamas and the Palins without refutation, it's not clear whether she subscribes to the stereotype or not. Once again, lowered expectations people — after last time, it's really just about trying for a little redemption here.

The one thing I do have to take some major issue with is this statement of Ferraro's: "She wouldn't be in the position she's in if she wasn't able to deal with the campaign." Because, really, I think that's pretty debatable. I think she shouldn't be in this position if she's not up for it — and I think Geraldine Ferraro was in 1984 — but either Palin isn't or the McCain campaign doesn't think she is. Either one should give us all pause, Ferraro included. Just being nominated for something doesn't make you ready for it. Palin's gotta prove it, and she definitely hasn't yet.

My Advice For Sarah Palin [Glamour]

• A group calling itself "Blacks Against Obama" interrupted Obama's speech today in Coral Gables, Florida. Their main beefs appear to be his support for child support, reproductive rights and marriage equity, though they're also not fans of, well, all African-American women, so we're guessing it's really "Black Men Against Obama". [Stereohyped, Over The Rockies, For Obama]
• Time's Karen Tumulty points out that McCain's new ad about Obama's economic advisers' ties to Fannie Mae don't feature white former Obama adviser Jim Johnson but do feature African-American non-adviser Frank Raines — and one very sad looking little old white lady. No race-baiting here, folks, they swear it was just an "honest" mistake. [Time]
• In yet another advertising fuck-up for the McCain camp, they've received a cease-and-desist letter for Fox News for using Major Garrett's voice over in an ad. Seriously, when Fox News doesn't want their guys associated with your Republican campaign for the Presidency, you got problems. [Politico]

• Now that the government is taking over everything, the Dow rebounded nearly 400 points. Apparently, people in the stock market hold the Bush Administration in higher esteem than pretty much anyone else in the country. [LA TimesIf elected, Sarah Palin plans to continue the Grand Old Tradition of pretending she's not a part of the Executive Branch to avoid subpoenas when her office commits illegal acts. She's got some experience in that, after all. [Think Progress]
• In yet another poll of stupid things Americans would do with the candidates, they'd rather Obama teach their kids (he'll never call their daughters "cunts") and they'd rather watch football with him. But who would they rather get shitty drunk with? Who? Who? Americans demand real answers to real questions except when they don't. [Breitbart]
• New York Congressman and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) may face an election-year investigation of his many, many shady dealings, led by the Democratic chair of the House ethics committee. He claims that his tax fraud, illicit use of rent-controlled apartments, use of his position to solicit funds for an outside group and (now) wrongful use of the House parking garage to store his car are part of a Republican "guerrilla war." Maybe it's just because you did some bad stuff, Charlie? I often find that refraining from doing illegal things generally keeps people from investigating me. [Washington Post, New York Times]

• Rumor has it that the mini moguls' "lifestyle differences" are tearing their fashion collabs asunder. “Ashley really wants to be a respected businesswoman and be taken seriously...MK does too, but she hasn’t been willing to give up her lifestyle and act like an adult for their job.” Result? MK is being "distanced" from the business end. [LA Times]
• Gossip Girls Blake Lively, Leighton Meester and Michelle Trachtenberg have all "designed" Stuart Weitzman heels for charity. "Blake's candy-themed kicks (no doubt courting comparisons like "sweet" and "confectious") are going for the highest of the three at $300 - Leighton's in the middle and Michelle's on the right." [Fashionista]
• A petulant Oscar de la Renta is skipping the Metropolitan Opera's opening night for the first time in 20 years. He "was none too happy to learn that Renée Fleming’s onstage frocks for the affair were designed by Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Christian Lacroix." Um, is his ticket going begging? Sounds better than fashion week! [WWD]
• Markets rebound a tad; retailers still panicky. [WWD]

• Uh oh. Amidst the recent financial turmoil, Prada has called off its widely-reported plan to go public this year, "making it the global financial turmoil's most high-profile fashion victim." [WSJ, WWD]
• The "Obama Effect" has done wonders for designer Thakoon, whose rose-colored frock Michelle sported on nom night. "I saw her on TV and I couldn't even look, I was so embarrassed from being excited,'"quoth he. [LA Times]
• Norwegian designer Peter Dundas joins venerable print-meisters Pucci as creative director. [IHT]
• Rumor — no, it really might just be a rumor — has it that Marc Jacobs is opening a store in Manhattan's East Village. Which, even if true, doesn't seem like that big a deal. [Fashionista]
• Thes auction Naomi "Siddhartha" Campbell organized for the White Ribbon Foundation was a big hit. "London’s big spenders outbid each other for looks donated by designers including Alexander McQueen, Zac Posen and Christopher Kane." [WWD]
• "Last year, Giorgio Armani told Time that PETA had persuaded him to drop fur from his designs, but his fall line includes fur coats for babies, floral-printed fur coats, fur-hemmed skirts and fur-trimmed jackets." PETA's pissed. So now they're going to go back to the always-effective plan A: harassing and heckling! [P6]
• Gap is opening in Mexico, stealthily: it'll be opening "stores within stores" in an established department store chain. [WSJ]
• A graphic designer named "Salvor" has teamed up with Rogan to lauch a capsule collection which, one assumes, will have a one-word name. [Fashionista]
• Fans of both clothes and Sonic Youth — read, anyone — must be thrilled about Kim Gordon's new line, Mirror/Dash. Even if, so far, it's just one jacket. [BlackBook]
• The New Yorker's panel talk on "The Future of Fashion": snooze or revelation? [Fashionista]
• "A Japanese designer and furrier, Chie Imai, has called her autumn 2008 collection of fur-trimmed capes and boleros Eco Harmony." The fabric is, indeed, recycled. The fur? The animals in question might take exception to the "harmony." PETA certainly would. [Independent]
• Sears is introducing these 3-D virtual dressing rooms that will allow you to "try" things on from home. If you thought store mirrors were dishonest...! [Reuters]
• Betsey Johnson loves being a grandma, fresh fish. [Fashion Informer]
• Fashion Fringe winner: "Go By A Secret Path, aka designer Eun Jeong Hong, yesterday earned herself a rather nice end of week treat in the shape of £100,000, as well as continuous support from the Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden team to kick start her professional design career." [VogueUK]
• Abercrombie and Fitch pioneers "scent ambience services" in its stores. Why am I having visions of the poppy field in the Wizard of Oz? [Breitbart]
• Wyndam Hotel employees will go green whether they like it or not, sporting "uniforms made with polyester fibers spun from plastic beverage bottles." All we can say is, whoever made that virtuous decision better be wearing Coke couture, too. [BrandWeek]
• A few royals hit Fashion Week, but paps mostly had to settle for Kate Middleton's little sister. [WWD]
• Pamela Anderson escorted by "a man in a white mask" at Vivienne Westwood show. [ElleUK]

• Michelle Obama is so endearingly naive. Today, she told her audience "People shouldn't make a decision this time based on, 'I like that guy' or 'she's cute.' And I'm talking about me." Michelle, at this point, let's just do whatever it takes to get your husband elected, okay? [Huffington Post]
• Especially since voting machines in 10 swing states are still fucked up. [CNN]
• And because John McCain is standing behind his remarks about not meeting with the democratically-elected Prime Minister of Spain unless he determines that fucking Spain is sufficiently committed to human rights and democracy. Which country is torturing people again? That's us, right? [Politico]
• While we're at it, someone probably ought to tell Sarah Palin that mocking Joe Biden's age isn't a good idea when your running mate is Methuselah, let alone when you get it wrong. [USA Today]

• The stock market regained almost all the value it lost yesterday, once again proving that financial "experts" are about as expert at finance as monkeys are with Shakespeare. [Washington Post]
• The Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations finally got around to noticing that putting Sarah Palin on the dais was probably not good for their anti-Iran rally once Democrats started dropping like flies, so they dis-invited everyone. Should be a fun rally now! [Politico]
• There are six Barack Obamas running for office in Brazil because Brazil allows people to pick any name to run under. There are no John McCains. No way, no how, not now, not McCain. [The Guardian]
• George "Macaca" Allen, still surprised that being a racist in Virginia actually doesn't get you elected sometimes, will be headlining a racial unity rally in Fairfax. And it's actually not a Klan rally, it's supposed to encourage people of color to vote Republican. That'll work. [Think Progress]

What attracted you to Laura as a fictional construct in the first place? In the Times you've declared your love for her and I've read the Salon essay in which you first mention your admiration for her. You call her "a mastermind of stealth independence."
Basically I read these various articles about her, and realized that she was more complicated than I would have imagined. She and George Bush got married at the age of 31, and she was a democrat until she married him. She actually has some very liberal close friends, including a woman who’s a midwife in Berkeley. I think a lot of people, most people, are primarily friends with people who are of the same political persuasion as you are. I think it’s notable to be First Lady to a super conservative President and friends with midwife. She would invite people over when she was First Lady of Texas and when she was at the White House. Because she was such a great reader, she would invite writers to events, and they would have been on record as disagreeing with her husband. They just assumed that Laura had never read their books, but then they would show up and have realized she had read everything they'd ever written.

I’ve read all of your novels, and while Lee (from Prep) and Hannah (from The Man of My Dreams) are more cynical, all three heroines are quite shy and introverted. It seems like these sorts of introverted characters are not usually protagonists. What makes you gravitate towards them?
Well I think that the all the protagonists of my books are observant, because I can’t really imagine writing a novel that didn’t have an observant protagonist. What would be the point? I also think that I’m interested in social awkwardness, because it seems to illustrate or magnify these aspects of human behavior. So I would say that’s a lot of it: the things that interest me as a person.

Alice's shyness makes her incredibly ambivalent about her husband, Charlie's, ascendence to the Presidency. I was particularly taken with the observation she makes as narrator: "We did everything we could to get as many people as possible to pay attention to us, and it worked, and now we complain. Leave us alone, we say. Just like you, we’re entitled to privacy."
I feel like most people who are famous have actively pursued their fame, but some people are famous as a result of their relationship to someone else, and that’s always true for political families. For example, Sasha and Malia Obama didn’t choose to be famous, but now they are. It's the outsider question. To me it’s always more interesting to hear a story told from the perspective of an outsider, because an outsider notices things more, whereas an insider takes things for granted.

I read the Cindy McCain profile in this week's New Yorker as I was reading the American Wife, and it struck me that very few women really revel in being First Ladies. What sort of person does enjoy being a political spouse? Do you think Hillary liked it?
I think Hillary Clinton is a really interesting person because people have very strong reactions to her in terms of admiring her or disliking her. I think she was a good First Lady, but I think she’d actually be a better President than First Lady.

Ok, now I need to ask the obligatory question about what you think of our potential First Ladies, Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama.
There was an article on Cindy in the New York Times on August 23rd. It was the same day Biden was announced as Obama's VP pick so it didn't get as much press as it should have. I really urge anyone to read it, it raises a lot of questions about her professional involvement with her family’s company (ed. note: the article basically says that Cindy, "a private person" is an absentee chairwoman who cashes the checks from the beer distributorship she inherited but "has left scarcely a mark on the company.") Michelle Obama seems like a much more regular person. I just watched her on Ellen and I think she’s a good sport. You see her dance with Ellen, which Barack did too. It is interesting. Obviously because everything in politics is so scripted it makes us even hungrier to know people’s real selves, which we kind of can’t do.

Speaking of real and fictional selves, one thing I thought was really interesting, and one thing I’ve been thinking about with Sarah Palin, is how these details come out about you and become your “official biography” that everyone refers to. Like with Alice in American Wife, her father being a postal worker, which wasn’t even true, was seized upon by her husband's campaign. Do you ever wonder what details would emerge about you and become those sorts of talking points?
I’m not planning to run for office, but there are definitely certain details. This is a different kind of book than Prep or the Man of my Dreams. So there are different questions that come up over and over. There’s a set of questions with this book and a set that comes up with other books. There’s a tidbit that Prep was turned down by 14 out of 15 publishers, which is true, but misleading because it was sold within two weeks. It makes it sound like I struggled more than I did. Anyone who is writing about fiction writing likes stories about long odds.

Long odds makes me think of Sarah Palin. What's your take on her?
I wish she were a fictional construct. I’m not a fan of hers. But I certainly admit that she’s got a compelling life story.

American Wife [Amazon]
Curtis Sittenfeld [Official Website]
Imaginary First Lady Tells All [NYT]
Why I Love Laura Bush [Salon]
For McCains, a Public Path but Private Wealth [NYT]
Michelle Obama On Ellen [YouTube]

Earlier: Pussy, Parents And Puppies: A Q&A With Comedian Margaret Cho
This Is Not Chick Lit: A Q&A With Writer Janelle Brown
New Yorker Profile Shows Cindy McCain Is A Nouveau Betty Draper

The Forbes article starts out saying that "so powerful is the public's urge to categorize mothers that even the arena of sports has bred a taxonomy with which to order the chauffeuring, ref-hating, ice-pack-applying women who get their kids to games and practices." Yet despite a lengthy comparison of soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and football moms, it fails to explain how the sport the child plays gives any indication of how the mother will vote in the election. While "soccer mom" was shorthand for "wish-washy female suburban voters," the new "hockey moms" are supposed to be "a more decisive voter: the pro-life, red meat Republican." Yet, it is noted within the same paragraph that hockey is played in both red states and blue states, and there are plenty of liberal hockey moms.

What the article really highlights is how ridiculous it is to stereotype women based on the sport their child randomly chose to play. (One particularly absurd point: that "Michelle Obama has about her the air of a basketball mom" because the basketball mom "doesn't have to venture into the next county, or sit on one of those silly folding chairs that soccer moms tote with them, or use the rest room at Dunkin' Donuts ...The basketball mom can attend games in heels, all the while congratulating herself for being a stylish force of life.")

All that soccer moms, hockey moms and those pretentious basketball moms have in common is that they are middle-class, suburban mothers. Despite the fact that if you go to any random youth sports event in the country you'll find both mothers and fathers watching their children's games, women are still defined as caretakers whose lives are dictated by their child's sports schedule. At least NASCAR dads get to be classified by an activity they enjoy, rather than a task thrust upon them.

But there is a difference between "hockey moms" and "soccer moms": Sarah Palin has given the term more pride. Whenever the term "soccer moms" was used in the 2004 election, it seemed like no matter how desperately politicians wanted their votes, they term may have been an insult to those women. You didn't really imagine the soccer mom forming any sophisticated political opinions while listening to talk radio in her minivan on the way to a game. By coining the term "hockey mom," the Republicans have not only brought the discussion of sports moms back to this election, but shifted the description of the same group of women from a beleaguered sweatshirt-wearing frumpy mother, to a kind of hot, "pit bull" of a mom who seems more likely to whack someone with a hockey stick than worry that every kid gets a chance to play.

If you've been following the campaign closely, you're familiar with Cindy's biography. Born Cindy Hensley, heiress to the largest beer distributorship in Arizona. She met John in the late 70s while on vacation in Hawaii, and after a whirlwind romance, the two were married in 1980. Levy makes reference to the mini-scandal surrounding the McCain's initial courtship, (John was still married to his first wife, who had been crippled in a car accident); she discusses Cindy's involvement with Operation Smile and Mrs. McCain's lil' painkiller addiction that involved her stealing money from a medical charity she ran.

But at the beginning of their relationship, a McCain friend told the New Yorker, "Cindy stood for everything he didn't have in prison. This was the sweet, innocent, pure American dream." And it seems that in someways, their marriage is set up to preserve John's idealized notions of Cindy, since he barely deals with her in reality. Cindy often brags about how she adopted a daughter from Bangladesh without telling John. She has said, "For most of the twenty years we've been married, he's been in Washington all week while I'm in Arizona with the kids. I've never spent this much time with my husband." Levy observes: "John McCain seems to gravitate toward women who endure pain in silence."

Like her husband, who seems to gloss over the familial reality to paint a pretty, loving picture, Cindy McCain has covered over all those unhappy circumstances of her past. When speaking at her father's funeral, her half-sister was in the audience, and Cindy referred to herself, quite callously, as an "only child." Perhaps her painkiller addiction, which was uncovered by her parents (John McCain only found out his wife was a pillhead when he was informed that the DEA was investigating her charity), helped her blot out all the nastiness so her internal image was the same as her plucked and groomed exterior.

There's a passage towards the beginning of Levy's profile that essentially explains Cindy's entire persona, and I'll repeat it here to save you the trouble of reading those many thousand words. "Since childhood, McCain has been expected to embody certain pillars of conventional femininity; beauty, refinement, altruism, and an inclination to encourage the ambitious men in her life," Levy writes. "She is probably better suited to this particular formulation of public wifehood than the outspoken, muscular, and frankly powerful Michelle Obama. But if you watch her closely, from time to time you can see Cindy McCain slip out of character." It's like Cindy is going through her own personal 60s revolution, like Betty Draper. She's realizing that keeping up appearances is untenable in a modern political world.

The Lonesome Trail [New Yorker]

Earlier: Cindy McCain's Marriage Is Not Exactly A Straight Talk Express
Oh, About That First Wife

• Poor Rachel Zoe! "I thought: I've done blood, sweat and tears for 15 years — why am I the victim here? I have had the nastiest things said about me! I don't understand." [NY Post]
• Shockingly, the CFDA's "Health Booth" (which educates fashionistas about eating) is deserted. [NY Mag]
• You already knew Sean Lennon was an ass: Spotted at Fashion Week, the modelizer "wore a magisterial women's coat with gold buttons and a top hat decorated with Native American bands. His girlfriend, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, wore a coyote headdress." [NY Mag]
• Justin Timberlake brings pissy back at his William Rast show. [WWD]
• Punk legend Malcolm McLaren accuses son and Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corre of counterfeiting punk duds. "I think my son actually used – maybe – the original labels, because we didn't use them all up...There'd be a roll of ribbon around in the workroom and maybe my son got a hold of those. I think he did this before he set up Agent Provocateur. Or in order to set up Agent Provocateur and fund it, he made a number of these fake clothes and sold them to dealers in Japan." [Independent]

• Speaking of Agent Provocateur: there's a new ad campaign! "Chanelling the gothic decadence of Hogarth, Caravaggio, Rubens and Delaroche’s Execution of Lady Jane Grey, it is a seething orgiastic scene of girls on top, girls on girls and boys and beasts. Peaches (Geldof) and Daisy Lowe, the bad girls du jour, both star, as does the flame-haired American actress Paz de la Huerta, who holds court over a sacrifice of a topless virgin, accompanied by two male cohorts — David Bailey’s Byronesque son, Fenton, and a 21-year-old albino boy named Alex." [Times of London]
• Intrepid fashionistas weather the storm at Fashion Week; Tory Burch even went barefoot! [NY Mag]
• Um, ex-squeeze us? Lifetime, the Project Runway-stealer, is delaying the premiere of the show's sixth season until January 2009. Resentment mounting. [Yahoo]
• Are we the only ones who are totally sick of hockey player/budding fashionista Sean Avery? Now he's decorated some booth at hot spot Beatrice Inn with sunflowers. [Style.com]
• Apparently lacking creativity, designers start predicting trends via computer programs. [NY Times]
• Knockoff jeans even bigger than knockoff bags! [UPI]
• The political tee market is also booming. Yes, Obama's outselling Mac. [NPR]
• The Mulleavy sisters keep their Rodarte label personal and awesome. "In 2005, to introduce themselves to the fashion world, the Mulleavy sisters sent out 30 handmade paper dolls, each with a paper armoire containing seven paper dresses. 'I was inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald’s paper dolls,' explains Kate, who, like Fitzgerald, drew extensively accessorized wardrobes." [NY Times]
• Dolce and Gabbana take their inspiration from Queen Elizabeth: "In place of riotous floral and animal prints, hour-glass corsetry and itsy-bitsy skirts came Argyle knits, oversized kilts that fall to mid-calf, printed silk headscarves and sensible footwear." We are not amused. [The Independent]
• Almost all the shoes we wear are imported, "yet the U.S. still imposes a tax on imported shoes that can reach as high as 67%." [WSJ]
• More PR for Ivory Coast fashion, as Patricia De Medeiros reinvents traditional motifs in her line, Tradition Mode. [Reuters]
• Pat Field's collaboration with British frump-monger Marks and Spencer is a gamble. [Independent]
• Iconic model Veruschka releases coffee table tome: “'I can’t say that I have any favorite photographs,' she said. 'Though I do have some favorite memories of the days they were taken. Working with Avedon, for example, was always a joy. But then it was all joy because that was a joyous time.'” [Style.com]
• Scandal-plagued model Jodie Kidd comes by it naturally: her grandfather tried to bribe Winston Churchill. [This Is London]
• PETA crashes DKNY, does nothing. [NY Mag]
• Following a lackluster start, Halston feels the heat. [WSJ]
• YSL has reformulated (we're guessing this means butch packaging) its Touche Eclat concealer for the metrosexual set. Zac Efron rejoices! [Telegraph]
• The fashionistas heave a sigh of relief that both potential first ladies dig clothes. [Reuters]
• DKNY, CK, battle it out at their runway shows for "most New York" designer. Doesn't Karan automatically win by having "New York" in her name? [Guardian]
• Struggling to define itself, Old Navy shops ad agencies. Remember how cool it was when it opened? Can't they just rehire whoever did that? [AdWeek]

• Like everyone in Fashion, Vogue Editor at XL Andre Leon Talley has many opinions, feels they should be heard. "Asked how Americans can still look fabulous despite the recession, Talley said, 'Wear something old that you love' until Election Day. 'Then, vote for Barack Obama, who'll fix the economy.'" [NY Daily News]
• Most depressing/embarrassing WSJ video ever. "Guy" reporter goes to the Mall of America and interviews people about Republican style. [WSJ]
• Beloved former Chloe brain Phoebe Philo snapped up by Celine! [WWD]
• Nastia Liukin is so over gymnastics. The gold medalist, who's gonna be front and center at Fashion Week, is launching a line. "The five foot three athlete is working with Vanilla Star jeans on launching Nastia Liukin Gold jeans and tops for holiday sales. She is also in talks to design a line of activewear for GK, the company that makes her leotards, which she designs with her mom." [NY Mag]

• Chanel boycotts Russia because of Georgian situation...?! Oh, wait, no, the conflict just meant they couldn't get the venue they wanted. "A Chanel spokeswoman said the decision to nix Moscow was made in July before the crisis in Georgia as the company could not secure the venue it wanted in the Russian capital." [WWD]
• Crasher alert! "A man calling himself "Tom Klein" has been infiltrating chic soirees, claiming he works for Women's Wear Daily. This Klein character got caught when he tried to get on the list for last night's Gossip Girl party at the Empire Hotel, hosted by Dior Beauty, a source said. The crasher, claiming to be a senior editor at Fairchild Media, sends e-mails from a fake address. A WWD spokeswoman told Page Six, 'He is not an employee of Fairchild or Condé Nast.'" [P6]
• Here's how to deal with the recession: Meet the new status phones! "Constructed of precious metals, studded with diamonds and other jewels, and wrapped in exotic leathers, they have struck a chord among the small group of people who can afford them—namely, millionaires and celebrities." [BusinessWeek]
• Banana Republic courts Details readers...or the other way around? Are they different? "Beginning Wednesday through Sept. 17, each retail location will have extensive in-store magazine branding with "look cards," store displays, signage and fitting room signs. Bananarepublic.com will host a microsite with more style tips from Details and special offers from the retailer." [WWD]
• Stefano Pilati's beautiful YSL fashion look book being ignored because it's in a free tote. "When the news hit the fashion blogs last week, it was all about the cute bag, not the amazing images of Naomi Campbell, photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. To think, a real ‘It’ bag, for free, considering a Muse starts around $1,395. And, on the handout, the YSL logo is fetchingly printed upside down." [NYT]
• For those of us who already can't afford Tracy Reese, the news of her new, high-end line will not come as a joyful surprise. [WWD]
• Uniqlo might be bringing its cheap cashmere to India, Russia. [WSJ]
• What recession? H&M expands. Says the CEO, "Our strategy is based on the concept of fashion and quality at the best price...It helps us stay balanced even during economic downturns." [Business Week]
• Apparently, fashionistas have no qualms about fast fashion! Reports a Racked spy,"I was in the Forever21 in Soho and heard the one of the managers tell her staff in a meeting to 'look out' and 'be prepared' for stylists, editors and celebrities coming this week for Fashion Week." [Racked]
• Todd Oldham admits his show Top Design kind of blows. Okay, not really. "I would not want to be a contestant on this show at all," he says. "It's just too brutal. I said it before, but this is the only show I know on TV that is a thousand times harder than what it looks. It was way, way harder than what it looked like." [Breitbart]
• Designer and glamorous eccentric Isabel Toledo feted by the fashion elite: "A drag queen performed a cabaret homage to Ms. Toledo—"Isabel, you've chaaaaanged!"—which featured the word "motherfucker." Then Emcee Simon Doonan, of Barney's...narrated a slideshow of Ms. Toledo's life, from 'the Cuban Revolution to this incredibly un-Communist luncheon.'" [Observer]
• The Hef effect? "At New York fashion week, which kicks off Friday, designers including Phillip Lim, Michael Bastian and Tim Hamilton are expected to show a number of pajama-inspired clothes that are meant to be worn in broad daylight. The looks include colored piping on jackets and shirts, spread-open pajama collars, soft, unpadded jackets that hang loosely off the shoulders — and, of course, voluminous drawstring pants." [WSJ]
• Jonathan Saunders for Target might be awesome. Why must they tempt us with their fast fashion?! [Fabsugar]
• "With casual sweaters and sharp suits in shades of black, white and grey, Ji Wenbo became the first Chinese designer to showcase a collection at Japan's Fashion Week in a bid to woo customers in fashion-savvy Tokyo." [Reuters]
• With fashion in transition, we lack a Savior: "Still, there is no world-beater. There are no names that suggest clear-cut potential both to reshape fashion and somehow with it the global culture of style. There is no one, to take the obvious example, likely to replace Yves Saint Laurent, who died in June and seemingly took with him not merely a genius for conjuring glamour from whole cloth, but also for draping his designs to suit the mood of his time." [NYT]
• The New York Observer throws its pink hat into the fashion-glossy ring with Observer Style, "a semiannual magazine due to make its debut Nov. 16 and focused on the local fashion scene." [WWD]
• Carlos Miele is expecting a baby. "Insiders" say it's a boy called Leonardo. The item is titled, "stork to bring stylish baby." [P6]

MEGAN: I am so happy to have you back! (When you're back from getting coffee, that is).

MOE: Okay, here I am, having showered and resigned myself to brewing coffee because I can't leave the house twice in the same morning that is blasphemous, and watching Fox News. Wow, has John McCain cast a wide net for running mate! They are talking about Meg Whitman! Alaska Governor Sarah Palin! Mitt Fucking Romney! (God I would love it to be Romney!) But I suppose we should talk about last night's speech, even if I kind of think it's not worth talking about.

MEGAN: Well, the VP speculation was all the rage in the press box last night when no one was speaking. MSNBC was reporting it was Pawlenty, rumors were flying it would be Kay Bailey Hutchison, someone who doesn't have to be non-partisan was begging for it to be Romney, it was pretty amazing. And how is it not worth talking about?! It was amazing. People were crying. Like, hearing the way African-American people talk about this and the symbolism of seeing him be the standard bearer for the party, has been really interesting actually. One woman I interviewed for Glamocracy was like, black folks don't get invited to conventions very often, but we finally feel not just allowed but welcomed.

MOE: Yes, that is beautiful and moving and amazing and shit, but I gotta agree with what Noonan warned me about with that venue which is to say:

My own added thought is that speeches are delicate; they’re words in the air, and when you’ve got a ceiling the words can sort of go up to that ceiling and come back down again. But words said into an open air stadium…can just get lost in echoes, and misheard phrases.

Or cliches and tiresome pandering, which is, I believe, what that venue did for the speech. I love this guy, but if he is going to knock China within his first few minutes, if he has to take it to the illegal immigrants undermining our wages…well Jesus Christ, Barack Obama, this is your chance to point out, And I Say All This Not Because Illegal Guatemalan Meatpackers And Migrant Chinese Factory Workers At Heart Deserve America Any More Than We Do…but because we have to do right by the rights and values and ideals upon which this country was founded and improved before it is too late. And the "before it is too late" is where you get into the Iraq War, as opposed to — and here is what really sat badly with me — pointing out the Iraqi government's unspent surplus.

MEGAN: I'll be frank, by the time he got around to discussing policy issues, I was sort of bemoaning being the only woman (besides my friend Emily) anywhere near my section because if there had been more women, there would've been Diet Coke and I was ready to usurp ownership.

MOE: Which seemed tacky. But then! I switched to Fox News and Frank Luntz was yammering on about how it reminded him of Ross Perot circa 1992. Which I think means it was a success.

MEGAN: But I do recall without the benefit of the text, that he pointed out that he wanted to get out of Iraq, and used the surplus issue to make the point that they don't even really need us that much.

MOE: Those Perot voters are exactly who Barack Obama needs to vote for him! Unless he'd like to run himself.

MEGAN: Oh, God, Frank Luntz is so annoying! I'm glad I missed most of the punditry this week. I don't know that we need Ross Perot when we have Bob Barr.

MOE: Right! They don't really need us that much…WELL OKAY AGAIN YOU ARE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAY BARACK OBAMA THAT WHAT THEY REALLY NEED IS A TIME MACHINE. But yeah, no, they have some urgent needs in Iraq, and to dismiss them so glibly annoyed me. But speaking of Fox News, you know, it's what I watch when I have to watch TV news which is why I don't watch a lot of TV news. Are the other channels running those "I'm John McCain and here's looking at you kid" commercials?

MEGAN: Well, it all had to be done by the end of prime time without going so long that people tuned out. Plus, I actually thought that there was maybe too much policy in the speech, though I realize he was trying to counter inter-Democratic charges (all flash and no substance, etc.) with it. But a policy speech is a different thing. So I didn't get particularly exercised about it, though I'm pretty sure I lost 90% of my capacity for excitement on my second day of the convention.

MOE: See but, the genius of Barack Obama is that he has made substance his style, and that he has proven himself capable, in a speech, of teaching America little lessons, reaching the corners of the minds of average swing state Americans that seems to almost scramble their ideological codes, restoring in them intellectual honesty for a few seconds. I truly felt that when he "threw his grandmother under the bus" in that race speech. That race speech bowled people over and, more importantly, reminded them there's a trajectory here, that we don't give up hope on America precisely because we've encountered these little obstacles before…and this speech did not have this. Most offensively — and I do not get offended — this speech had "save our farms." Save our farms? Are you fucking kidding me?
Oh, but, loved Michelle's dress. What was that?

MEGAN: Well, you knew that was coming. He's from Illinois. I have no idea who made the dress, but Michelle has looked every single kind of awesome this week. So have Malia and Sasha, actually.

MOE: Now on Fox they're saying it's Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. (Maybe)
Oh man Malia, Malia…she's just so very elegant! It is almost intimidating.

MEGAN: I mean, she's looked both pretty, elegant and age-appropriate, which I personally loved.
As for Palin, I don't know why she'd give up the governorship of the state of Alaska to be a running mate for John McCain. She'd be an inspired choice if he could get her, but I don't know why she'd do it, really.

MOE: Here's the other thing: I found the little documentary about Obama they showed in the lead up to the speeches — this was on PBS — I found it very inspiring because Obama talked about how his mother had impressed upon him the importance of putting himself in others people's shoes. And I think that's not an easy thing for a politician to pull off without making the other side cynical, what with so many of them being such profound narcissists, because all the conventional wisdom says "No, you don't understand, you have to put yourself in the shoes of a cliche." Put yourself in the caricature of his shoes!
Oh that is reminding me how Mitt Romney skipped the Timberland factory or something. That was Mitt Romney, right?

MEGAN: Nope, he went, he just didn't take their shoes.
Actually, I hated all of those videos this week, I found them super-annoying and disruptive to the energetic vibe I thought they were trying to create. I got on board with Michelle's, but then they just kept on coming. Sort of like the free bars but not the free food, which I'm sure has a lot to do with my current utter exhaustion.

MOE: I suppose that is enough until next time! Hey commenters, if anyone understands anything about the water supply, feel free to email me bc I need some help on a post. KTKSBAI
Oh fuck! Hold on. You can't leave without the funny David Brooks line.

MEGAN: Sure, what is it?

MOE:

For this election isn’t about the past or the present, or even the pluperfect conditional. It’s about the future, and Barack Obama loves the future because that’s where all his accomplishments are.

That is why it needed to be a better speech I think. But I'll hold out hope.

-Yes. She looked like a milion bucks
-No. She looked $12 million in debt.
-Sigh. Why can't they focus on her, instead of her pantsuits?

The fact that they'd include the third option, and yet in addition to the exigesis on the orange pant suit have run no fewer than three stories on Michelle Obama's dress, hair and general style at the DNC pretty much sums up the issue. Seemingly, people can't get enough of DNC fashion, be it Caroline Kennedy's "legacy of style", the fact that both Hillary and Michelle sported beige yesterday or the opinions of Project Runway hosts Tim and Nina.

Here on Jez, we've deliberately not done some kind of DNC "fashion roundup," (not least because chronicling the infintessimal variations in these women's outfits seems to be a full-time cottage industry for at least 500 bloggers) which — given the tensions raised by the mere mention of The Pant Suit in comments these past two days — is probably a good thing. To me, it qualifies as neither politics nor fashion and certainly the less interesting end of both. But I do get why people are interested.

To the extent clothing eclipses what anyone — woman or man but usually woman — has to say, then, yes, such coverage is insulting to public figure and reader alike. And yes, we are a largely frivolous culture who take unseemly delight in anything silly — especially if it's a more "fun" alternative to boring old things like policies and budgets and wars. However, such interest in outward appearance is not only natural but probably, to a large extent, healthy.

First of all, people are interested in the clothing make politicians wear — pundits probably spilled as much ink on Obama's tie, or lack thereof, as on his energy policy - but the fact is that there are very limited variations on the masculine political uniform and risk-taking is simply not an option. It's certainly true that there is an undercurrent of real mean-spiritedness — not to say misogyny — to people's scrutiny of Hillary Clinton's pant suits, but it does seem like in a world where every public statement, expression and reaction is carefully planned, focus-grouped, rehearsed and lacquered into place, it would be very odd if people ignored one of the few visible manifestations of — well, anything — we're allowed in politics. The public is desperately hungry for information and politics are so tightly-controlled that we really get very little to work with; every clue is precious. Then too, I really believe people are eager for leadership, for influence — and while this might be unsettling, it's natural that they should look to something tangible to latch on to, something which, however unwittingly, becomes associated in their minds with a powerful woman.

What's more, although it's certainly not the weapon they would choose, women in politics have a tool, however frivolous, that their male counterparts lack: the ability to change their image with a change of clothes (see: Obama, Michelle on The View.) Yeah, it's gonna be scrutinized, but so is everything they do — this is actually one area that can be controlled, and as such confers a measure of power. Michelle Obama might chafe at this reality, but she still harnesses it and kicks sartorial ass. So, in short, chill. Taking an interest in frivolity (unless you're Karl Lagerfeld, who prides himself in not liking anything serious) need not be at the expense of substance — the women in the spotlight seem to have made their peace with this, even if it's rough for the rest of us.

MEGAN: Hey, Spencer, long time, no see!

SPENCER: So when last we met, you were on your way to the Planned Parenthood party, where I suddenly opted not to pretend to be the guest-listed Adam Conner from Facebook. Speaking of Adam, I see he Twittered last night that he was at the Rock The Vote thing just in time to miss N.E.R.D. but catch Fall Out Boy. There is simply no way Planned Parenthood could have been worse than that.

MEGAN: Let us just say that when I did get in, the DJ decided to play Poison, which is great if it's late and everyone's drunk and happy, but it wasn't that late and I wasn't that drunk. I did get free condoms though. I snagged Jason Linkins' for you since he's married. The package says "Protect yourself from John McCain (in this election)." It's like he's a venereal disease!

SPENCER: When we at FDL thought we couldn't get in to the PPFA party, Jane Hamsher hatched a plan where she would promise to get me in by saying I knocked her up and was super-supportive during the abortion. Yes, during.

MEGAN: Dude, I don't think the girl with the list would've cared. She was harsh, for real. I saw her neg three guys from the Washington Post for being "only bloggers."

SPENCER: And yeah I have a bunch of those McCondoms. They handed them out to me at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and I thought at first that they were either a) emblazoned with McCain on the shaft of your cock or b) for use on McCain.

MEGAN: I feel like novelty condoms with things wri