Yesterday, we learned that voters were polled on whether Barbara Boxer or Carly Fiorina has better hair. Even without the 2008 election's bombast (Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin), the past year has been rather rocky for women in politics. Some lowlights:

So turns out no one thinks it's okay for state officials to pressure a woman savagely beaten by her partner to go away quietly, especially if her partner is the New York governor's right-hand man. How not okay, exactly?

Who but Gawker's Alex Pareene could help me understand Bon Jovi's Iranian tribute song, Iraqi withdrawal, the New York Senate's misdeeds and the appropriately Christian punishment for Mark Sanford's sins?

More and more these days, politicians appear to be straying from their marriages — but, unlike in the old days where a short public acknowledgment wasn't de rigueur, today's straying politicians are obligated to old press conferences to explain themselves.

David Paterson made it official today and appointed Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. Hillary Clinton, in whose footsteps Gillibrand aspires to follow, has already called to convey her congratulations. [MSNBC]

New York Governor David Paterson is about to appoint Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, the right is obsessed with fisting and there's new evidence that racism isn't confined to the South.

The newest entrant into the race to be appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat is infamous Hillary supporter and P.U.M.A. Harriet Christian, who now needs "an inadequate black male" to help her out. [Washington Independent]

Although Crappy Hour has died, that doesn't mean you don't need all your Grabbyhanded, Burris-y Frankenstein goodness, which is why, in the spirit of the Inaugural concert series, we're inaugurating something of our own.

Caroline Kennedy knows that real reporters don't write for women's magazines or blogs, so today, Jason Linkins and I talk about Gaza in terms of masturbation and "Barack The Magic Negro" instead of her candidacy.

The end of the week is a time to sit and digest the insanity that the week has spawned. More news on Sarah Palin's style? Check. Canadian Parliamentary crisis? Check. A Supreme Court case on Barack Obama's birth certificate? Yup, got that, too. Between all of that, plus calls for Robert Mugabe to resign, Tim Geithner…

Some days there's news to be had, and some days all you can do is shake your head when a governor like Ed Rendell stereotypes working moms and single women all in a breath. Luckily, there are governors like David Paterson, who is really pissed about sexism in the legal profession (and in the New York State court…

A trial court judge in New York City has dismissed a lawsuit brought in by anti-same-sex marriage activists and state legislators that said that New York Governor David Paterson (left) unlawfully ordered state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages that were legally performed elsewhere. The judge says that Gov.…

Organizers for a Barack Obama event on September 9th may want to consider hiring some new interns to check over their work. The organizers sent out invites to supporters advertising the event: "Runway to Change, with Special Guests Sarah Jessica Parker & Ann Wintour." Who? Oh, that's Anna Wintour, you know, the EIC of …