The greatest love story ever told

OK ... I'm definitely tired of talking about Sarah Palin, and I made a mental vow to myself that I wouldn't do it anymore.

But I couldn't stay silent about Kathleen Parker's op-ed piece in the Washington Post.

I think I'll just let her explain.

"McCain had met Palin only once -- in February, at the governors' convention in Washington -- before the day he selected her as his running mate. The second time was at his Sedona, Ariz., ranch on Aug. 28, just four days before the GOP convention.

As [writer Robert] Draper tells it, McCain took Palin to his favorite coffee-drinking spot down by a creek and a sycamore tree. They talked for more than an hour, and, as Napoleon whispered to Josephine, 'Voilà.'"

Yup. That's how Parker brings reason to McCain's unusual VP pick. Palin is beautiful; McCain was smitten. The end.

I'm well aware that Palin is an (ahem) unconventional choice for McCain's running mate, but I'm just not ready to believe that her appearance was the driving force behind that choice.

Oh, but Kathleen isn't done yet.

"McCain the mortal couldn't mind having an attractive woman all but singing arias to his greatness. Cameras frequently capture McCain beaming like a gold-starred schoolboy while Palin tells crowds that he is 'exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. . . .'

Had Antony not fallen for Cleopatra, Octavian might not have captured the Roman Empire. Had Bill resisted Monica, Al Gore may have become president, and Hillary might be today's Democratic nominee."

Hear that, ladies? With a flutter of your eyelashes and a wiggle of your hips, you, too, can be vice president. No brains necessary.

And that, my friends, is a little something called sexism. But where are the feminists when you need them? Probably on a street corner somewhere holding "Abort Palin" signs.