New study suggests hot Sarah Palin should dowdy down for 2012

Newly released academic research suggests that Sarah Palin's sexiness, while great for selling copies of Vogue magazine and political buttons about the hottest governor from the coldest state last fall, may actually have hurt her vote-getting ability, which seems to be what elections are about.

Of course, standing next to John McCain is bound to make pretty much anyone look pretty much prettier. Which may be one reason the crowds often chanted "Sar-RAH! Sa-RAH!" when the Republican governor and Republican senator appeared together as the GOP presidential ticket.

According to an article by Tom Jacobs on the website of Santa Barbara's Miller-McCune Center, recently completed research at the University of South Florida indicates that, at least among a select group of students there, those who found the hockey mom more attractive also judged her less competent, less intelligent and less capable.

This didn't seem to have much impact in Palin's 2006 primary upset victory and statewide election as the largest state's first female governor.

But the finding, being published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, does conform with previous research that found attractive women in high-status jobs were perceived as less competent.

Both outcomes would seem to strongly indicate there's more to the glass ceiling for females than the actual glass. No news to them.

According to Nathan Heflick, a psychologist and one of the research authors, it wasn't Palin's appearance per se that turned off the research subjects.

"It was the effect her appearance had on their perception of her competence and humanity," Heflick said. "Those variables made people less likely to vote for her."

All of which would seem to suggest that, for any hope of success in 2012 or beyond, the 45-year-old governor needs to whack off that hair, pork up a bit and get some cheap, baggy pantsuits over at the Wasilla Wal-Mart. And instead of that come-on wink that many thought they liked, she'd do well to develop an uncontrollable facial twitch.

Also lose the kids, stop smiling, get angrier, so she can look more congressional. That's been working real well for Republicans the last two elections.

For olde time's sake, we've thrown in a video down below of Palin addressing a crowd that seems to like her the way she is.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos: SarahPAC.com;  Associated Press

Comments

[Anais]

This story is downright silly and the results of the study questionable. The only people who found Palin "competent" were the ones she appealed to BECAUSE of her sexuality. The rest of us found her incompetent every time she opened her mouth. Each time she did, something inane or completely unrelated popped out. A candidate for national office must be versed on all the issues, and she was versed on exactly none of them. Hillary Clinton didn't dowdy herself up to become a viable candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination. She has been a lifelong student, admirable attorney, intelligent woman and hard worker who delves deeply into the issues she cares about. Palin, not at all.

[plankbob]

It wasn't her looks that did her in, it was her lack of intellectual depth. No designer eyeglasses could hide that spectacle.

[Kevin Morgan]

Of the things that conveyed incompetence from Palin, her looks were the least. This study may as well have determined that apples fall from trees because they are red.

[Chunkdog]

Perhaps the fact that she had zero experience, was inept and vapid had more to do with it.

[DR]

It's hard to do such research on such a polarizing public person. Those who disagreed with her views may have felt the need to say she was attractive to indicate that it wasn't her personally, while those that agreed with her views may have wanted to indicate that it wasn't about her looks.

[Grace]

Oh come on. You can't separate how Palin sounded -- also "less competent, less intelligent and less capable" -- from how she looked.

She was inarticulate in every forum but her GOP convention acceptance speech (which was written for her, and which she delivered very skillfully). She appealed to the worst at some of her rallies.

She could not answer most interviewer's questions, nor stay on point.

I suspect Sarah Palin might not have a political career at all BUT for her looks.

[robert]

stupid comment. if she had been ugly she never would have made it on the ticket in the first place and in the second pace fewer people would have paid attention to her. as it was she was unpolished and stupid. --signed, a republican.

[hope4usa]

What a load of crap. Yes she is attractive. There are many attractive women who have a brain. This woman unfortunately, is ignorant. It wasn't her looks that held her back it was her lack of knowledge on multiple subjects that preluded any possiblity of her becoming Vice President to a 70+ old man with skin cancer. When you look at quotes like "I can see Russia from my window" you can't put that person in a position of authority. Compare her on policy issues and knowledge with Hilary Clinton--Clinton slays her. This study is frankly obnoxious--it completely ignores Palin's lack of knowledge.

[LA-Ark]

Actually, I disagree with this study. What hurt Sarah Palin was her lack of knowledge!!!!

[Jeffery P. Segall RN]

What is exy about a HYPOCRITE?!?!

[Mike]

No, Sarah Palin cid not lose votes to the ticket, due to her good looks.

She lost votes for the ticket, due to her ignorance, lack of brains, and extremist ideology.

If she were ugly rather than pretty, she would not have gained votes, she would have lost still more.

[truth]

I'd recommend studying the issues before retouching her makeup. This is stupid, as unfortunately Palin demonstrated herself to be.

[hms]

She IS less competent! And McCain was old, tired and his philosophy and mannerisms worn out. That's why they lost, pure and simple.

[z]

Are these people kidding? The woman demonstrated massive ignorance of both the political arena and the world around her. Her record as governor is riddled with corruption. She has views that are toxic to the majority of Americans. It wasn't her appearance that made people doubt her competence. It was the fact that she appeared utterly incompetent.

[frieda]

her appearance had an effect on perceptions of her competence and humanity? are you kidding me? she is very attractive, but the issues were her intelligence and competence, not appearance. we're talking about a candidate for vice president of the united states. there must be a certain level of competence. not someone who went to 5 colleges in 6 years or 6 colleges in 5 years or whatever it was.

[Ralph]

Torpedoed by a hairdo??? Get Real! Her electoral failure was based on her inability to utter an understandable and cogent sentence in response to an inquiry on national policy-except for sloganeering such as "drill baby drill!"

[alp]

She didn't get elected because of her brain.

[A. Humane]

Sarah Palin is hot in a mousy, overly demeaning teacher/librarian way which appeals to "momma's boy"/cuckold type men who want to be chastised, humiliated and orally and mentally abused by a woman and looked up to by shy insecure, low self-esteem women who have been socialized to accept being dominated by smarmy, pushy, boorish social "holier-and-better-than-thou" types. She also appeals to snobby people who are overly concerned with their looks and social position whom aspire to belong to the clique that looks down and looks to exclude everyone else as being less attractive, less popular and therefore less valued members of society. She's basically among those who mistreat others because they think they're the "Chosen Ones."

[Clay Dedeaux]

Am I crazy or is this bad research? They are saying that voters thought Sarah Palin was incompetent because she is pretty. Maybe voters simply considered her incompetent, but oh, by the way, kinda hot. Well bad looks did not help Hillary. So are they claiming that every candidate should look the same and be about as smart (a regression to the mean); but how would anyone stand out? Maybe future candidates will wear bags on their head (S. Palin), as others are forced to get cosmetic surgery (H. Clinton)? Lastly, the research on attractiveness is associated with superior personal qualities/characteristics, and the desirability of their company. I don't understand it.

[marnie]

It's not her being good looking that makes her appear incompetent, she IS incompetent! Did these psycholgist not see her interviews with Katy Coric and Charles Gibson?

[Allen Braun]

Eh? She lost 'cause McCain lost. In any case she didn't come across as very bright. "Drill baby, drill." is not exactly genius.

[A.B.]

Actually, many of us disliked her because she role modeled a whole lot of really bad ideas: hunting from the air, abstinence, no gay marriage, poor parenting, stealing, arrogance, to name a few. Add to that her stunning ignorance of national and world events and you have a picture of a moron. So, where I see moronic, you see beautiful and thus we find out once again that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Crabby Abbey]

Oh b.s. Incompetence is incompetence no matter how good looking you are. She's actually not that hot, she just has a good figure. But she's cross-eyed. I wonder if she still reads EVERYTHING.

[Tandlayn]

I generally, agree with the study. However, even with the sexy persona, she could of overcome the perception that she is brainless. Can you imagine if with those looks, her position as Gov. if she would have acted in a responsible intelligent way instead of just a mindless attack dog, she would of had a devastating effect on the democrats. None of the men in the GOP would have been able to hold a candle to her. Instead she used every sleazy tactic in the world to promote herself including using her children as props... She cannot overcome the Couric interviews, ever, they were devastating. Palin thought her quick celebrity would get her through.... instead her lack of integrity and intellegence became the shinning star.

[Karen]

What a load of crap..her looks were the only reason McPalin got as many votes as they did..please stop with the monday morning quarterbacking MSM; they lost because the Obama/Biden camp ran a better campaign and quit making excuses for the Caribou Barbi..