Sarah Palin's Legs

Ms. Palin posed for this picture for Runner's World, wearing running shorts and a long-sleeved, fairly snug-fitting top, leaning against a chair with a flag draped over it, holding what looks like two Blackberrys in one hand. Newsweek reprinted the photo on the cover of a recent issue.

Predictably enough, Palin objected to the use of the photo (which ran right next to a huge headline asking "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah?"), claiming Newsweek's use of the photo is "sexist" and "degrading."

Yet Palin posed for the photo, which ran in Runner's World along with several other photos of her in longer, but more snug-fitting, running attire. Not only that, her public persona is built around sex appeal, with those high-heeled shoes and boots, the snug little skirts, blouses, and blazers, fitted so as to accentuate her figure. Then there's the tousled hair and the famous wink.

It's not as if papparazzi snapped an illicit photo of La Palin in a bikini, and Newsweek ran that on the cover.

I suppose I shouldn't be in the least bit surprised. Why should I expect Palin to articulate a reasoned argument this time, when, in 18 months in the public eye, she has yet to suggest that she's capable of any such thing?