John Kerry's "Big Heels to Fill" Joke and Other Misogynistic Gaffs

On his first day as Secretary of State John Kerry quipped that he has "big heels to fill." 

Some might say this is a witty homage to his predecessors of Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice. Obviously, Kerry wasn't talking about their clothes, but  it truly goes to show that female leaders are still seen as "female leaders" rather than just leaders. 

During his speech, John Kerry said, "Here’s the big question before the country and the world and the State Department: After the last eight years, can a man actually run the State Department?”

Why does the service provided by the female Secretary of States need to be qualified? Remarks like Kerry's open to door to sexist comments. Need we remind you of John's Edward's joke about Hillary Clinton's blazer? Or the lipstick on a pig comments? Or when a McCain supporter asked Arizona Sen. John McCain, "How do we beat the bitch?"

These little asides and jokes trivialize the hard work performed by both female and male leaders. Let's focus on their achievements, not their genders, and certainly not their outfits.

Al Sharpton Honors Clint Eastwood's 'Empty Chair' And More At His Annual 'Revvies' Award Show

The Rev. Al is the host of 'Politics Nation with Al Sharpton' on MSNBC. This was the second annual year-end show where The Rev. and his panel gave awards for the high and low points of politics during the year. His panel included Jonathan Capehart, Victoria Defrancesco Soto, Krystal Ball, and Richard Wolffe.

Many of the accolades had ridiculous names such as 'The Empty Chair' and 'Lost Their Shirt' Awards. Also, the panel could barely identify one positive move made by a Republican during 2012, except for Chris Christie's post-Hurricane Sandy photo-op with President Obama - and even that was a back-handed compliment to the Democratic Party. You must take everything the Rev. Al says with a grain of salt as he has a history of stretching the truth. We remember those Tawana Brawley allegations, Rev. But take a look at his list anyway.

2nd Annual 'Revvie' Awards

'The Thriller Award' - Best Political Move - The Obama 2012 Campaign ground game turning out the vote to re-elect Barack Obama

'This Dud's for You' - Worst Political Move - The republican's engineering an aggressive voter suppression campaign

'The Spotlight Award' - Defining Moment of 2012 - Mitt Romney's 47% speech

Best Musical Performance - Governor Chris Christie's duet  with Jimmy Fallon on Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road. Watch the duet here.

Honorary Best Musical Performance - President Obama's performance of Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together'

'Rising Star of the Year' - Political Powerhouse of 2012 - Latinos, Elizabeth Warren, and Hillary Clinton

'The Empty Chair Award' - Award for Not Showing Up - Donald Trump's continued birther quest

'Lost Their Shirt Award' - Worst Investor of the Year -  Karl Rove's group, American Crossroads, for making a $91 million dollar investment in the 2012  presidential campaign with nothing to show for it.

'Bluebird Pie Award' - Lifetime Achievement Award - Karl Rove, who is obviously Al Sharpton's nemesis. 

Biggest Winner of 2012 - 47% or 99% who showed up to vote and the tenacity of minority group voting coalitions.

Biggest Loser of 2012 - Right wing media who lost the ability to convince people that just because you put something on high rotation doesn't convince people that it is true.

Predictions for 2013 - The Supreme Court addressing key issues, such as marriage rights and gun laws, and states trying to undermine federal law.

Watch clips here and here and here.

The Short List For The TIME Person of the Year

Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State

Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! CEO

Only 2.5 women made the short list for the TIME Person of the Year: Marissa Mayer, the new CEO of Yahoo!, Malala Yousafzai, the student activist from Pakistan who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, and Hillary Clinton as half of the Bill and Hillary Clinton nomination. 

What is Bill Clinton doing these days besides roaming around campaigning for other people? Yes, we are purposefully ignoring the many gains achieved by the Clinton Global Initiative. We believe Hillary deserves this nod without the likes of Bill.

The rest of the short list includes: Mohammed Morsi, president of Egypt; Undocumented Americans; President Barack Obama, the 2008 winner; Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple; and the Higgs Boson and Italian physicist Fabiola Giannati.

Read more.

The Political Wife Can Kick the Cheating Husband to the Curb

After General Petraeus, former head of the CIA, admitted to having an affair, we wonder about the next step for his wife Holly Petraeus. 

Holly is a strong woman in her own right. She is the Assistant Director of the Office of Service Members Affairs at the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau where she advocates for military families that have fallen victim to abusive lending practices and illegal foreclosures. Holly met David in 1973 when he was a cadet at West Point and her father was the superintendent and a four star general. You know her father had a whole arsenal of weapons in his study when David Petraeus asked for his daughter's hand in marriage.

Some even said that General Petraeus married Holly to advance his career. To which she responded,“I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t have married someone on the make." Holly descried her relationship with General Petraeus in Linda Robinson's book "Tell Me How This Ends."

Well, the idyllic courtship has ended, and we're waiting for Holly Petraeus to make her next step. Will she take the Hillary route and stand by her man, or will she take the Jenny Sanford (former First Lady of South Carolina) route and kick her cheating husband to the curb?

Read more.

Hillary Clinton Tells Women to Stop Whining

Hillary Clinton can't stand whining women. She told Marie Claire that woman need to quit complaining about being unhappy with their work and family life balance.

I can't stand whining.--Hillary Clinton

Clinton believes people need to take ownership of their life choices. If you choose to have a kid, then figure out how you're going to be a parent and work to support the child. While Clinton acknowledged that money gives people more options, she does not believe those without financial privilege should sit around complaining. 

"Some women are not comfortable working at the pace and intensity you have to work at in these jobs. … Other women don’t break a sweat. …They have four or five, six kids. They’re highly organized, they have very supportive networks,” Clinton told Marie Claire.

She also believes workplaces should be more flexible to enable women to juggle the care of children and aging parents.

Click here to read more.

Sexualizing the VP Candidates

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan has 6% body fat. And the reason why anyone cares is because photos of him flexing and running bare-chested keep surfacing.

Paul Ryan (on right) with P90X creator Tony Horton

When Time named Paul Ryan runner-up in its 2011 Person of the Year issue, it featured the Wisconsin Congressman in a series of beefy work-out shots. Stories about Ryan's physical stature bring to mind the relentless sexualization of Sarah Palin during the 2008 election. There were stories about her hair, her glasses, and even the height of her heels.

The 2008 election cycle had many cries of sexism, not only with the Palin fascination, but with its coverage of Hilary Clinton from her colorful blazers to her campaign tears. In 2008, it seemed like the media was targeting the female candidates with its sexual coverage. However, the Paul Ryan camp seems to be championing the sexualization of the VP hopeful. It's proven that "sex sells."

After reading a Slate article requesting some Paul Ryan-porn, it seems that at this point, America expects their politicians to be a little bit sexy. More here.

Michelle Obama Doesn't Look or Act Like a First Lady?

NPR's Ari Shapiro interviewed Virginia voter Bobbie Lussier about her feelings on the upcoming election, particularly President Barack Obama.

Her response?

"I just -- I don't like him. Can't stand to look at him. I don't like his wife. She's far from the first lady. It's about time we get a first lady in there that acts like a first lady, and looks like a first lady."

She made this first statement at last month's American Legion annual meeting in Indianapolis, which started a firestorm among NPR listeners. Many accused her of racism.

After calls for clarification, Shapiro met up with her again in a local American Legion meeting in Northern Virginia earlier this week.

When questioned about any racial implications in her comments, Lussier doubled down and rejected those accusations. Lussier said, "I don't care what color she is. It's just she just doesn't act and look like a first lady. I mean she's more about showing her arms off. ...I mean, can you imagine you know, Kennedys or the Bushes or anybody doing pushups on the floor? I mean you know. That's just not a first lady."

Lussier must not have noticed that first ladies have been going sleeveless for years.  

True, there was no equivalent of Michelle Obama Watch for First Lady Laura Bush or First Lady Hillary Clinton. But there was really no doubt that they were worthy of the title 'First Lady'. 

Lussier ended the interview by saying that she was frustrated. "I just hope Romney wins."

Is her frustration racial? Decide for yourself.


The full transcript is here.