She Wore a Pearl Necklace!

I saw a picture of Condoleeza Rice's hair in the New York Times this morning. What's amazing here is not that I read the New York Times, cause I don't really...I just like Maureen O'Dowd's op-ed pieces; what IS amazing is how much nicer and less like she stole Rick Moranis' helmet from Spaceballs Condi looks with her hair all curled under instead of flipping out in an eerily unmovable way. Of course she's still an idiot. Just because she FINALLY paid attention to the considerable free fashion advice permeating such media outlets as the E Entertainment network, VH1 and Bravo doesn't make the fact that she's giving a speech in Saudi Arabia enouraging the country to jump on the equality of women bandwagon any less stupid. Here she is in a country where women are still set on fire for disobeying their menfolk and it doesn't occur to her that they might get a little insulted at being told BY a woman how THEY should be treating women. Yeah, men are traditionally so accepting of critcism from the opposite sex. And since lectures from American government officials have gotten us so far in the Middle East in the past, I'm sure we'll see women in the Saudi voting booths in no time. Please note sarcasm.

Next time...what the hell is with pearl necklaces? Can you not live or work in Washington as a woman if you do not own one? Is a First Lady only respected if she's seen wearing a strand in public? Do they both sleep and bathe with them on until they leave Washington? Why is it that pearl necklaces transcend political affiliations and clashing value systems in a way that nothing else can?