Never send a man to do a man's work.
That's my takeaway this week following numerous examples of bad behavior by men. The week began with revelations about Mr. IMF Bailout, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. By the end of the week he needed one himself. 'nough said. Hours after his fall from grace and the French Presidency, we found out why Maria Shriver moved into a hotel and out of the estate she shared with Arnold Schwartzenegger. Now dubbed the "Sperminator," Arnold proved that he was neither Democrat nor Republican but just another Kennedy guy.
On top of it all, was the irony that these horror stories were most brilliantly deconstructed by my favorite anchor, CNN's Eliot Spitzer, who certainly knows what he's talking about when it comes to male malfeasance. Fortunately, Bill Clinton had the good grace to stay off camera all week, but Newt Gingrich, another notorious womanizer, did not. He had just hit the ground running, his third or fourth missus in tow, in a hapless bid to become the Republican Presidential candidate in 2012.
In a week of unrelenting bad boys, finally there was some good news. Gaddafi's compound was being pulverized, Mubarak jailed and Syria's Assad warned. Donald, the Comb-over, announced that he would not run for President of the United States despite the fact, he said, he'd make a darn good one. Likewise, Fox TV preacher Mike Huckabee fell away. He didn't claim to have talked to God about this, but said that he listened to Him. And, perhaps best of all, Charlie Sheen shut up. So did Silvio Berlusconi.
Most uplifting, came from Queen Elizabeth who demonstrated that she was more of a man than most by spending four days in Ireland even though two bombs, and hundreds of crazies, intended to shorten her lengthy life.
This was followed by another uplifting event when President Barack O'Bama (on his way soon to look up his mother's Irish kin) made an eloquent address which called for changes and most importantly equal rights for females in the Arab world.
"Throughout history country's never reach their full potential when more than half their population is prevented from reaching their full potential," he said, echoing his Cairo message two years ago.
Which brings up the issue of Strauss-Kahn's International Monetary Fund replacement. As one blog has suggested, the best "man" for the job would be French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. I agree. I had the honor of interviewing her in January on my way to Davos. For those who do not know, she is a superstar. Statuesque and outspoken, she is one of the world's most powerful women. Before entering politics in 2005, she was a lawyer and the first female CEO of international law firm, Baker & McKenzie in Chicago. She's classy and down to earth, all at the same time, and speaks the Queen's English better than most of us.
When I spoke with her she and President Nicolas Sarkozy had just taken on France's trade unions and won despite months of marches and work stoppages. She explained their uncharacteristic backbone: "It was months because we did not give in. The strikes were a major test. We decided to persist. I think it's a real turning point. Previously, governments facing 1.5 million to 2 million people in the streets of Paris would back away. From the beginning of our pension reform process, we knew that there would be protests and we knew that we would not give in."
So all in all, it was a week like no other and underscored the fact that women should be handed the reins more often than not. This may be blatantly sexist, but Hillary would have been a darn better President than her husband and Madam Lagarde will be a better IMF Managing Director, or even President of France, than would DSK or most men for that matter.
Sorry fellas.
From the Financial Post
David Coleman: A Modest Proposal for a French-American Prisoner Exchange Deal
Will Durst: Yes, Virginia, Some Men Are Pigs
Fortune's Stanley Bing: I'm With Arnold
Close Read: Arnold, B.H.L., and D.S.K. : The New Yorker
Daly: DSK... Arnold S thanks you.
I can relate to women's anger with men's sexual behaviors (but unless there's rape, there are willing women out there - who thinks of them?) but please do not let your anger blind you!
For instance, a prominent feminist in this country said she admired Sarah Palin - a woman governor who during her tenure made rape kits paid for by the victims themselves and who wants to dictate women what to do in case of pregnancy. Now that's an outrageously anti-feminist stand! Far from me that thinking the author admires such women but here is my point: more women in power as long as we carefully select these individuals.
For that matter, I would like you to look around you, and identify one product with more than 3 moving parts designed and built by a woman. Maybe a little gratitude for those who paved the way would be in order - ? But humility is something only men appreciate.
And as long as we're generalizing - women run families. And look how well that works.
i'd love to know what you've invented btw.
men can stick to manual labor. picking up trash, ditch-digging, women aren't going to do that. and women don't "run" families. who in the world told you that?
why do so many males live in dream worlds? start dealing with reality, jack.
This article makes me cringe.
overall, males in power today are failing. the most male-dominated area of the world (the middle east and north africa) is a failure. the area with most women in power (northern europe, australia, new zealand) have the highest standards of living in the world. this is not a coincidence.
so you don't have to sit around and feel sorry for the poor, poor men out there. they're still doing fine by and large. worry more about "sexist tripe" when it's directed at women, especially with the non-stop talk about destroying planned parenthood that's going around. that's a much bigger problem and you should be aware of what side of the debate you are on (since you're a woman yourself).
Eg, the areas with most women in power had the highest standards of living before women came into power. You need to pay more attention.
Ah, I'm sorry - what am I doing talking to you about logic? You need to learn for yourself - go try it out yourself - just far away from me, please.
Oops. Did I embarrass you? You sure have it coming.