There she is...Our Commodity

CNN.com - Less talent, more skin at pageant - Sep 17, 2004

I grant you that the Miss America contestants been an increasingly competitive with regard to the talent portion and have come from far more educated background than their predecessors. However, we're still just setting them up as this year's hot commodity, "...and just look at the new packaging! Va-va-va-VOOM!"

Hey, Koko loves looking at the pretty ladies, don't get me wrong. But when paraded around as if at a marketplace... not so much. It's like seeing all the new corvettes on the dealer's lot compared to catching a glimpse of one pulling up to a fine restaurant or tooling down a country road. Beauty, and the intangible charm that is held by all women, can only be truly savored "in the wild". Staged marketing leaves a taste like beer from a can rather than the keg. (Have I used enough metaphors yet?)

But the pageant people know what side their bread is buttered on. "McMaster said the swimsuit competition demonstrates physical fitness and accounts for just 10 percent of a contestant's final score." Physical fitness? Yeah, right. Just like the Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit edition sells so much because of it's tribute to athleticism.