Female Jealousy and Sarah Palin

Palin Drone If the comments on Facebook and the attacks by both "GOP strategists" and former McCain staffers are any indication, jealousy is a pervasive, ugly and -- possibly -- incurable disease. Let's examine some of the critiques of Palin by fellow women; I am not talking about the far-left NOW types, but females who claim to be Republican and/or conservative.

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Last night on The O'Reilly Factor, guest host Monica Crowley interviewed a "GOP strategist" named Jennifer Millerwise Dyck about the repulsive Vanity Fair hit-job on Governor Palin. Normally an excellent challenger, Crowley unfortunately dropped the ball when Millerwise Dyck claimed that Governor Palin should stop engaging in "wars of words" with David Letterman and instead focus on energy issues and the business of her state. Ms. Millerwise Dyck is flat-out wrong on so many levels, it is hard to know where to start. I suppose the fact that Governor Palin's natural gas pipeline victory, "an historic achievement" to quote Palin directly, is of no consequence to out-of-touch Beltway types, nor is her recent visit to Kosovo and address to Camp Bondsteel soldiers an example of credible leadership and foreign diplomacy. During the interview last night, I waited for Crowley to rebut Millerwise Dyck with both of these examples, but unfortunately she chose not to do so. Then there's the matter of Palin's Runner's World magazine interview, which seems to have ticked off more than one alleged conservative female, at least on Facebook. One would think the Governor of Alaska had posed on a beach in a string bikini, or in a centerfold in Playboy the way some of these females are carrying on. Of course, these women do so under the guise of concern for Palin's "credibility" in the media. Oh really? Gee, I'd thought the media had already lost whatever remaining shred of credibility it had left after Washington Post reporter Eli Zaslow rhapsodized over Obama's glistening pectoral muscles: "The sun glistened off chiseled pectorals sculpted during four weightlifting sessions each week, and a body toned by regular treadmill runs and basketball games." In the Runner's World article, Palin's tasteful photos include shots of her holding baby Trig, dressed in typical workout gear that admittedly demonstrates just how fit and trim this mother of five truly is. But what's wrong with that? With so many obese US citizens, we should be lauding the Governor of Alaska as a role-model who proves that women can be accomplished, strong, attractive and fit, no matter their age. There's nothing inappropriate about these pictures -- no cleavage, no provocative posing -- just the healthy image of a lifelong athlete with a passion for her preferred sport. A sport by the way, that millions of Americans enthusiastically embrace. With respect to Letterman's despicable comments, Sarah Palin not only had the right, but the obligation as the mother of a 14 year-old girl to defend her honor. Had Chelsea Clinton been the target of such a vile attack, would anyone have chastised Hillary for jumping to her offspring's defense? So what really gives with Sarah Palin's female critics? Good old-fashioned jealousy, and nothing more. Despite the popular myths, not all women support each other in sisterly solidarity. And all across the political spectrum there are females who despise Sarah Palin simply because she is the embodiment of beauty and brains. When I was in high school, there were female classmates who absolutely hated me, whether they knew me personally or not. Since my father was a doctor, they immediately dismissed me as a "spoiled rich girl" and in spite of obvious evidence to the contrary, nothing was going to change their minds. Everything I did -- e.g. inviting them over for pool parties, helping with English homework -- was perceived as somehow "showing off" my family's alleged "excessive" wealth, and/or my own intelligence. With some critics, you just can't win, so the best you can do is keep living your life according to your own standards. In Sarah Palin's case, she did go back to tending to the business of Alaska once the election was over, and quite well, I might add, since her state is one of the most fiscally solvent in the country. But back to the jealousy point: sadly, many never grow out of the immaturity of adolescence, thus the palpable female-on-female disdain for a woman who in a sane world, would be lauded as a role-model for her gender. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Daria DiGiovanni was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in the nearby suburb of Media. The youngest of five children in a close-knit family, she earned a B.A. in English from Villanova University before relocating to South Florida at age 27. A passionate wordsmith from a very early age, her first novel, Water Signs: A Story of Love and Renewal, loosely chronicles her own 16-year spiritual and personal growth journey in a simultaneously heart-wrenching and uplifting tale of first love, family, second chances, forgiveness, gratitude and patriotism. Listen to her the first and third Saturdays of the month at 9 p.m. Eastern on Red State Town Hall and Tuesday evenings at 9 p.m. Eastern with Stephen Rhodes.