Power buys beauty. Beauty buys power. Both buy love.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is dating Italian model Carla Bruni. This seriously threatens Putin’s status as Most Sexy World Leader.

This also has brought outrage to the pen of Washington Post fashion writer Robin Givhan.

“…the sight of a bookish man with a bombshell woman. The juxtaposition doesn’t do either of them any favors.”

“If a law degree was featured prominently on Bruni’s resume as supermodel, all would be right with the world.”


Another DC woman (who requests to remain anonymous) weighs in:

• The sight of the bookish man and bombshell woman is the oldest sight in the world. Particularly in the city known as “Hollywood for Ugly People.”

• For all to be right in this world, the law (or other) degree(s) needs to be there, too. (Too much to ask of one person? It’s called time management, slacker - you can read The Economist on the treadmill.)

• This juxtaposition does favor both. The smarty-pants man on the woman’s arm says, “I earned this.” So does the hot woman at the man’s side. If you walk around with a regular shmuck, people might start thinking you’re average by association. And, of course, no one in Washington is average.

• Why would a guy who pulls in $150,000+ a year need to live with a roommate? {ed note: that's the online dating post - reign it in here}

Even those at the level of Melinda Gates - Fortune magazine's "$100 billion woman" (and pretty much a managerial and intellectual ass-kicker, based on the article) - have to accommodate for the fact that men are "visual creatures."

What did you notice about her first? the reporter asked hubby Bill. "Her looks." Of course.

What's that low hissing noise? The sound of Robin Givhan and her anonymous DC compatriot seething.

In the end, the latter observed, everyone wants to be Tom Brady. No one wants to be Bob from accounting. World leaders and captains of industry included.