Between this kind of straight-up, self-gratifying eroticism, and the most tedious of debates over hairstyles, glasses, and scrunchies, Sarah Palin never stood a chance. Her executive experience easily trumped any relevant experience Obama had going into the election, but it was well buried under a constant barrage of syndicated discourse over Palin’s good looks.

There are other attractive women in politics, but Palin was a beauty queen. Also, she smiled a lot — maybe too much. The faltering economy and the war in Iraq dragged America into a collective depression. So mainstream media fed this depression by doling out to a hungry audience the idea that Palin is clueless. After all, she looks so damn good and she’s smiling all the time. What’s to be happy about, right?

CNBC’s Donny Deutsch suggested, “She’s sexy. Men want a sexy woman.”

Apparently that desire ends at the door of the White House — if you’re hoping to be above the desk, anyway. How could we properly assess the leadership qualities of Palin when the media is constantly referring to her in ways like “the hottest governor in all 50 states” and “my total girl crush”? And running photo illustrations of the governor as a dominatrix?