Every so often, America surprises me. Bristol Palin came in third. And considering she said tonight that she wanted to win–not because she felt she was the best–but because she wanted to upset all the people who “hate me and hate my mother”–I think that said it all.
Still waiting to see if my original post on this topic weeks ago predicting Grey would be the one to beat (before all the “Operation Bristol” nonsense came to light) was right.
PAD
UPDATED: YES! (And Jennifer, I can totally sympathize with the whole ruptured disc problem.)
So…here’s the pitch: Dirty Dancing 2 (Yes, I know there was one set in Cuba; forget that.) Baby returns to Kellerman’s twenty years later when the place is getting ready to close (as many of them did in the 80s. ) Baby is there with her son by Johnny (who has since passed away) who is a total loser and finds his inner dancer, not to mention romance (of course.) Meanwhile Baby, who has never remarried even though Johnny passed away years ago, finds romance with a handsome guy (Hugh Jackman) who turns out to be the developer planning to level Kellerman’s.
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This program has been on in my home since the premiere (admittedly my ignorance is that I have no interest in the show) but the consensus of the fans in this house is that Jennifer Grey is by definition a professional dancer and shouldn’t have been allowed to compete based on her Dirty Dancing role.
Technically I suppose she may have had an advantage but I did point out by their rationale Jennifer Grey is also a professional guerrilla.
That last line was worth the pain of keeping hot cocoa from spewing as a result of reading it. Thank you.
While it may have taken long enough, it looks like this finally went from a popularity contest back to a dancing contest. Kudos to Grey (and let’s not forget Derek Hough — she wasn’t dancing solo). (As an aside, how amaizngly hot is Brooke Burke? Wow!)
As for PAD’s idea for DIRTY DANCING 3 (DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS is like ALIEN 3: We may want to forget it existed, but until someone alters the timeline it’ll be there), I’m skeptical of it working. Sure it’d be fun to see Hugh Jackman doing some dancing, but I think people would automatically dismiss it because of Swayze’s absence (ironically, he was in DD:HN) and I think what constitutes “dirty” dancing is closer to what’s in the STEP UP movies (and BURLESQUE, opening this week) than slightly risque moves at Kellerman’s. (I will, however, always love the lines from THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR: “They’re doing the lambada! That’s the forbidden dance!”)
Still, it may not be a coincidence that Nicole Scherzinger’s long-delayed solo album is getting released (or at least a new song — “Poison” — with a superhero-themed video) after her win on DWTS, so maybe Grey can parlay here victory on the show into a movie. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing…
Sigh. I’m avoiding news websites tonight so the ending wouldn’t be spoiled only to run into a spoiler here.
Did Bristol really say that?
Yup. And to tell you the truth, it was kind of refreshing. It must be tough to watch all the hateful jáçkáššëš of the world pile on your mother and slander her with every lie imaginable. Even if you don’t agree with that statement, think about it from her point of view. She loves her Mom. It’s must be unbearable to her all this crap thrown at the woman who means everything to you. Think about how you’d feel if your mother or daughter was the target of such outrage.
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Add into that the fact that now people are shooting out their TVs because they don’t like her dancing and sending her white powder.
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I wish she hadn’t said it, but it’s completely understandable why she would.
And to tell you the truth, it was kind of refreshing.
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To act like a child (like her sister and the sister’s bf have done on Facebook) because she has to face reality? Ok, if you say so.
Of course, that’s not what I said. But don’t let that stop you….
Actually what she said was, and I quote, “(it) would be like a big middle finger to all the people out there that hate my mom and hate me.”
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So if you were rooting for someone other than her, you should be flipped off. If you disliked the notion that people were voting for her–without even watching the show–simply out of loyalty to her mother or to try and pìšš øff liberals…why then, you deserve a nice, big obscene gesture.
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I had nothing against her. For the most part, I was indifferent to her. I even appreciated the fact that she was trying to do something to get out from under her mother’s shadow. I just wanted Grey to win, and have since the beginning. But now, for the very first time, I’m actually glad that Palin lost, and it’s purely because of that comment.
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PAD
PAD, that wasn’t a flip-off to you. You didn’t hate her, and I doubt (or, at least, hope) you don’t hate her mother. There was a definite “I hate Sarah Palin, so I’m going to go after her daughter” element — just like there was a “I like Sarah Palin, so I’ll support her daughter” element.
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I’ll admit that I was almost in that latter camp. I like Sarah Palin, so I watched this to see how her kid did — and was pleased. Never cast a single vote on it, but was entertained.
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As far as what Craig brought up… she’s barely 20. She and her younger sister acted like kids? On Facebook? Good god, they’re acting like NORMAL teenagers? I’m so horrified.
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Sorry, I have a knee-jerk protective instinct towards the children of politicians who get attacked for the “sins” of their parents. That’s why I’ve been tempted to mention another child of a prominent political figure (A* G*** I**) who is a serial screw-up who ought to be in jail, making Bristol Palin look like a bloody saint, but refrained.
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J.
she’s barely 20.
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Which means she’s an adult. Perish the thought that I had to stand up for myself at that age. But hey, soon she’ll be “barely 21”, and then “barely 22”, and eventually the excuses will run out.
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Her sister, meanwhile, is 16, which means their mother should be doing her job as a parent (gasp!) and monitoring their activities on the internet.
That one comment and that’s all it took to make you happy that she lost? Really? If so, I question the sincerity of your statement that you “had nothing against her.” It’s too bad she said it, but a lot of people have said a lot worse when in situations that aren’t nearly as stressful as having the studio locked down earlier in the day because some looney tune may have sent you anthrax.
PAD, please accept my apology. My comment about questioning the sincerity of your statement was harsh and uncalled for. I have no doubt that you were speaking sincerely. I’m sorry I said it.
“So if you were rooting for someone other than her, you should be flipped off.”
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That depends on whether or not you hate her and her mother? If so, then yes. The quote you provided isn’t directed toward those giving support to other contestants.
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This reminds me of the time Pierre Trudeau extended a middle finger to people throwing stones at his ride, and the Albertans that got up in arms about how disrespectful that was to all Canadians. As one that doesn’t stone carriages whether they carry an Elgin or a Trudeau, I know that defiant digit was not directed at me.
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Hostile words aren’t as bad as stones, but an active display of contempt toward them is an appropriate response, even if not the ideal one.
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Wanting to win to show up people that despise you is reason enough to compete, no less valid than wanting to win because it shows you’re “the best”.
PAD, that wasn’t a flip-off to you. You didn’t hate her, and I doubt (or, at least, hope) you don’t hate her mother. There was a definite “I hate Sarah Palin, so I’m going to go after her daughter” element — just like there was a “I like Sarah Palin, so I’ll support her daughter” element.
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There was a guy who clearly had personal issues who shot out his TV. There was some unknown person who sent her an envelope filled with white powder.
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But she’s hardly the first contestant to inspire a level of vituperation. When she says things like that, it sure sounds like she’s parroting the Palin line of, “If you’re not with us, you hate us.”
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It’s a nastiness that, in my opinion, was wholly inappropriate. “I want to win in order to piss people off.” It’s the attitude evocative of “Operation Bristol.” They were well matched.
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PAD
Jennifer was always the odds on favorite in my mind.
The Bristol stuff just made it interesting.
In the end,America loves a good comeback.
I think that played a part in Donny Osmonds win too.
They were both very good dancers but America wanted to see them win.
I’m waiting for ‘Brain Surgery With The Stars’ to start.
I’m putting on my devil’s advocate hat here.
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First up, Grey’s “professional” standing doesn’t wash. She isn’t primarily known as a dancer — I’d lay that more on Brandy, who’s a professional singer and dancer. Grey’s training and theatrical role are no disqualifier.
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Next, Bristol Palin. “Girl next door” indeed — and not in the Playboy sense. The only one who wasn’t a trained performer or ever sought out any kind of celebrity or attention. She was the “un-ringer” of the show — the only true amateur, having to adapt to a hëll of a lot more new stuff than anyone else, the most completely out of her element. She had to not only learn how to be a dancer, but also a “star,” and deal with that as well.
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Also, she never once backed down or gave up or failed to give everything she had. And dammit, she got better and better and better, until in the end she was really, really good.
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Kyle? “Mr. Charisma” indeed. The advantage of being a Disney star, with all the training and showmanship that goes with that. Also, the most physically out of shape — but dammit, the kid made it all work. He’s the best kind of ham, a born entertainer.
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Jennifer? I have to say I got tired of her fairly quickly. Her performances were great, but she got on my nerves — the constant whining and the repeated maudlin appeals to the memory of Patrick Swayze. I was annoyed that she was playing up the “underdog” aspects while fully utilizing her exceptional advantages — her years of training and experience.
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Note that all the voting was for “your favorite.” Not who you thought was the best, but who you wanted to see win. People wanted Bristol to do well, in what is essentially a glorified popularity contest, and didn’t want others to do well. That’s why Bristol outlasted Brandy, who has some genuinely unlikeable elements to her but is a hëll of a dancer.
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I think in the end, I’d have voted for Kyle. The guy’s just a ball of fun energy, and he rocked the place. Plus, he’s a Disney kid star, and that seems to have a special curse on it — he could use a little un-Disney success (even though DWTS airs on Disney-owned ABC).
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I don’t think I’ll watch the show again, but it was pretty decent entertainment this season.
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J.
“First up, Grey’s “professional” standing doesn’t wash. She isn’t primarily known as a dancer — I’d lay that more on Brandy, who’s a professional singer and dancer. Grey’s training and theatrical role are no disqualifier.”
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I tend to agree. And, certainly, previous DWTS seasons have had competitors who, like Brandy, could be claimed to be experienced dancers moreso than Jennifer Grey. The last season’s finals were jokingly called “Dancing With The Dancers,” as I recall, when the Pussycat Doll and the Olympian figure skater were in the finals.
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“Jennifer? I have to say I got tired of her fairly quickly. Her performances were great, but she got on my nerves — the constant whining and the repeated maudlin appeals to the memory of Patrick Swayze.”
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I didn’t see every moment of the show, but I didn’t necessarily see Jennifer herself overly invoking Swayze, but rather responding appropriately when fielding perhaps-excessive Swayze-related questioning. But, like I said, I didn’t see every moment, so there may have been more egregious mawkishness that I may have missed.
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And, yeah, I’d have voted for Kyle myself. If I could’ve gotten though on the phone line, that is. 😉
From what I can see, Jennifer hasn’t had any “dance training” since Dirty Dancing wrapped 23 years ago. Plus she’s now she’s 50 and dealing with old injuries. So any advantage she may have had from childhood is more than balanced out by her current state. I agree the “ow, this hurts” got to be a bit much, but I put a lot of that on the producers. Jennifer’s “character arc” for the show seemed to be “will she make it to the end or will her body give out” so of course that was reinforced at every opportunity.
I would have been miffed is she had won (it’s one thing if the winner doesn’t have the most judges’ points, but it should at least be close; by the end she was about 14 points behind Jen and Derek), but I think Bristol earned her third place finish. While she tended to be at the bottom of the board, it was generally only by a point or two and she showed improvement every week. The competition isn’t just about dancing but also about convincing the viewers at home to keep you going. Bristol’s continued presence isn’t anything we haven’t seen on earlier seasons. I didn’t care for her “give the haters the finger” comment, but to be fair some of the comments about her throughout the run of the show have been undeservedly harsh. There was only a four point difference between her and Brandy that week; she didn’t need to get that many more viewer votes than Brandy to stay in it.
Jay,
Ok, I’ve seen you say this a couple of times now, so I have to ask. How, exactly, has Bristol Palin not sought out celebrity and attention? I would kind of think that appearing on a reality competition would be the very definition of seeking out attention. Not to mention being part of her family’s reality show, doing PSAs with the Situation of all people… (Yo, B-Pail… ugh)
Unless your contention is that someone is somehow coercing her to do all this, I don’t see how you can say she’s not seeking attention and fame. Indeed, I’d say she’s trying to stretch out her moment in the sun, such as it is, as much as possible, trying to cash in on the fascination, both positive and negative, that a large portion of the public has for her family.
Patrick, I chose my words carefully. She did not “seek celebrity and attention.” She didn’t apply; they invited her. She could have said no, but instead said yes — accepting the spotlight, but not having sought it out.
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Note how they mentioned a couple of times that she drove her truck five days to the competition. She drove from Alaska to LA for this thing — hardly a prima donna kind of thing to do.
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The impression I get is that she’s not that interested in the spotlight, but willing to play along when it suits a higher purpose. Note the stuff she’s done hasn’t been for her personal financial benefit, but the foundation she’s hooked up with to head off more teen pregnancies. She’s not looking to cash in — just do some good and, in this case, have some fun and take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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I’m not pulling a “LEAVE BRISTOL ALONE!” hissy-fit, just saying that she shouldn’t be judged by the same standards as those who have actively sought out the public’s eye and craved our approval. I’d even bet that now that this is over, she’ll go back to her private life — until the next time she’s asked to do something public and thinks it’ll be for a good cause and/or fun.
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What is most remarkable about her is how ûņ-fûçkëd-ûp she is. Sunday night, she was on TV clubbing and gutting fish. Monday and Tuesday, she’s shaking her booty and doing a hëll of a job at that, too. Now she’ll go back home to her son and (I think she still has it) her job in a dermatologist’s office, with some great stories and fantastic memories.
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I like her. I hope the best for her. So sue me.
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J.
Jay, I agree with a lot of your comments, but I think you’re a bit harsh on Jennifer. Yes, I thought all the drama was over the top. All the crying and such. I was squirming a bit when they kept showing those clips over and over again. But she brought it. Especially with her new back injury, she turned in an outstanding performance. I did find it a bit disappointing when Bristol was eliminated first because she truly was the underdog of the group. But in the end, the rankings turned out exactly the way they should have. And none of the dancers, especially Bristol, have anything to be ashamed of. They all did a great job.
I’m pleased that Jennifer won, even though I don’t watch the show and never will if I can help it; reality tv gets right up my left nostril, and even though I’m semi-hooked on Amazing Race, I just refuse to watch shows like this. I hated Ted Mack’s show back in the Sixties, and see no reason to watch something that’s not as good. That said, the professional dancer argument only holds up if somebody has stayed in it for their entire career, and the whinging doesn’t make the whingers look very sporting.
Look, back in the Eighties, Brock Yates’ One Lap of America rally got similar gripes because for about two years straight, pro rally racer John Buffum won. And the amateurs whined and griped. They didn’t bìŧçh about Parnelli Jones or Hurley Haywood, but that was beside the point; Buffum was a professional rally driver, and shouldn’t have competed, or so they thought. The same logic seems to apply to Jennifer; she’s a professional dancer, she shouldn’t be here, yadda yadda. But she won because she outdanced everybody else, just like John Buffum won the One Lap because he outraced everybody else. Next year they’ll fiddle with the rules and it’ll all be different. If anything else, the attempted rigging of the vote should force a change in the rules.
Everyone’s referencing not “Putting baby in a corner”, but every time she’d pull off a routine that showed people half her age how it’s done, all I could see was a smirk that said, “I’ve finally beat you, Ferris.”
By the way, did anyone else think Bristol was tossing a wink and a nod with her comment about “I’ve had the time of my life?”
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J.
Wow. I missed that reference. It could be. Who knows what it was really like, but the contestants gave the image of some closeness among them. Maybe that was a little salute to Grey, who I’m sure everyone knew deserved to win.
My pitch: “Dirty Dancing With The Stars”: As a fundraiser to find a cure for pancreatic cancer in mmeory of Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey assembles a dance competition of B-level stars for a weekend in the Catskills. Devoid of a budget for costumes and music, the out-of-their-element “Stars” have to get by on just a piano, a musty dance studio, and a lot of borscht. Grey is the sole judge who builds a round room for the competition (so nobody can put…).
I like that better than mine.
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PAD
I don’t watch Dancing with the Stars, but I’d watch that.
I’d watch a TV show called Drinking with the Stars.
“Drinking With The Stars” or, as we like to call it, Dragon*Con.
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Maybe they should do a show called “Swimming With the Fishes.” You have an assortment of actors who have played mobsters and each week the audience votes one of them to be rubbed out.
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Actually, this time of year, I’m reminded of an exchange from “The West Wing.”
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C.J.: They sent me two turkeys. The most photo-friendly of the two gets a Presidential pardon and a full life at a children’s zoo. The runner-up gets eaten.
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Bartlet: If the Oscars were like that, I’d watch.
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PAD
“Her sister, meanwhile, is 16, which means their mother should be doing her job as a parent (gasp!) and monitoring their activities on the internet.”
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Real smart remark and it would even have an iota of credibility if you had any kids. Just TRY to monitor the actions of a teenager every second of every day, especially if you have work and other children. That’s extremely, extremely tough. But control every single comment that comes out of their mouths, on pen and paper, keyboard, etc. is virtually impossible, unless you want to be a fascistic nightmare and ignore everything else you’re doing. Really, some of the attacks on the Palins border on frothing.
Palin Derangement Syndrome – It’s a tragic thing.
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Maybe we should have a telethon or something to raise funds to combat it. We can use the freak who moved in next door to the Palins to spy on them as an experimental test subject.
Palin Derangement Syndrome – It’s a tragic thing.
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I know! I mean, why should parents, I dunno, do any actual parenting or anything!?
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Willow makes a fool out of herself, and it’s Bristol apologizing – only then she turns around and makes a fool out of herself on national TV.
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Want to know what would be TRULY refreshing? If Sarah came out and said something to the effect that it would be nice if her kids would stop finding ways of embarrassing the family for awhile.
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It would be a step up from calling North Korea our ally. 😉
Sorry, Jerome, but I will GUARANTEE you that had Chelsea Clinton or either of the Obama children been caught using Facebook and attacking people for their OPINIONS, the sorry-ášš right-wing noise machine (Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly and crew) would be “frothing” non-stop about how these children’s mothers were failing as mothers. And DON’T YOU DARE DENY IT.
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Furthermore, WHAT IS THE JOB OF A PARENT? Aren’t parents SUPPOSED to keep an eye on what their children are doing and where they are? What’s the use of “parental controls” if the lousy-ášš “parents” aren’t going to use them?
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Palin has USED her children for her own political gain. And, in the process, she’s showed how inept a parent she really is. And I really love how you feel the Palins are getting such a bad rap when the GOP and its right-wing media consorts were slamming the Clintons and hounding them at every freaking turn. The Palins haven’t even come close to being attacked the way Bill and Hillary were, but, for the most part, what attacks HAVE come their way have been almost exclusively because of the Palins’ own actions. (Remember when Sarah went off over a “Family Guy” episode where Chris falls for a girl with Down’s Syndrome? The girl makes a comment that her mother was “governor of Alaska” and Palin went ballistic, claiming that McFarlane was attacking people with Down’s. Of course, the actress who voiced the girl just happened to also have Down’s in real life and SHE was not offended in the least. Did Palin make any apologies for that? No. It didn’t matter.) As for the Palin children, no one in the media have derided them as “dogs” the way Limbaugh did with Chelsea.
Giving an opinion–and it is an opinion, there is a big difference between that and a fact–and then stating in big bold caps “And DON’T YOU DARE DENY IT.” is not really a sign of confidence in said opinion.
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I would not want my kids talking trash to other kids on facebook but I’m not having a case of the vapors hearing that a 15 year old is calling other 15 year olds bad names when they call her sister fat and talk about enjoying pørņ movies that feature her mom’s name and likeness. Really, read the unedited transcript if this is so important.
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Palin could serve an invaluable function to the GOP–she can drive th left terminally nuts and suck up a lot of energy that would be better spent going after targets that will actually matter.
I’ll go you one better, Joseph. If during the campaign, Obama had had a teen daughter who turned out to be pregnant, his campaign would have been over. Palin gets to say that it’s a private family matter (which, for the record, I think it is) and decry the mean old media. But if Obama tries the same angle, not only does it not fly with the conservative talking heads, but it becomes a massive referendum on black men and fatherhood (with special attention paid to absentee black fathers, and the insinuation that Obama was so inattentive to his own daughter’s welfare, how could he possibly be trusted with running the country?)
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PAD
If their families are attacked, I blame the own politicians. They’re the ones that make a big deal of faking picture-perfect family lives for political gain. Particularly the conservatives.
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Obviously it’s a by-product of American emphasis on “family values.” So it’s funny when Palin or someone like that complains about it. Those are the rules of a game they created themselves.
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Liberals are not without blame either, because they usually capitulate. How many Dem candidates have the balls to say something like: “Yes, I’ve been divorced two times, but it’s no one’s dámņëd business, and it’s childish to think it has anything to do with my competence.”
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So politicians are the only kind of celebrities that I won’t shed any tears if their families suffer from their over-exposure.
“They’re the ones that make a big deal of faking picture-perfect family lives for political gain. Particularly the conservatives.”
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I guess I don’t pay enough attention to the right sources but I find this something of an overstatement. Sure, politicians are photographed with their families but I’d be hard pressed to tell you how many kids my congressman or senator has. Unless one actively seeks out that sort of thing I don’t think it’s true that most politician’s families are that big a deal.
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Palin being a major exception, of course, but is that entirely her fault? Did the Huffington Post HAVE to make individual pages for each Palin kid for their readership to comment on (With such pithy observations as whether or not the son sets off “gaydar” and thigh slapping howlers like that).
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Perhaps if the NRO had set up similar pages for the Obama kids conservatives would have been equally likely to display ignorance but I guess the idea had no appeal. Interesting.
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Me, I figure a standard policy of “there is almost never any reason to go after a politician’s child unless that child is involved in some illegality that the parent is covering up or demanding special treatment for” is far far easier to live by than one that is more “Leave the kids alone unless the parent did something subjective that I deem worthy of now making the kids fair targets, said something to be defined by me at an unspecified time in the future”.
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rush Limbaugh made an ášš of himself by calling Chelsea Clinton a dog and many liberals were justifiably critical of him for it…but the evidence now suggests that it was not the fact that he was going after a kid that upset some of them. He was just going after the wrong kid. Noted.
He was just going after the wrong kid.
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I don’t recall Chelsea making an idiot of herself on Facebook or Dancing with the Stars.
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In the end, the Palins have, for the most part, brought this upon themselves. “Don’t target my family, even them I’m thrusting them into the spotlight for political gain”, and so on doesn’t fly. Nor should it.
“I don’t recall Chelsea making an idiot of herself on Facebook or Dancing with the Stars.”
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Once you decide that it’s ok to go after the children of politicians you can and probably always will find an excuse to do so.
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Arianna Huffington once opined that Bristol being on the cover of People Magazine made her fair game for any and all jokes. That would presumably apply to Malia and Sasha as well. I’ll pass, as, I would hope, most decent folks would.
Seems to me that the Obamas have done as much as they reasonably can to minimize their daughters being in the public eye. Yes, he’s mentioned them from time to time, but typically in a passing and self-deprecating manner. And they’ve been photographed on family vacations. But I’d hardly say they’ve been either paraded or brought front and center.
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PAD
I think they’ve done a reasonably good job of keeping the kids off camera but they did allow them to be on the cover of People, it wasn’t like it was a vacation snapshot. More importantly, it doesn’t matter. If the Obama’s had the kids on the cover of newsweek every week it would not make me want to go after the kids.. Politicians parading their families is not a new phenomenon, people thinking they can attack the families with both impunity and no sense of how much it diminishes the one doing the attacking…well, that’s a new one.
Once you decide that it’s ok to go after the children of politicians you can and probably always will find an excuse to do so.
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Bill, now you’re just being obtuse.
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Nobody made Bristol appear on DWtS. Nobody made Willow make a homophobic comment on her Facebook page.
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Nobody made Sarah put her children front and center in the first place as political pawns, only to have a fit when others then considered them fair game. It wasn’t everybody else that put Sarah’s children in the spotlight, it was Sarah.
No, I think it’s you that is missing the point. It does not matter that Palin is putting her kids in the spotlight. It does not matter that her 15 year old says dopey things on facebook, as opposed to the precious pearls of verbal wisdom that you and I cast on a regular basis. Whatever their offenses and you’ll certainly get no argument from me that adolescent insults and sub par dancing are great offenses indeed, the folks who are making a big deal out of this in an attempt to go after Sarah Palin are failing to A-hurt her much and B-look good while doing it.
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But hey, we disagree, so keep at it. The time spent by progressives against Palin is time they could better spend elsewhere but I would probably prefer they didn’t. They think they can do both but the reality is there is only so much oxygen in the room and the Palin-hate sucks a lot of it out.
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I’d feel the same way if conservatives were going after Al Gore Jr or Nancy Pelosi’s kids, or Sasha and Malia. It’s dumb.
Bill, I agree that people who go after the kids aren’t looking too good. In fact, they look despicable. But what I said in my post isn’t that I think it’s a great idea to bash the Palin kids. It’s just that I won’t shed any tears when that happens, and that their Mama shares the responsibility when it happens.
fair enough, Rene.
And yeah, of course it’s not entirely Sarah’s fault, but I don’t think she is singled out because she is a conservative. But there may be some sexism in how much people fixate on her family. People are more likely to demand that a powerful woman “prove” that she is also good mother. A powerful man isn’t as demanded to prove he is a good father.
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Also, Obama’s kids are just too young to be interesting to the gossip industry.
Jennifer winning was inevitable.
I mean… nobody puts Baby into a corner!
I suspect most have moved on from DWTS and are finding other things to expend mental energy on, but for those who are still interested, Nate Silver (statistician blogger and number-cruncher extraordinaire) devoted a blog to the DWTS voting system, identifying two ways in which the system is “flawed” and how to better it:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/palin-debate-aside-does-dancing-need-electoral-reform/
First, he points out that the official judges rarely use the full 10 point scale available to them; they should be encouraged to use the full ten point scale (awarding 2s and 3s and 1s and even 0s more often) or changing the scale to a 4 point measure (with no half-scores allowed.)
Second, he points out that since an audience voter only votes for his/her favorite dancer, that’s the equivalent of awarding one dancer a 10 and every other dancer a 0, which puts more power in the hands of the audience. Silver suggests allowing audience voters to vote twice: once for their favorite dancer and once for their least favorite.
Interesting stuff, as always, from Mr. Silver…