What Valerie developed is the art of telling people to go to hell and making them look forward to the trip.
Vernon Jordan, speaking of Obama Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, in An Old Hometown Mentor, and Still at Obama’s Side in this morning's New York Times.
Jordan is a cousin by marriage to Jarrett and served as an adviser during the duration of the presidential campaign.
Over the weekend, for no good reason, I started fussing about Wonder Woman's super powers. As I could recall them they were few and rather passive: Bracelets, for deflecting bullets. A golden lariat, for extracting the truth. An invisible plane that failed to cloak its occupant and pilot, making her (I thought) a vulnerable target among the clouds.
Mr. Hoo argued that she was similarly outfitted to Batman -- a human being's mortal powers extended by technology and some trickery. But Batman had the advantage of money and power. Wonder Woman's social advantage, if any, were her connections with her Amazonian heritage. Her family.
And let's not forget the theme song from the 1970s television show:
Wonder Woman
All the world is waiting for you
And the power you possess
In your satin tights
Fighting for your rights
And the old red, white and blue
...
Change their minds
And change the world
I expect whole theses have been written about Wonder Woman as a male projected fantasy. Her superpowers are extensions of womanly wiles -- satin tights, extracting the truth via some dominatrix hotness, deflecting blows rather than leveling them -- she changes the world through changing the minds of evil doers, rather than laying them low the way Superman and Batman would.
Then this morning, while reading a NYT's flattering profile on Valerie Jarrett, and subsequently crushing on Obama's new Senior Adviser, I couldn't avoid the strong similarities in how Jarrett was painted: her impeccable suits. Her steady listening. Her family connections. Her piercing gaze. Her decision to take a less visible position within the administration rather than pursuing Obama's Senate seat.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions »
2 comments:
I love that you and Mr. Hoo discuss Wonder Woman.
And, btw, D. I think I have your costume for Halloween next year.
After watching The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything, I thought stopping time would be the coolest superpower. Then when I was an adolescent, I thought invisibility, for similarly prurient reasons. Now, I think teleportation. I bet you wouldn't be into teleportation so much, since you are all about the journey.
I think an invisible plane wouldn't be that useful. But if she's got one, why does she hide it in remote, abandoned buildings? In Star Trek IV, they parked the cloaked Bird of Prey right in the middle of Golden Gate Park.
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