Fey, Palin and Mom

Tina Fey and her like-minded creative lefties, in their humorous efforts to rail on the right, I think are now overdoing it to the point that Sarah Palin has become a somewhat sympathetic figure.

Fey no doubt does a great Palin impersonation, but that it's repeated as often as it is might be what's behind a recent -- albeit slight -- increase in the VP candidate's popularity. I did read about one poll after Palin's "SNL" appearance last weekend that suggested she's been a good sport about Fey and seems more likable.

Can you tell I'm paranoid?

My mom and me have been talking more politics this year than we ever have, and one thing we disagree on is whether the many months between the end of the primaries and Nov. 4 give an edge to McCain. I felt back in the spring that election day couldn't get here soon enough, that there was too much time for Karl Rove to fire up the Republican hate machine, but moms is a lot more confident.

Mom is often right about many things. I hope her confidence is accurate again here.

The Latest Annoying TV Commercial

The attractive but talent-light Jillian Reynolds is in a Nutrisystem commercial where she says, "I know I'm not your average girl. I love sports."

There's a school of women that thinks being "one of the guys" is a great quality. Well, if I wanted to date a guy, I'd do that. But I don't. So I don't.

Being 37 and never married, I feel like I've dated a variety of types over the years, including many who like to drop that line on me, as if I'm going to say, "Wow, I think I'll keep you around for a while." Such a line is said early in the dating, when these women unknowingly reveal an insecure amount of attention deficit, yet they have no idea what kind of a dysfunctional thing they're getting into by hanging out with me. With every criticism of others, I'm unafraid to slam myself to keep things even. I'm nothing if not fair and balanced, right?

But back on point, I really don't care if a girl knows about college basketball. In fact, sometimes in the effort to appear knowledgeable, the gal makes it so obvious that she's trying as hard as she is and I can't help but lose interest. I'd much rather you acted like yourself and didn't say irrelevant or out-of-context things like, "remember when the A's won 21 games in a row a few years ago?" as a young lady did in my luxury apartment just a few weeks ago.

OK, back on point, and I mean it this time -- after Mrs. Reynolds says she loves sports, she catches a softly tossed football and says, "Football. How many girls can do that?"

Um, how many girls can say the word football? Or catch a small object lobbed underhand from a few feet away? Or execute both of these acts back-to-back? Whichever, I guess only 100 percent of the women I know can do that.

Now I know this all goes back to the jackass who wrote the script. But that doesn't mean it's any more tolerable to take when I'm watching yet another commercial with a busty blonde girl whose collection of brains, experience and skill had nothing to do with her getting into the business in the first place. I mean, why exactly did we invent the term "spokesmodel" in recent years? Does it mean something other than, "We'll hire because you're hot?"