Nicole Sullivan on Politically Incorrect.

"Does anyone remember, like, I want the one who has the children's schooling fund. You want the girl in the white dress with the big boobs." - Nicole Sullivan (on the subject of beauty pageants)

I've seen this show a few times before, and it's hardly comparable to a heady debate show like the late Firing Line (1966-99) (and Bill Maher is no William F. Buckley, either). But then again, the show is not packaged as serious show - it has to survive on network television, after all - it's essentially a chance for (mostly B list) celebrities to schmooze about politics in an informal and entertaining way. The result is lightweight entertainment that is nevertheless slightly informative (it's probably about as informative as these panel discussion shows on channels like CNN and Fox News which mainly feature panelists yelling at each other). This show featured Mary Louise Kurey, the reigning Miss Wisconsin, whose main claim to fame is the fact that her "platform" involves the advocation of abstinence. [Perhaps not surprisingly, she is also a supporter of George W. Bush.] Also on the panel is James Marsters, an actor who could be described as a fairly typical exponent of liberal Hollywood [he laments the failure of Congress to pass health care reform and gun control legislation, as well as the whole rigmarole surrounding President Clinton's affiar with a certain White House intern]. Very quickly, this show turns into a liberal versus conservative-type debate, with Sullivan and Tray Dee playing an essentially subsidiary role. Nevertheless, Ms. Sullivan did get her two cents in on several occassions, and her views (as far as I could tell, anyway), indicated that she is not simply trumpeting the ideas of any particular political organization - or even any particular ideology - but seemed rather to indicate that she arrived at these ideas independently and has consciously given some thought to these issues. When Kurey articulated the view that sexuality is so beautiful, "it's worth waiting for," non-virgin Sullivan defended premartial sex (also citing gay marriages as an example of how unmarried people can have a relationship that is intrinsically beautiful). She also derided the idea of beauty pageant contestants having "platforms," stating that she doesn't remember any of the platforms and suggesting that the main criterion is T&A. [In a sense, the existence of platforms in beauty pageants (and the political dynamic involved here, as indicated by the fact that Kurey was pressured by officials at the Ms. America pageant to change her abstinence platform), along with mounting evidence that personalities, not ideas, are what drive American politics, suggests that beauty pageants are becoming more like politics, and politics is becoming more like beauty pageants.] Later, she articulated the view that the notion of sexual harassment in the workplace has been taken too far (Maher cited the case of a man who was fired for offering to show his pierced penis to co-workers - he worked for a porno distribution company). She even suggested that if certain advocates of sexual harassment suits had their way, everyone who commented on the way she was dressed would be fired.

Another vidcap from Politically Incorrect.

Overall, the show was mildly entertaining; this was quite acceptable fare even though I don't watch usually unless there's a specific guest in which I'm interested. [I was also unaware that Maher is a hometown boy, having graduated from Pascack Hills High School.] But there is something to be said of Maher as essentially a Dennis Miller-esque comedian whose humor is largely sociopolitical, and a pretty good one at that. Of course, the quality of each show depends largely on the quality of the panelists, but this panel was good; perhaps it would be more entertaining to see Dee Snider trade jabs with a member of the Christian Coalition, but the occassional sparring between Kurey and Marsters was entertaining enough, even though on the confrontation scale, this ranked more on the Gergen and Shields level (panelists disagreeing, but in a conciliatory way). What was most interesting about Ms. Sullivan is that while one might think that you would be able to presume what her opinions on issues are based on her age, gender, level of education, et cetera (I once knew someone who believed that he needed to know five things about a person to determine where their political loyalties were), her ideas seem to be the mark of an independent thinker; moreover, the show gave her a rare opportunity to show her more thoughtful side, which is a good thing. This program wasn't particularly exceptional, but die-hard Nicole Sullivan fans will probably want to catch it.

Related links:

• Transcript of this show. (From a Buffy fan site.)