You probably think I am a great detective...

Paul Mirengoff posted a brief comment about Paul Newman on www.powerlineblog.com. Mirengoff noted, and I agree, that Newman was one of very few actors whose mere appearance in a film was enough to make him want to see it.

He went on to say that in the film Cool Hand Luke, "the Newman character, a prisoner, bets his fellow convicts that he can eat 50 eggs, and proceeds to eat them. This led to egg-eating contests in frat houses all over America. The winner of Dartmouth's contest issued a challenge to Newman. The actor was gracious enough to respond. He said: "You probably think I can shoot pool too."

The mark of a great motion picture actor/actress has always been to make the audience feel that the role they play is real. The mark of a truly great actor is to understand yourself that it is only an acting role. Newman, of course, did. Too many do not.

Sarah The Riveter!

Maybe you had to have been a 13-year-old-boy in 1942 to appreciate this picture:

Every newspaper headline in 1942 told of more American soldiers dying in far off places. Every newspaper carried stories and pictures of adult American men rushing to the recruiting stations to join the military. Every newspaper carried stories and pictures of adult American women rushing to the fields and factories to take up the jobs of the departing men.

You, the 13-year-old-boy, were just graduating from the eighth grade and there wasn't a damn thing you could do. You couldn't join the men. You ached to be issued a uniform. You were too young.

You couldn't join the women. You ached to become a riveter alongside them. You could not - child labor laws, etc.

The years pass. The war is won. The men come home and the women become lawyers and doctors and whatever else they wish. You grow up and have your own career and life is good.

During those passing decades, other wars come and your heart breaks as you see young American men flee to Canada rather than to the recruiting stations. You wonder if Americans will ever again be truly united.

But, when you see pictures of the World War II posters of "Rosie The Riveter", the old surge of undiluted, unashamed patriotism again surges through you. Somehow you instinctively know that among today's young women there are many out there who again would roll up their sleeves, pick up the tools, and do the jobs, if the need arose. You cannot imagine even Paris Hilton fleeing to Canada.

Then out of Alaska comes a gal who gives moral responsibility high priority. You know damn well she could turn a wrench, swing a hammer, or do whatever other job her country needed her to do!

And, Wow, here's a picture of other folks who share your feelings!

Sarah The riveter! Boy, do I feel proud of her!

Women! Women! Women!

Nominated candidates aside, the two most prominent names in this year's presidential politics are Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. Suddenly we are learning about Linda Lilley, Kathleen Sebelius and other women governors across the country. Increasingly, women judges are presiding over courts major and minor. Women are being identified as the C.E.O. of ever larger corporations. Our Secretary of State is a woman. Holy crap! Women are taking over the world.

OK.

There was a time when powerful women were not just admired, they were almost worshipped. Consider the legendary Jeanne d'Arc and you visualize a steel-willed woman mounting her steed, drawing her sword, and leading an army of men after a fleeing enemy.

But something happened. Women were relegated to the kitchen. They were told what careers they could pursue... nursing, teaching, etc. And heaven forbid that they be permitted to vote! Was it because religion taught us that Eve induced the woes of Adam and all subsequent men? Islam, even today, not only teaches subservience of women, it demands it.

But, some insist, women are different. True, they are different physically. And if you are thinking more delicate limbs, softer skin, and gentle curves, many of us men say Viva la difference!

But the difference only counts if brawn is a job requirement. Looking for an NFL lineman? Think male. If the job requires brains, the scale tilts female. I think it is an evolution thing. Because women lack the brawn, they have been forced to develop the brain. Seriously, when you have to think your way out of a situation, as opposed to punching your way out, you learn to exercise and strengthen your brain. Boys become stonger. Girls become smarter.

When women were freed to pursue the career of their interest, not one deemed appropriate to their gender, girls flooded the classrooms of universities everywhere. Men once joked, "But this is science and she is a girl." Now you might say.... "This is science, she is a girl and of course she is the head of her class"

So, at long, long last, we have come to realize that we have a great, often untapped reservoir of brain power in the women of the world.

I have four sisters, three daughters and seven granddaughters, so I know a little something about women. And, I truly believe that beginning in 2012, the elected president of the United States will be a woman. I also believe the day is coming when we will all be astonished to hear that a man has been added to the ticket!