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Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
Eric Poole is a reporter and columnist for the Ellwood City (Pa.) Ledger, a small newspaper nestled near the Ohio state line in the heart of Steelers Country. He has a wife, a son and a daughter (so there will be some daddy stuff on this blog). A former steelworker and retired rugby player, Poole has a wide range of interests, which was reflected in the 2008 Pennsylvania Newspaper Association awards, when Poole won first-prize honors for best columns and best special project. His upcoming book, "Company of Heroes," due out March 17, 2015, from Osprey Publishing, tells the story of Vietnam War hero Leslie Sabo and his comrades. Sabo was awarded the Medal of Honor May 16, 2012, in a White House ceremony.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

The naked politican double standard

When the reports of Scott Brown's naked photos turned up, I heard a few commentators wonder about what would happen if a woman did the same thing.

She'd be dead in the water, was the consensus. Those people were right, and you don't have to wonder about it.

With Brown's victory Tuesday in the Massachusetts special election, I'm wondering what Carmen Kontur-Gronquist thinks.

Kontur-Gronquist is the former small-town mayor from Oregon who was forced into a recall election in 2008 and driven from office when pictures of her in her bra and panties turned up on the Internet.

Disclosure: I don't know what Kontur-Gronquist's party is in or where she stands on the issues, but I can heartily endorse her stance on the running boards of red trucks in her underwear.

Anyway, Kontur-Gronquist is now a former mayor, and only because of the racy pics. Think she wishes she'd posed in the buff? At least she would have gotten her money's worth.

Scott Brown, conversely, is now the junior U.S. Senator-elect from Massachusetts.

Yeah, I think that's a double standard.

And speaking of double standards, it's apparently acceptable for male representatives and senators to be any shape or size. Female ones, conversely, are restricted to a single option - rail thin.

It's almost like someone slapped a "No Fat Chicks" bumper sticker on the Capitol Building.