Condi: More Popular Than Angela Merkel, Less Popular Than Sarah Palin

(PSP Flashback to when Condi met Daffy, 09-05-2008!)

It's Gallup, so take it with a grain of salt, but every year they poll dumb Americans who still have landline telephones "to name, in an open-ended format, the man and woman living anywhere in the world they admire most."

The results are impressive for America's Princess Diplomat, because, well, because she's on the list! Not bad for not having ever contributed anything of significance to society whatsoever other than her Lifetime Movie-esque biography. Snaps for Condi!

Super-dee-duper good news, however, for Hillary:

Irish Politicians Have Fashion Disasters, Too, Just Like Us!

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, flanked by Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, left, and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness, right, walk toward the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, Monday, March 19, 2012, prior to their meeitng. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

I really don't pay much attention to the State Dept. since Condi left. It was, like, that's totally enough of that.

But this picture from Hillary's day jumped out at me this afternoon. Hillary looks fine, maybe a little frowsy, but she wearing a fab ultra-nubby blue tweed coat matched nicely with some expensive-looking lapis jewelry. And thank goodness she got rid of that ridiculous flip hairdo.

No, my problem is with First Minister Robinson. What on earth is he wearing? This is so bad:

I'm going to be charitable and assume that he's still hung over from St. Patrick's day.

Hillary Flips Out

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walks past a General Motors "Spark" while touring the GM Powertrain plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan Sunday Oct. 23, 2011. Iran should not misread the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq as affecting the U.S. commitment to the fledgling democracy, Secretary of State Clinton said Sunday. (AP Photo/Kevin Lamarque, Pool)

Yes, it is funny that Hillary went to Uzbekistan right after Herman Cain's mortifying "beki beki stan stan" gaffe, but what I really want to talk about, obviously, is her hair. What. On. Earth. Is Hillary doing with her hair? An ironed-out, shoulder-length blonde flip? Really, Hillary?

You might recall that I once described Jan Brewer as a 65-year-old woman trapped in a 30-year-old's hairdo. This is worse: Hillary is a 64-year-old woman trapped in a 17-year-old's hairdo... from 1965.

There's something about this that screams "makeover,"  and it's making her look ridiculous.

And you'd think I'd be happy about the return of The Flip to the State Department!

How Does Everybody Feel About Hillary Clinton Wearing A Scrunchie In Public?

Hillary Clinton listens to Portugal's former president and UN High Representative Jorge Sampaio as they take part in the Community Of Democracies ministerial conference in Vilnius on July 1, 2011. Petras Malukas / AFP - Getty Images

Just what I needed to pull me out of my blogging inactivity: hairdo controversy! This comes via the Today Show's "The Look" blog, which documents Hils disembarking a plane accompanied by the regrettable hair accessory, and then later still wearing it at some meeting.

Hillary! C'mon, no. I suppose one could argue that wearing a scrunchie on an airplane is acceptable, but I've always regarded airports and planes as primo fashion show-off zones, so I'm not buying it. Also, the Today Show blogger, Rina Raphael, while barely disguising her horror at the wayward accessory, tries to mitigate it by pointing out that Sienna Miller and Catherine Zeta Jones have been spotted in public in scrunchies and that American Apparel is selling them now. To me, though, these seem like further reasons to avoid these terrible elastic hairdo tumors.

But then... to leave the scrunchie on for a meeting? Oh, Hillary, say it ain't so! Please tell me you just forgot it was there. And to make matters worse, Hils' hair looks so totally cute otherwise!

Hillary has never been a fashion icon, obviously, and I've always admired her for that, but really! A scrunchie! The mind boggles.

Swish of the combable tail to Pony Pal z7q2 for the tip!

Sanity Restored?

Click for bigger.

I took the photo above on Friday, but then totally forgot to post it. Whoops! I didn't attend the rally on Saturday because I'm on The Mall Monday through Friday, so why would I want to do that?

I kinda liked this guy's clown car, partly because it's just funny, but also because, you know, mixed message city! What are we to learn from this display (the sign says "Restore Sanity? We're Dummies!")? Well, that Joe Biden masks are apparently unavailable, for one. I love that McCain is wearing a totally gay sweater!

Drinky

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi shares a laugh with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

OMG, Hillary just got so totally wasted at the State Department today! Fun! Condi's photo-ops were never, ever like this. Hiccup! Wheee!

Do you like Hil's new look? I pronounce it TOTALLY CUTE.

Same Subject, Same Response, Only the Cast Has Been Slightly Changed

Admit It: THIS is What You've All Been Waiting For

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hugs first lady Michelle Obama at the International Women of Courage Award Ceremony at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, March 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Hillary Dismantles the Condibot

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right, is all smile with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after presenting him a device with a red knob during their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, March 6, 2009. Clinton said Friday she hopes her first discussion with her Russian counterpart will begin a new era in U.S.-Russian relations without raising doubts about American support for European allies. (AP Photo/Fabrice Coffrini, Pool)

OK, now, THAT's more like it! Was it just yesterday that I was bemoaning Hillary Clinton's lack of cutesy media awareness? This shows promise. Team Hillary actually manufactures props! Condi never worked with props, unless you count her spherical, invisible friend or, of course, the biggest prop of them all, Condi herself.

But anyway, just look at that! A cute red reset button with an amusingly mistranslated message! I like it:

And then it hit me: that's no prop! I believe that what we're seeing above is the actual, real reset button from the Disneytronic, Animagic Condibot, the labor-saving robot sent out by yesterday's State Department when the real Condi was getting her hair and nails done. I bet it was originally set into the Condibot's hairdo somewhere. So this is actually a richly symbolic, darkly hilarious gesture from Clinton: The Condibot has been dismantled, never to walk or to recite talking points again. With this in mind, couldn't the Russian mistranslation be intentional, a final stab at Condi's notoriously overstated Russian "expertise?"

I like to think so. OMG, diplomacy is totally so much fun again! Yay!

David Miliband Just Not That Into Condi

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton(R) and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband shake hands after speaking to the press at the State Department in Washington. Clinton said Tuesday the US-British special relationship "really stands the test of time." (AFP/Nicholas Kamm)

I always suspected that David Miliband wasn't quite as taken with America's Princess Diplomat as his predecessor, erstwhile Condidate Jack Straw. Miliband would never say, "Whew! Glad she's gone!" but that was clearly the subtext when he met with Hillary yesterday and gushed just a teensy bit too much. From Al Kamen:

Yesterday, the current holders of those positions, Hillary Rodham Clinton and David Miliband, met and then chatted with reporters.

"Madam Secretary," Miliband said, "on a personal note, I hope you know the admiration and respect with which you are held in the United Kingdom. The record of public service and achievement that you have built up is a unique résumé to bring to the task of . . . being America's chief diplomat.

"For many years, you have not just been an ambassador of America; you've been an ambassador for America and everything good that it stands for in the world. And I look forward to working very, very closely with you in the months and years ahead to make sure that our shared aspirations for a safer, more secure, more just planet are delivered."

Even Clinton seemed taken aback.

Haw! Get used to it, Hils!

Also! I've been watching, and although Secretary Clinton has done several "dueling podiums" photo-ops, she has yet to hit Condi's beloved State Department matching armchairs. Are they getting reupholstered? Sterilized?