"I expect to be active in all the issues that a woman of the United States deals with every day — political issues in their state and federal government, the issues of the home and the family, morals, the peer pressure of youth, the elderly, the mothers, the working women," Rammell said. "It's critical to be a citizen and to be active."

She's no stranger to controversy. Her father, Rex, was at the center of a three-state controversy last year when domesticated elk escaped from his hunting ranch. After the Idaho governor criticized the father's penned hunts and sanctioned a killing of the fleeing elk, Amanda Rammell as Miss Idaho USA refused to pose for a photograph with the state's chief executive.

"My father tells me you have to take a stand and people will follow, and sometimes those with principles stand alone," she said.

Though she's a Mormon, whose tenets advocate strong family values, Rammell said the pageant's swimsuit competition is "just fun. It takes a lot of guts to get out there with a string bikini and high heels.

"A lot of people look at my lifestyle as strict," she said. "For me, I'm always in control of my actions."

Many experts agree that using family and community members as mentors is among the best role modeling, but the beauty pageant as a forum for setting forth good images remains controversial.

The current Miss USA, Tara Conner, was criticized for tainting the good-girl image of the title when it was revealed that she was an underage, alcoholic, cocaine-using party girl herself, setting off a much-publicized snit between event sponsor Donald Trump and talk show host Rosie O'Donnell over who is an appropriate moral authority for young women.

Conner, 21, who showed up late and missed an alcohol-free party last week thrown by this year's 51 contestants celebrating her 93 days of sobriety, conceded that even role models have flaws. But she expressed hope that her experience would set a different kind of example — for other alcoholics to get help.

"No one's perfect. We all make mistakes," she said. "People are afraid to reach out because there's a stigma. Alcoholism is an addiction."

For longtime observers of the pageant such as William Prendiz of East Los Angeles, a 60-year-old hairdresser, Conner's scandal was the worst since 1957 winner Leona Gage Ennis lost her crown because the 18-year-old was married and a mother of two.

"It was her and Tara Conner that were the worst.... On something of this scale, the crown has been tarnished," said Prendiz, who was attending a reception with a friend for contestants in the lobby of a downtown Los Angeles hotel.

But among the young women seeking to become part of the nation's next generation of leaders, what makes for a good or bad example was open for debate.

"Women can drink if they can be classy about it. If they want to be sloppy about it, it's not a good idea," said Miss Nevada, Helen Salas, 21, of Las Vegas.

At a minimum, the young women vying for the Miss USA crown probably won't suffer anorexia exhibited by some young celebrities.

That's because executive chef Daniel Fennessy, 41, of the Wilshire Grand Hotel is catering to all culinary whims, from vegan to carnivore.

"These girls eat almost as much as I do," said Fennessy, who stands 6-3 and weighs 365 pounds. "We don't want that modeling-with-anorexia issue."