Truth is, female candidates are no dumber or smarter than men

NEW YORK — Fair is foul, and foul is fair. There's something witchy in the air.

Perhaps 'tis the season, but womankind is suffering a froth of frivolity.

"I am not a witch," insists Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell in an ad that forever will provide the exclamation point on a bewildering political season. Not since Salem have we witnessed such witchification of women who dared stray from the cauldron of the sisterhood.

Now, we hear, female candidates aren't witches after all. Too rhymey with the B-word in these enlightened times. They're "Mean Girls," says professional provocateuress Maureen Dowd in The New York Times — "grown-up versions of those teenage tormentors who would steal your boyfriend, spray-paint your locker and, just for good measure, spread rumors that you were pregnant.

"These women — Jan, Meg, Carly, Sharron, Linda, Michele, Queen Bee Sarah and sweet wannabe Christine — have co-opted and ratcheted up the disgust. ... Whether they're mistreating the help or belittling the president's manhood, making snide comments about a rival's hair or ripping an opponent for spending money on a men's fashion show, the Mean Girls have replaced Hope with Spite and Cool with Cold. They are the ideal nihilistic cheerleaders for an angry electorate."

Well. She does have a point, though she misses the bull's-eye.

It was profoundly odd to hear Sarah Palin talk about the president of the United States' "cojones" relative to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's posture on illegal immigrants. Ditto when Nevada Senate candidate Sharron Angle instructed 70-year-old Majority Leader Harry Reid to "man up" during their recent debate.

Heaven forbid a man should similarly challenge a woman's physical attributes. Imagine if Reid had responded in kind.

As for the other "Mean Girls," the focus on "womanly" habits seems a little off, as well as way off a more important point. First, though California senatorial candidate Carly Fiorina did say something about her opponent Barbara Boxer's hair (not realizing her mic was still on), the remark is hardly the defining entry on Fiorina's resume, which includes former head of Hewlett-Packard.

Dumb comment? You betcha. We're all living and learning to keep our thoughts to ourselves — to the great detriment of spontaneity and the uncertain future of banter.