The odds of me choosing a preferred candidate based on footwear are pretty slim. In the whole scheme of things on which I base my voting choices, shoes probably don’t make the top 50. But, of course, I did take notice during Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate when Vivek Ramaswamy took a swipe at Nikki Haley by calling her “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.” Not going to lie — that ticked me off.
Not the Cheney comparison. Criticizing her foreign policy positions as hawkish or neocon is fair game in this arena. But the heels comment — that got me. I think it’s because it was such an obvious (and unnecessary) jab at her being a woman. He could have called her “Dick Cheney 2.0” or a “Dick Cheney wannabe” and made the same point.
Some may criticize her for playing the woman card in response, but she had it played on her first, so I can’t really fault her there. But to be fair, I wasn’t a huge fan of her response either. She should have just said, “I’m here to discuss foreign policy, not fashion, Vivek. Maybe let’s focus on what’s important to the American people.”
I’d have appreciated a response like that. Because with everything that’s going on in the world right now, I’m far more concerned with what the candidates have going on in their heads than on their heels.
