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It was only a matter of time. Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth has converted to Islam after a dose of “spiritual morphine” in Iran, although she talks about the world’s fastest-growing religion like it was the latest version of the Atkins Diet: “Now I don’t eat pork and I read the Koran every day. I’m on page 60. I also haven’t had a drink in 45 days, the longest period in 25 years,” she said. And she’s even refused to rule out wearing a burka: “Who knows where my spiritual journey will take me?” Politically Booth has always struck me...

It is the stuff of escapist fantasy. A tall, dark and handsome type sweeps a cream-and-roses Home Counties heroine off her feet. In its 100 years of publishing, the exotic alpha male has been a staple of the Mills and Boon romance. The tale of the passionate desert sheikh who sweeps secretary Janna Smith off her feet in Violet Winspear's 1970 romance Tawny Sands is perhaps the quintessential Mills and Boon story. "His tone of voice was softly mocking, but she knew he didn't really jest. He was Raul Cesar Bey and the further they travelled into the desert the...

The era of the sensitive man is officially coming to an end. From Sacramento to Jerusalem, from Bogotá to Baghdad, across all latitudes and longitudes, the masses are flocking toward the strong, choosing the tough over the thoughtful, the swaggering over the serene. The international political arena increasingly resembles the old Saturday Night Live game show "Quién es mas Macho?" Contestants tried to guess who was more macho, deciding if, for example, John Wayne had more testosterone than Charles Bronson. Already Israel's Shimon Peres has declared that Israel has its own Arnold Schwarzenegger in office with the redoubtable Ariel Sharon...

<p>Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor of California makes official what has been brewing for some time: The era of the sensitive man has come to an end.</p> <p>From Sacramento to Jerusalem, from Bogota to Baghdad, across all latitudes and longitudes, the masses feel drawn towards the strong, choosing the tough over the thoughtful, the swaggering over the serene. The international political arena increasingly resembles the old Saturday Night Live game show "Quien es mas Macho?" The show where contestants tried to guess who was more macho, deciding if, for example, John Wayne had more testosterone than Charles Bronson.</p>

Say what you will about a populist uprising. The California recall was at least partly a backlash to everything soft and fuzzy in the culture. If only unconsciously, The People were motivated more by testosterone and car talk than by budget stats and politics. Contrary to conventional punditry, they didn't elect Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has no credible qualifications to solve the state's problems, to send a message to career politicians. They didn't elect a Republican to send a message to Democrats The People, whom we variously worship or hold in contempt depending on our polling needs, elected the Terminator -...

[EXCERPT] The men who don't make it to the top in that world still have the compensation of identifying with the one man who does, as long as they don't identify with any of the women, as long as they don't "say nothing." They still belong to the pack, by virtue of being male. No matter how much sand gets kicked in their face, they still can fantasize that one day they, too, like Charles Atlas, will do enough leg lifts to rise in the ranks. At a time of deep economic and international insecurity, the easy power of the...

<p>Many years ago Chris Matthews--now famous on TV--hit on an interesting formulation: He said the Democrats were the "mommy party" and the Republicans the "daddy party." That is, the Democrats were "nurturers," concerned with health policy and day care. The Republicans were "protectors," taking care of national security and other manly matters. This notion is obviously galling to some. But Mr. Matthews was on to something, and we now find ourselves in a "daddy party" time.</p>

People say it shouldn’t be a beauty contest. Lawmakers such as Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) dismiss the subject of presidential looks as merely a frivolous concern of the media, but party nominations and capturing the White House are not merely the stuff of dry debates on the issues. When you’re a man seeking the presidency, everything about you, including your masculinity, matters. In the 2000 presidential race, former Vice President Al Gore brought in feminist and image coach Naomi Wolf to work on his style and image. Out went his dark suits and red ties. Wolf dressed Gore in khaki...

Sorry, all. Check out Kerry on his Harley, just for laughs.

WASHINGTON -- John Kerry is going to announce his candidacy for the presidency next week (who knew?) standing in front of an aircraft carrier. That's a relief. If he had used the usual town square or high school gym backdrop, what would we have thought about his manliness? Dropping his heroic military service into almost every speech has not been enough, nor has mounting his Harley in a bomber jacket whenever a TV camera's near. Three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in Vietnam should trump one lackadaisical Texas National Guard record, but we live in an...

Symposium: The Return of ManhoodBy Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com | August 8, 2003 After years of creeping feminization, manhood and masculinity appear to have made a significant comeback in American society. Since the national security crisis of 9/11, America has rediscovered the virtues of soldiers, firemen, policemen and other traditionally male (and masculine) professions that require courage and physical strength. What explains this phenomenon? Why is manhood, once again, being held in high esteem? Or is this all just a mirage, destined to vanish in the near future? In focusing on this issue, Frontpage Symposium did something a little different this time: we joined...

"Real Men: They're Back" proclaims The American Enterprise magazine in its September issue. The firefighter, policeman, fighter pilot and even the spy enjoy renewed respect in a nation that has rediscovered danger and finds that heroes are not all "anti." All well and good. But when it comes to defining what "manliness" is, watch out. The spirit of feminism still stalks the land, casting withering spells on any sprouts of traditional masculinity that push green shoots through the earth. The contributors to the "Real Men" issue are not brutes (well, I should hope not, since I'm one). Amid the paeans...

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush is leaving the door open to campaigning for California Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger if it could help tip the balance in a close recall election, officials said Thursday. Nearly a dozen people with ties to Bush emphasized he has no plans now to do so. But none would rule it out. The White House took pains to publicly distance itself from the volatile campaign. Behind the scenes, though, administration officials and Bush re-election aides spent Thursday trying to discern the state of play in the tumultuous election. They reached out to their network...

<p>CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush is leaving the door open to campaigning for California Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger if it could help tip the balance in a close recall election, officials said today.</p> <p>Nearly a dozen people with ties to Bush emphasized he has no plans now to do so. But none would rule it out.</p>

The New York Times' Maureen Dowd, whose columns just ooze liberal smugness, chalks up President Bush’s opposition to gay marriage to him being too ''butch.'' In response, she suggests that he and his administration get a makeover from the cast of ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.'' In Dowd's warped view, any man who suffers from what she calls "hypermasculinity," must be in need of a cure. Unfortunately for her, you can’t just makeover masculinity, not to mention morality and tradition. Let's get it straight. The president and the pope aren't riding the new gay wave. Until last week's denunciations,...

If you haven’t caught the “pattern” of the Democrats, lately, then you haven’t been paying attention. Like the “gravitas” virus that infected everyone during the 2000 election cycle, the latest verbal tic is “pattern.” Bush’s inclusion of the now beaten-beyond-a-dead horse 16 words, which have been misrepresented by almost every liberal talking head in America, suddenly constitutes a “pattern” of deception. Oooh, I’m so alarmed. Thankfully, I have a working mind, a set of working eyes, and the ability to cruise the internet. With just these tools, I have been able to determine that the only pattern of deception here...

<p>Since my last vanity announcement on keywords went so swimmingly (it ended up with something like 5000 keywords added to it) I thought a great idea would be to throw some propane on some other fires with a vanity.</p> <p>Breaking news is being abused again, big time. This goes in cycles, with sometimes people being responsible, but other times people not being very responsible.</p> <p>We are in one of the not-very time periods.</p>

Anyone want to watch SNL and poke fun of Al?

The only "Saturday Night Live" material Al Gore vetoed during read-throughs as too embarrassing was a sketch about flatulence. "I'm sure this is funny," Mr. Gore said, according to Al Franken, a "Saturday Night Live" alumnus who has written speeches for the former vice president and helped shape tonight's show. "But at the end of this I want to have some bread crumbs leading back to my dignity." The former vice president has still not revealed what else he expects at the end of his epic monthlong television blitz — a book promotion whirl that has not helped sell two...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --  Al Gore harshly criticized President Bush's push for war against Iraq, saying Monday that it weakens America's effort to combat terrorism and forever could damage the nation's standing in the world.</p> <p>"After Sept. 11, we had enormous sympathy, goodwill and support around the world," Gore said. "We've squandered that, and in one year we've replaced that with fear, anxiety and uncertainty, not at what the terrorists are going to do but at what we are going to do."</p>

<p>Nashville -- THERE HAS ALWAYS been a debate over the destiny of this nation between those who believed they were entitled to govern because of their station in life, and those who believed that the people were sovereign.</p> <p>That distinction remains as strong as ever today. In every race this November, the question voters must answer is, How do we make sure that political power is used for the benefit of the many, rather than the few?</p>

<p>SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, D-Conn., is worried about former Vice President Al Gore. Lieberman thinks that Gore came across as too anti-rich when they ran for the White House in 2000. And he thinks Gore is overly hostile toward business now, as they're eyeing each other and a new bid for the White House in 2004.</p>