"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
In the six decades since it was delivered, this famous sentence from Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech has become a shorthand for an ideal of American values. Americans of all ages, colors, and political backgrounds use this quote to summarize their beliefs on the fundamental right to equality and fair treatment.
It's an interesting litmus test to apply today. In October I am seeing a couple interesting news trends. First, there is a marked interest in the press in the number of pageant contestants in politics; second, there's a new catchphrase employed by government spokespeople.
The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal both got het up this month on an apparent love affair between the post-Trump GOP and pageant girls. There are some easy targets here and the President does focus on people's looks a lot. Americans focus on people's looks a lot, as do humans in general. (Frankly, I focus on my looks a lot. Aging is not for the weak-hearted.)
Are there a lot of former pageant winners in American politics? I looked it up. I found seven women in national office, 16 in state office and 12 former candidates. Given the total number of pageants at the local and state level (50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico each send contestants to the Miss America and Miss USA pageant programs; there are many, many other pageant programs in this country) held each year, I'd say this is a pretty small percentage.
It's easy to slag off on pageant culture. It can seem shallow and vapid. It is also demanding, and at the state and national level, requires discipline, coaching and money. These are all things that are also helpful to a successful political career.
It is interesting that of the 23 pageant winners who have been elected to office, three of them are Republicans from South Dakota. I'm willing to chalk that up to there just not being that many people in South Dakota (roughly half New Mexico's population) – if you are a South Dakotan high achiever who wins pageants, you probably have a higher likelihood to stand for public office out of the available pool of people who live there.
Americans like attractive politicians, on both sides of the aisle (Democratic Former Secretary of Energy and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm was a Miss San Carlos; the current Democrat minority leader of the Indiana State House is a former Miss Indiana, etc.). So while I can't get into pageant culture myself, I can't make it a disqualifier for public office.
But not everyone takes the grace and poise learned during their pageant days into their political careers. One of our more recent crossovers, South Dakota State Senator Amber Hulse, is a former Miss South Dakota and Miss South Dakota USA (the latter denoting the Miss Universe franchise). Here's how she celebrated the 2024 election: an Instagram post exulting, "Trump is president and Miss Universe is blonde. We are so back."
Well. I don't think Senator Hulse was celebrating a long-awaited triumph over the gingers.
But that is mild compared with the tone being taken in daily government dialogue. I wrote briefly last week on civil discourse. As that piece was being developed, two national government spokespeople showed the depth of their intellect and the regard held for their colleagues.
Here's the thought-provoking, transparent, eminently quotable responses from three different spokespeople for the United States of America: "Your mom."
No, I was not watching the cold open for the last episode of Saturday Night Live and just confused.
No, these were not AI-generated deepfakes planted by foreign actors or internal bad actors seeking to undermine America.
This was the White House press secretary, her boss, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (ASD (PA)). They each responded to questions they didn't like with the most withering disdain and scathing wit they could muster from the fourth grade.
In the case of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, it was responding to a text question asking who selected Budapest as the venue for the now-canceled summit between the President and Vladimir Putin. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung doubled down a few moments later, following up with, "Your mom," choosing brevity over Leavitt's very specific, "Your mom did."
ASD (PA) Sean Parnell added complexity to the trope three days later after his boss was asked about wearing a tie that mimicked the pattern of the Russian flag. "Your mom bought it for him — and it's a patriotic American tie, moron."
Thoughtful parents, teachers, and mentors guide children and young people to express themselves appropriately. One guideline I use is to consider whether what you are about to say is something you would want your parent, spouse, boss, sibling or friend to hear.
When national spokespeople (or even South Dakota beauty queens-cum-politicians) reveal their character in this way, they also reveal the character of the institution that employs them or promotes them. There are other, and worse, examples throughout our government.
No matter how easy they are on the eye, their actions speak much louder.
It's on us, as Americans and voters, to judge our elected leaders and those they appoint, on the content of their character.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and one of cat. She can be reached at
