The Pantsuit: I'm No Ségolène

Apparently, the socialist Royal was too moderate for Mrs. Clinton.

Surely had Royal won, she'd be mouthing something else.

There was a time when advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) looked abroad for proof that women can get elected to a top leadership role in the modern world: Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister; Angela Merkel, the German chancellor; and Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile.

But as presidential candidate Ségolène Royal was defeated by a conservative man who had been France's chief law enforcement officer, the Clinton campaign was quick to dismiss comparisons between their candidate and her Socialist counterpart across the Atlantic. "Other than the fact that they are both women, they don't have much in common," said Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director.

Sure they do. They're both socialists and The Pantsuit is also going down to defeat.

At least Royal is easier on the eyes.

Unlike Royal, who emphasized her charm and femininity rather than her strength on foreign policy, Clinton has proven her national security bona fides, her advisers said.

I'll give them that at least. Mrs. Clinton has all the charm of an anvil.