Carrie Prejean: Take Two.

She's now just a footnote in last year's cultural lexicon, but you might remember Miss California Carrie Prejean's ascent to Conservative Media Darling/Damsel In Distress. The bleached blonde enjoyed about 14 minutes of fame when many on the right turned her into a martyr for keepin' it real and giving a typical evangelical answer to a question about gay marriage during last year's Miss USA. Prejean rode this strange bout of victimhood till the wheels eventually fell off when it was discovered that she'd taken some cheesecake photos, and filmed some errrr "private movies" that eventually became public. For hoisting a supposedly maligned American to celebrity status without doing their requisite homework, many on the right ended up with egg on their face yet again. Joe The Plumber, anyone?

Of course, as long as there's a political point to be made, many on the right will suppress whatever dignity they have remaining to make said point, ignoring the obvious consequences when said point proves invalid and blows up in their faces. And watching this latest faux controversy in its infant stages, I can't help but wonder how long it'll be before some incriminating photos of their latest poster child surface on TMZ.

An unhappy crowd booed Miss USA judge Oscar Nunez when he asked Miss Oklahoma Morgan Elizabeth Woolard a question about Arizona’s immigration law on Sunday night’s pageant.

But could Woolard's answer have cost her the crown?

The "The Office" star asked Woolard if she supported Arizona’s right to enforce the law, which requires police to verify a person's immigration status if there's "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the country illegally.

Woolard said she supports state's rights, adding that she is against illegal immigration, but is also against racial profiling.

"I'm a huge believer in states' rights. I think that's what's so wonderful about America," Woolard said. "So I think it's perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law."

The night's events mirrored last year's pageant, when gossip blogger Perez Hilton asked Miss California Carrie Prejean if she believed in gay marriage. Prejean said she didn't, and a media firestorm ensued, with many arguing that it cost her the Miss USA title.

Woolard lost out to 24-year-old Miss Michigan, Rima Fakih.

Pageant officials said historical pageant records were not detailed enough to show whether Fakih was the first Arab American, Muslim or immigrant to win the Miss USA title. The pageant started in 1952 as a local bathing suit competition in Long Beach, California.

During the interview portion, Fakih was also asked a question on a hot-button issue. She was asked whether she thought birth control should be paid for by health insurance, and she said she believed it should because it's costly.

Fakih, took home the crown, despite nearly tripping on her evening gown.

Here's the video.



I don't think Nunez was trying to trap Woolard with a question, and I also think Woolard's answer was much more reasonable that Prejean's doddering nonsense. The "I'm against racial profiling" add-in was also reasonable. There's nothing really controversial about her answer, which is why the rush for many to say she was robbed seems silly.



Call me nuts, but I can't help but notice how Miss Michigan's ethnicity, vis-a-vis the defeated Miss Oklahoma's, keeps getting brought up. Of course, some not-so-savory photos of her have already surfaced on the web, so what the hell do I know?

Question: Did Ms. Oklahoma lose "cause she's Conservative", or simply cause Miss Michigan was hotter? Do liberals find similarly flawed mascots to advance their social issues?

Miss Oklahoma Named First Runner-Up in Miss USA Pageant After Answering Immigration Question [FoxNews]