A few minutes ago, I received a press release in my in box from the Nation announcing a new sex column by JoAnn Wypikewski exploring “the intersections of sex and politics.” The e-mail announced that the first column is on Barack and Michelle Obama’s sex appeal and how the nation’s alleged sexual attraction to the pair reflects our “desire for change.” Despite being massively skeptical of that argument, I clicked through to the article. But I came to a screeching halt after reading the lead sentence: “In politics as in pop, legions of little girls jumping out of their panties can’t be wrong.”

Little girls jumping out of their panties? Well, she actually means teenage girls — still, ugh. Are pubescent hormones really political predictors?