The vice-presidential candidate “represents the state-of-the-art version of a particular type of woman… that’s become a familiar and potent figure in the culture war in recent years.” Sexy Puritans attract attention “not simply by advocating conservative positions on hot-button social issues but by embodying nonthreatening mainstream standards of female beauty and behavior at the same time. The net result is a paradox… You get a little thrill along with your traditional values, a wink along with the wagging finger. Somehow, you don’t feel quite as much like a prig as you expected to.”