Please spare your moral outrage for something that really matters

My take on the Zardari-Palin saga.

INSTEP flashback
OK, so Zardari told Palin she's gorgeous
What's the fuss about anyway?

Saba Imtiaz

Unless one lives under a rock, it's been hard to miss the news of President Asif Ali Zardari calling Sarah Palin 'gorgeous'. From newspapers to TV channels to Facebook statuses, everyone appears to be expressing shock and outrage at the President complimenting Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice President hopeful when they met on the sidelines at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York

Lets take a lesson out of yoga and take a deep cleansing breath. On one hand, the outrage is expected because of the state Pakistan currently is in: with the security and economy in disarray, the incident does come across as a distracting element when our President should be focusing on other things other than paying compliments to Mrs Palin.

But on the other hand, this should be put into perspective as a one-off incident. Even the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is reported to be tongue tied at meeting Mrs Palin. Zardari's been known to be a charmer (he won over the strong-willed Benazir Bhutto, which is why she consented to marry him) and paying compliments is a social nicety, after all.

History is rife, anywhere in the world, with tales and sagas of politicians and heads of state attracting the attention of the beauties of the opposite sex. Being in a position of power does have a certain amount of glamour and appeal - and it's alluring! From President Bill Clinton's famous indiscretion with White House intern Monica Lewinsky to First Lady Jackie Kennedy charming world leaders to cricket hero Imran Khan's sagas of beautiful women - we're all drawn to these stories. They represent a celebrity culture of their own as they are faces we see everyday and what they do and say takes on a life of its own. Some of them affect the course of history, and others don't - but they're also people who possess the very basic instinct of wanting to impress and attract.

Instep takes a look at the incidents that haven't made it to history textbooks - but are part of unofficial oft-repeated history anyway!

Their Palin and our President

Let's look back at what happened that has caused such an uproar in drawing rooms, the newspapers, television channels and of course the worldwide web.

Sarah Palin was meeting Pakistani officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, US.

On entering a room filled with several Pakistani officials, Palin was immediately greeted by Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's information minister. "And how does one keep looking that good when one is that busy?" Sherry asked Palin, drawing friendly laughter from the room.

"Oh, thank you," Palin said.

Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari entered the room seconds later. Palin rose to shake his hand, saying she was "honoured" to meet him.

Zardari then called her "gorgeous" and said: "Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you."

"You are so nice," Palin said, smiling. "Thank you."

A handler from Zardari's entourage then told the two politicians to keep shaking hands for the cameras. "If he's insisting, I might hug," Zardari said. Palin smiled politely in response.

And the rest is fodder for the news mills though it may not make history. the only question is: Is this what a President should say?

The PM and the Doctor: Shaukat Aziz and Condoleezza Rice

Ex-Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz apparently boasted that there wasn't a woman he could not seduce. But as the story goes, the alleged charm didn't work on US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice.

Condoleezza Rice's biographer, Marcus Marby, wrote of the incident in his book, Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power

"Yet, when Rice sat down with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who fancies himself as ladies' man, Aziz puffed himself up and held forth in what he obviously thought was his seductive baritone (He bragged - to Western diplomats, no less - that he could conquer any woman in two minutes)."

"(He tried) this Savile Row-suited gigolo kind of charm: "Pakistan is a country of rich traditions," staring in (Rice's) eyes," a participant at the meeting recalled. "There was this test of wills where he was trying to use all his charms on her as a woman, and she just basically stared him down. By the end of the meeting, he was babbling, The Pakistanis were shifting uncomfortably. And his voice visibly changed."

The Foreign Office and Prime Minister's Secretariat denied any such thing had happened. Is "gorgeous" in the same league as "conquering any woman in two minutes?" - Mr Aziz would definitely have the answer to that!

The Generals: General Yahya Khan and Madam Noor Jehan via General Rani

General Rani is a woman one will never find in our history textbooks - but is as much a part of history as the events one finds in the books are. Her real name was Akhleem Akhtar, but because of her close friendship with Yahya Khan, she was dubbed General Rani, and was said to be one of the most influential people in the country. A force to reckon with, she is also credited with introducing Yahya Khan to Madam Noor Jehan and the actress Tarannum.

The Yahya Khan - Noor Jehan affair made headlines - in Pakistan and worldwide -and is yet another incident one will never find in a textbook. But the affair actually shaped history, as we know it. General Rani introduced Yahya Khan to singer Noor Jahan, and the famed picture of her kneeling by his knee became a symbol of political glamour.

According to a 2002 Newsline article on General Rani, "At first, Madam (Noor Jehan) persistently denied that she was on friendly terms with the general, but when objectionable pictures of both of them were printed, she resorted to another defence and officially stated that General Rani, had time and, again tried to get her involved with the general. In response to this, Rani laughed and commented that Madam was hardly a suckling infant who could be coerced into doing what others wanted her to do. The Rani-Noor Jehan tussle was played up by the press, until eventually, some time before the latter's death, the two made up."

But the Noor Jehan affair had repercussions of it own. In the Hamoodur Rehman Commission report investigating the fall of Dhaka in 1971 (leading to the creation of Bangladesh), Noor Jehan's role in breaking up the country receives a whole chapter.

She is cited as Khan's great weakness. Like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, at the time that there was civil war and chaos in the eastern wing of the country, Khan was busy with Noor Jehan. The then Intelligence Bureau boss submitted his statement before the commission that he asked Mrs Khan to intervene in the affair, but without success.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Husna Sheikh

Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a legendary character. Forever burned into the realms of history, it is an oft-repeated story of how he was married twice - once to a cousin from his village and then to the glamorous Iranian born Nusrat, and then how he entered into a relationship with Husna Sheikh. That Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was smitten with Husna, and used friends to cover for him while he courted her is still legend. However, neither of them ever spoke out, and this legendary romance has only been hinted at.

Benazir Bhutto sets hearts aflutter in Simla

In 1972, Benazir Bhutto, then 19, accompanied her father on an official trip to India, which would see a historic pact being signed between Pakistan and India. The summit took place at the hill resort of Simla, and Benazir was a sensation. Her outfits were the talk of the media, even though Benazir had borrowed them from a friend in Pakistan, and she cut a gorgeous figure in her bell-bottoms and floral shirts and won over millions of Indian hearts. To queries from the media, her stock reply was she was just accompanying her father and nothing more. If she went shopping, the media would follow her around. On occasions the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the External Affairs minister Swaran Singh joined her in strolling down the Mall, but neither garnered the same sort of hysteric excitement Benazir did.

Imran Khan: Pakistan's favourite pin-up boy

Imran Khan is Pakistan's favourite celebrity. He was everyone's favourite pin-up boy - a cricketing superhero and good looking to boot. For years, tabloids had a field day covering Imran's relationships with Emma Sergeant, Sita White, Susannah Constantine, Zeenat Aman and then Jemima Goldsmith, who he married and had two children with. Since entering the political arena, Imran's personal life has been considerably less tabloid worthy, and more newspaper headline worthy, but his past coninues to be raked up by his political opponents. And one feels it shouldn't be.

1916 Society Scandal: Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Ruttie Petit

The year 1916 brought about a society scandal in Bombay when Mohammad Ali Jinnah fell in love with Ruttenbai "Ruttie" Petit. The gorgeous and intelligent 16-year-old girl, known as the 'Flower of Bombay' was smitten with Jinnah, but because she was from a Parsi family (Zoroastrianism dictates that its followers cannot marry outside of their religion) her father, Sir Dinshaw, refused Jinnah's proposal and forbade her to meet him. In 1916, Bombay was a conservative society and the Jinnah-Ruttie affair screamed controversy. Add to the mix that Ruttie was Parsi and Jinnah was almost twice her age, and you have a Bollywood-worthy story.

After her father's refusal, the couple decided to wait out the two years till Ruttie turned 18, after which she converted to Islam and married Jinnah, whom she fondly called J. As cited in online sources, "Ruttie and Jinnah made a head-turning couple. Her long hair would be decked in fresh flowers, and she wore vibrant silk and headbands lavish with diamonds, rubies and emeralds. And Jinnah in those days was the epitome of elegance in suits custom-made for him in London. According to most sources, the couple could not have been happier in those early years of their marriage. The only blot on their joy was Ruttie's ostracism from her family. Sir Dinshaw mourned Ruttie socially even after his granddaughter Dina was born."

Despite the fact that they were estranged before she died, Jinnah broke down at her funeral and then when he visited her grave one last time before Partition. These are the only two reported incidents of the reserved and stoic Jinnah making his personal emotions known in public.

Spice Girls to Prince Charles: "Oh, you're so sexy!"

At the height of their heyday, the Spice Girls made headlines when they met Prince Charles, who is next in line to inherit the UK monarchy.

According to a CNN report published at the time of the meeting, "the Spice Girls put some spunk in the Prince of Wales' life at a recent gala, smothering the blushing prince with kisses, telling him he's sexy and grabbing his bottom."

"You know, I think you are very sexy," said Geri Halliwell, better known as Ginger Spice, who then surprised the future king by pinching his rear.

The friendly meeting came at the start of the 21st anniversary Royal Gala for the Prince's Trust charity. Prince Charles good-naturedly introduced himself to the group, telling them he even knows their nicknames. It was all in good fun.

Mr President: JFK, Jackie and Marilyn Monroe

There has been no world leader more charismatic than JFK and no First Lady more iconic tha Jackie. Most men were bowled over by her and statesmen certainly were not immune. At a meeting with Khrushchev, the Soviet Premier was asked to shake President Kennedy's hand for a photo, and Khrushchev responded, "I'd like to shake her (Jackie's) hand first." Admiring a woman is not improper and JFK went one step further. Who can forget his liaison with Marilyn Monroe who famously sang 'Happy Birthday, Mr President' to him. After the song was over, JFK took the stage and said, "I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way." The affair, the song and JFK's statement are part of American history today.

Moral of the story: Political leaders and statesmen are human too. Please spare your moral outrage for something that really matters!