Those who actually wish to learn something about the situation should check out:

https://www.juancole.com/

- the same guy who served Jonah Goldberg his a** on a platter back in '05 about matters surrounding the war in Iraq. Jonah wasn't man enough to debate him, and I suspect Rebeccah has similarly low levels of expertise on the matter (other than a couple hours of reciting some neocon talking points from her superiors) of Egypt, as Goldberg did/does on Iraq.

I think there are 2 reasons why FoxNews would have called Ms./Mrs. Heinrichs in as an expert on Egypt. The first is the apparent Palin/Hasselbeck factor, the second being obvious just by a quick browse here:

https://www.defenddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_fddbios&Itemid=326

You are right pumpkin - Fox News just sucks. We should all stopping listening to Fox News and turn our attention to the Einstein of cable news Rachael Maddow of the ever-enlightening MSNBC:

https://news.yahoo.com/s/atlantic/20110201/cm_atlantic/rachelmaddowandnbcstrugglewithsatire6795

Oh by the way - can't wait to get your take on the latest death threats to a Republican Senator.

https://dailycollegian.com/2011/02/01/manuel-pintado-arrested-for-threat-on-florida-politician/

One hopes for the best for Middle Eastern revolutions, but hrere are some reasons to be cautious.https://www.desertdispatch.com/opinion/revolutions-10214-one-people.html

It's always a commentary on the quality of a person's argument when that person has to resort to pointing out the physical attributes of his opponent. And it is always fun to see how often these kinds of remarks spring up on your side of the aisle when there is an attractive female making conservative arguments--demonstrating, yet again, how easily the left becomes that which it proclaims to hate. It's another reason I've always suspected that charges of racism, sexism, homophobia and the like--particularly when wildly accusatory--tell us much more about the hearts of the people making the charge than they do about those they charge with the accusation. I suppose you think Mrs. Heinrichs might be considered by to to have a finer mind and be better qualified to speak to the issues if she were unattractive? Never mind the insult this implies about the folks you like to cite.

"It's always a commentary on the quality of a person's argument when that person has to resort to pointing out the physical attributes of his opponent."

It's interesting that you'd assume I was referring to physical attributes when I said "the apparent Palin/Hasselbeck factor" - couldn't that just as easily have meant an outspoken conservative woman willing to take on the sacred cows of the liberal, lamestream media?

I wasn't making an argument, per se, I was merely wondering how FoxNews determined that Heinrichs was someone with the relevant expertise that would make her a legitimate analyst for the situation in Egypt.

And yes, her physical attractiveness - which neither diminishes nor augments her depth of knowledge on the subject - is one reason why I guessed that FoxNews decided to put her on. And while I certainly wouldn't pretend that the media (incl. news media, left, right, and center), in general, doesn't have an obvious preference for "photogenic" talking heads (something that I would expect many conservatives to defend as natural and normal), particularly when it comes to women, I would say that it seems that Fox puts a very special emphasis and priority on getting conventionally attractive, beauty pageant (conservative) women on as much as possible.

I also surmised that another reason that Fox sought her out is that she's from a conservative think tank (the Beltway's surely bloated with them these days!).

"I suppose you think Mrs. Heinrichs might be considered by to to have a finer mind and be better qualified to speak to the issues if she were unattractive?"

No, certainly not. And a careful reader would have seen that I'd not even implied as much. But since she doesn't appear to have anything more than a cursory knowledge of the subject matter, I'm again left to wonder why she was selected as a guest by FoxNews.

But let's not kid ourselves, that the physical attractiveness "factor" has been manufactured solely by the left (we just interpret it differently; our question is this: if Palin looked more like a chubby, wrinkled grandma than she does - or say, she "larded the earth" as she walked (per Mr. Schramm's recent description of Gov. Christie), would FoxNews have installed a tv studio in her home?) - conservatives notice it, and it makes a big difference in the intensity and longevity of their preferences:

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/171291/projecting-through-screen/rich-lowry

"I’m sure I’m not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, “Hey, I think she just winked at me.” And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America."
- Rich Lowry, NRO