(A snapshot of a culture with confused priorities.)

Yahoo! Buzz has an article on the top ten most influential women of 2008, and not only did Gina Carano, who is described as an “undefeated kickboxing champ,” make the list, she somehow landed just behind Hillary Clinton.  You remember her, the first woman to have a legitimate shot at becoming President of the United States!?  Also known as Barack Obama’s future Secretary of State!!?!  Apparently that makes you slightly more influential than a female MMA fighter who beat a few opponents she was supposed to beat and struggled to make weight every single time.

Look, I love Carano as much as anyone, except perhaps the creepy dudes or Jared Shaw, though that’s redundant.  I think it’s great what she’s done for female MMA.  Her contributions to the sport through the CBS fights are immeasurable, and if stuff like this helps her get signed by Zuffa, while simultaneously upping the credibility of female MMA (also known as kickboxing, apparently), then great.

But ranking her #5, when you don’t even know what sport she actually participates in?  That’s just indefensible.  Not that we should take this list that seriously.  Angelina Jolie is #1, after all, because apparently being an actress and having/adopting a bunch of children is more important than almost becoming president or commanding an army of willing women followers, as Oprah, who’s #3, has done.  Hell, Sarah Palin is #2, and she’s just a step up from an especially charming contestant on "America’s Got Talent."   In other words, the list is pretty bullshit to begin with.

Maybe I’d be more amenable to Carano getting a spot on this list if she had consistently made weight for her fights.  Or if she had faced a tough opponent, like “Cyborg” Santos.  I realize only one of those two things is under her control, but my point is she’s not exactly a female Jackie Robinson.  Though, if you don’t account for inflation, I’ll bet she and Robinson got paid about the same.

(Props: MMA Mania)