I didn’t know whether to feel insulted or oddly flattered when Bob Beckel called me a “ho” Monday night on Sean Hannity’s show. He was discussing James O’Keefe’s current situation and for some reason brought me up. But not the real me: not the 20-year old committed Christian, brown-belt Jiu-Jitsu girl and aspiring journalist, who embarked on a secret summer adventure that caused a major political and media disruption in the fall of ‘09.

Nope, evidently the characters I played in the ACORN videos, Kenya and Eden, had Beckel a little confused.  After he called me a ho, the panel informed him I wasn’t a real hooker, only pretending to be one for the sake of the story. He defends himself by saying I was a very “convincing hooker.”


All I can say is, Beckel would know.

This isn’t the first time he has been befuddled by a young woman’s actions.  In the summer of 2002 Beckel came to know 20-year old “Tiffany,” a professional hooker who, after establishing a business relationship with him, attempted to extort $50,000 in exchange for her not exposing their relationship to his ex-wife and employers.

Don’t believe it, don’t remember it, want to get the facts? Check the police report for the gory details:

beckel

And this is where my dilemma begins. There are just so many ways to approach Beckel’s thoughts about me.

If I do want to become an actress one day, or work undercover for the FBI, do I ask Beckel to be a reference? He could tell them my acting skills are so advanced that even seasoned “lady of the night” experts were impressed. He is a semi-powerful man, whose opinion has been sought out by heavy-hitting Democrats, going back to Robert Kennedy.  He is also very familiar with the complexities and pitfalls of the prostitution world. Potential valuable resource? Perhaps.

Then again, so is former New York State governor Eliot Spitzer, aka “Love Client No. 9,” currently hiking the MSNBC rehabilitation trail:


Journalism is more my focus right now and watching Beckel’s behavior, I couldn’t help but wonder how he escaped his hooker problems relatively unsullied. A Republican, socially conservative or not, would never survive such drama. The irresistible tale of a greedy hooker and her Muslim pimp would forever resurface anytime the man entered the spotlight or made a major decision. The media would call into question his judgment, based on past events, and relentlessly attempt to taint his public image.

But off Beckel goes, free as a bird. Now he may be over that whole “get involved with an hooker/extortionist” phase. But, based on Monday night’s performance, he is in the “hyper-analyze a twenty-year-old’s clothing and stilettos” phase. If he had said I was a convincing hooker based on the fact that ACORN offices felt comfortable enough with me that they thought I could run a good underage brothel in their local communities, then things would be a little different. We find instead that he is creeping on my body, rather than condemning a corrupt organization.