Watch Out, Fran, There's A New Gal In Town
It appears that our beloved Frances Townsend has some competition for the title of top White House hottie. This morning's Times brings us Elisabeth Bumiller's profile of 36-year-old Meghan O'Sullivan, deputy national security adviser for Iraq and Afghanistan. This follows on the heels of Washingtonian naming O'Sullivan a "Woman to Watch," in their feature on the 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington.
More discussion of this high-octane hottie appears after the jump .
O'Sullivan plays a key role in advising President Bush on Iraq, submitting daily memos to him and briefing him several times each week. The Times reports that Sullivan, "who was crisp and wary in a recent interview in her office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, would say little more about her conversations with Mr. Bush." (She was, however, willing to pose for a glamour shot in a White House conference room, looking like a younger, more pensive Geena Davis.)
While stationed in Iraq, Sullivan had a brush with danger that one could easily imagine being in a feature film:
In October 2003, when she was immersed in the negotiations over Iraq's first post-invasion constitution, a rocket hit her hotel in Baghdad. The blast jammed Ms. O'Sullivan's door shut, and she escaped by inching along a narrow ledge outside her 10th-floor window.
She eventually made her way to the Baghdad streets and then her office at Saddam Hussein's former palace on the banks of the Tigris. The explosion killed an American colonel and wounded 16 others.
Like Jennifer Garner in "Alias," Sullivan changes outfits when required to by her job:
One of Ms. O'Sullivan's chief responsibilities in Baghdad was keeping abreast of developments within the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or Sciri, one of the main Shiite parties. She covered herself from head to toe for meetings with Abdul Aziz Hakim, the party leader, and earned his trust.
But isn't it a waste to swathe this hottie in a burka? And if you question O'Sullivan's hotness, don't take our word for it; she has the resume to prove it. During her time at Georgetown, O'Sullivan did some modeling work for extra cash, according to the Times.
Of course, the hard-hitting Bumiller has asked all the right questions. In case you're wondering, yes -- Meghan O'Sullivan is single.
You can send fan mail to the White House. It won't be long before she's getting more letters than Barney.