Grace Penn: I hear you want to be vice president.
Ambassador Kate Wyler: Oh.
Grace Penn: I know a thing or two about the job, if you have questions.
Ambassador Kate Wyler: Um... That's not the situation, exactly. And you really don't have to.
Grace Penn: This is awkward for me, too, if that helps.
Ambassador Kate Wyler: I wouldn't say I want to be vice president.
Grace Penn: You wouldn't?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: I think we'd all be happier if you stayed where you are. But, I understand there is a problem, and I'm willing to step in.
Grace Penn: So, you would be Vice President of the United States as a favor?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: I'm no one's first pick is my point. I know I have a lot to learn. If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it.
Grace Penn: Billie says your DCM's got a lot of experience. He's been giving you a crash course?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: Yes.
Grace Penn: What have you covered?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: He's fantastic. Uh, we haven't had a lot of time. So far, he's sort of hung up on the packaging. I'd rather focus on policy and, I don't know, um, the Senate.
Grace Penn: Packaging?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: My clothing, uh, my hair, which he finds particularly upsetting.
Grace Penn: He's right. It's a visual world. No one will read your policy papers. Best case, a sound bite will go viral once a year. Meanwhile, your face'll appear in the media an average of 12,000 times a day. Every classroom in America, every embassy in the world, will hang your picture on the wall. It's soft power. So, you've got a couple of choices. Wear a suit like the military wears a uniform. Disappear. Hide the individual behind the duty to serve. Or get a gimmick. Blonde bob, red lipstick, pins like Albright, collars like RBG. Glasses, a shorthand so people see what you stand for. And little girls dress like you for Halloween.
Ambassador Kate Wyler: I think I'm opting for the suit that makes you disappear.
Grace Penn: Are you?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: Black suit. Every now and then a navy suit.
Grace Penn: What do you think it broadcasts?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: As little as possible... No?
Grace Penn: Looking to the north, you probably think your hair says you're too busy serving your country to get a blowout. But it reads as bedhead, which sends the signal, I think in this case, that's better unsent. East and west, try a bra with a little padding. I know there's not much to hide, but when your jacket opens, I'm getting headlights. Which takes us to the south. Is that a paperclip?
Ambassador Kate Wyler: Oh, yes, I had a, um, a zipper issue.
Grace Penn: When you're a second-tier diplomat in a third-world war zone, that may read as scrappy. If you're representing the interests of 300 million Americans whose healthcare is failing, whose planet is burning, whose future mighty get a little bit better or a little bit worse based on what you do in the course of a day, it's best to look like the care of your trousers wasn't more than you could manage.
