Gillibrand addresses Reid’s ‘hot’ comment with a sigh

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand addressed a spate of comments about her looks over the past few weeks, telling the Albany Times Union that she wishes her colleagues would focus on her legislative achievements instead.

The freshman senator was ranked by The Hill newspaper as one of the "most beautiful" people on Capitol Hill, which led Sen. Harry Reid to introduce her last month at a Democratic fundraiser as "the hottest member" of the Senate. Sam Bennett, the head of the nonpartisan Women's Campaign Forum, told The Upshot last week that the remark was sexist, even though Reid "is good on women's issues and he's very supportive of Gillibrand." New research shows that women lose voter support if they do not call out even mildly sexist remarks.

Since then, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said she is "stunning." And New York Gov. David Paterson, who is blind, chimed in that he understood she was a "very pretty woman" but her "real influence on people has been in the areas of agriculture and in the areas of national security and in the areas of finance, where she is real hot."

Gillibrand told the paper she doesn't think she's being over-sexualized, but she wishes everyone would change the subject:

You know, Harry Reid was making a joke. He also complimented my work with him on reg reform. I think the mayor was being nice. He was just being kind. So, of course women like candidates and like people to focus on the work that they're doing, and of course we would prefer more reporting on the legislation we're fighting for and what we've accomplished, but you know, at the end of the day …

The paper said she then sighed.

Last spring, a Republican opponent, asked to say something nice about the senator, offered only that she is "attractive" and probably "a good mom."

Gillibrand responded to that comment below:

The senator is featured in the November issue of Vogue, where she talks about how she lost 40 pounds, among other things.

(Photo of Gillibrand: AP)