It may be a first: Jackson-Lee agrees with Palin

It's not every day that Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, a liberal Democrat from Texas, says "I agree with Sarah Palin."

She acknowledged the rarity in an interview with The Hill, but said she agrees that the Newsweek magazine cover with a photograph of Palin in running shorts is sexist.

"I've never seen Governor Palin dressed in that kind of attire at a political event," Jackson-Lee said. "What is the necessity of highlighting that picture among the thousands that have been taken of her?"

And it's the kind of thing, she says, that only happens to prominent women.

"People say males sometimes try to utilize their physique to their advantage," she said. "It is rare."

The photo was taken for an August 2009 Runner's World story featuring Palin.

In an official statement Tuesday, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham responded to criticism of the decision to run the photo by saying, "We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover, which is what we always try to do. We apply the same test to photographs of any public figure, male or female: does the image convey what we are saying? That is a gender-neutral standard."