Julian Sanchez and Heather debate the important question of whether most DC men are "vanilla pansies that are scared to approach a woman in a bar." Some DC men might take offense at the mere mention of the possibility that most of us are "vanilla pansies." I, on the other hand, very much hope that it's true. The higher the percentage of vanilla pansies among my male competitors on the DC dating scene, the better the market outlook for me! I am much more concerned about news items such as the fact that this guy is back on the dating market, since he would be an extremely tough customer to beat out. Fortunately, he doesn't spend much time in DC (I hope). The more general point here is that anything that reduces the real or imagined average quality of men in a dating market actually benefits single men in that area and harms the women.

On a slightly more serious note, I doubt that "vanilla pansies" are really a major problem on the DC dating scene. At least in the middle and upper classes, a high percentage of DC residents are involved in politics. Politics is very much a "people business" that rewards outgoing personalities with strong social skills. Pansies (and also shrinking violets:)) are unlikely to be attracted to politics in disproportionate numbers and if they do enter the field, generally don't survive in it for very long. The women of DC are far more likely to be suffer from the attentions of overly aggressive political types than from an excess of pansies.