“Drunk Driving Is Wrong, M'Kay?” (But Trust Me: Drunk Is the Only Way to See Delaware.)

The Miss USA Organization, along with pageant co-owners Trump and the National Broadcasting Co., announced Friday that Benton's 2004 guilty plea for drunken driving was not enough to eliminate her from the competition.

“She was 22 when this happened. What 22-year-old hasn't done that?” said Mary Hilliard McMillan, Miss USA spokeswoman.

Ah, the old “Who hasn't done that?” argument: Classic.

But take it from someone who's studied arguments for a living. Use it sparingly and with caution. You'll find considerably fewer hands in the air for something like, “What 22-year-old on a drunken dare hasn't performed a live-sex act with a plastic chicken in a bar in New Orleans”—and this is the kind of rhetorical device that works best when there are a lot of hands in the air. You've been warned.