It wasn’t even a year ago that Tulsi Gabbard was on the Honolulu City Council, and it’s been even less time than that when she trailed badly in the polls in her bid for Congress. Now, she’s in Vogue, being called an “emerging star.”

In a largely gushing article that came out today, she’s described as “a tanned 32-year-old with mahogany-brown hair that falls just past her shoulders, a fit surfer’s physique, and a smile so warm that it’s no surprise Web sites have offered polls rating her ‘hotness.’”

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi describes her, as “an emerging star—while signaling that as a newcomer she has something to prove.” 

There’s not much new in the article, but she speaks openly about the end of her marriage while she was deployed overseas:

“It was sad and difficult, but unfortunately, not an uncommon story for people who go through being separated for nearly two years,” she says. “The stress that’s placed on those who are left at home—it’s difficult to communicate what that means.”

Others though are treated less warmly. Describing the Hawaii Ports Maritime Council’s Ohana BBQ, the article says: “There’s the newly appointed U.S. senator, Brian Schatz, a bit too eager to please in his blinding yellow-and-green shirt, and boyish city councilman Stanley Chang, who fairly squeaks with ambition.” 

— Kery Murakami