Gnine

I never liked Elizabeth much, but upon consideration, I actually think she was seriously handicapped by the writers - not because she was a woman, but because her major skill was being a diplomat. But the key to being a good diplomat is being able to understand people of other cultures - and the SGA writers have absolutely no understanding themselves of people of oter cultures! So they could only "tell" about her ability; they never could "show" it. It's like writing a character who's supposed to be the greatest poet in the world - you can't ever actually write down their poems, because you (the writer) aren't the greatest poet yourself. While as with Rodney, they can say the greatest astrophysicist (besides Carter) because they're totally making up all his science; it's like saying he's the most powerful wizard. (Similar problem with doctors, really; you can say a doctor is awesome, but it's harder to prove?)