Belated congrats to Laura Chukanov, the Bulgarian-born Miss Utah USA - who placed fourth in this weekend's Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas.

(Here's a profile of Chukanov, which was printed recently by the Trib's sassy sister publication, In Utah This Week, pictured at right.)

In the final round, when the judges asked political questions, Chukanov answered positively and assuredly to the idea of U.S. funding for elections in Afghanistan.

Of course, nobody remembers this because Chukanov was up just before Carrie Prejean, Miss California, made YouTube infamy with her condemnation of same-sex marriage in favor of "opposite marriage."

Prejean came in second, behind Miss North Carolina USA, Kristen Dalton - and Prejean has declared that her answer, and the negative response of judge Perez Hilton, cost her the crown. This has made Prejean a cause celebre among the right-wing blogosphere (here's an example), and more famous than if she had won with a noncommittal answer.

Labels: Miss Utah