How many of us turned on the evening news to see Katie Couric on her first night at the job? How many of us picked up the phone when she was done and phoned a friend to discuss her performance? How many of us have found Katie to be a topic of conversation among groups of our friends, particularly when those friends are female?

Me. Me. Me. I'm guilty of all three -- guilty, because there is a certain ... cattiness to it. Were we as eager to assess the performance of Charles Gibson when he took over as evening news anchor on another station? No. Charles isn't a woman. If he were, we'd have been more avid critics. We would have taken his performance more personally.

That, I think, is the gist of it. My knitting group discussed the phenomenon yet again last night, this time with regard to Meredith Vieira. Women are harder on women because we identify with them and SO want them to succeed that we protest each and every tiny fault that, we fear, might prevent that. As a woman rooting for a woman, we look at hair and makeup and clothes, because the real world has conditioned us to deem these important. Yes, we consider substance. But we know that if we show up somewhere wearing a jacket that is too tight or makeup that is too heavy -- or if we've put on a couple of pounds -- the men in the room will notice and pass judgment before they hear much of what we have to say.

On the Katie issue, I'm as guilty as the rest. I want her to look perfect, as I define perfect. I want her to sound perfect and report on exactly the things I want to hear. I want her to set the world on its heels. Poor Katie. I'm a tough critic.

For the record, I am a devotee of Charles Gibson, in large part because the ABC White House correspondent, Martha Raddatz, is a close friend of mine. I loved Elizabeth Vargas before Charlie, and I loved Ann Curry on TODAY.

I'm loving Meredith Vieira more and more as she grows into the job. I'm enjoying her maturity, her humor and her gravitas, her banter with Matt and Al. I don't love all of her clothes, but then, I don't love all of my own. I like her makeup, and I love the fact that she has bad hair days, just like me. I'm counting on other women feeling the same and, thus, guaranteeing her success.

Yes, I'm harder on women, but only because I want them to succeed.