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“The Claws Come Out,” was the Fox News headline that appeared last week when Michelle Obama’s comments about candidates on the campaign trail were taken out of context. But, hey, when does Fox News let a little thing like accuracy stand in the way of a good story?
The uber-conservative “noise channel” (as it’s routinely described by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann) took Michelle Obama’s comment about “running the house” as the beginning of a Democratic cat-fight between her and Hillary Clinton.
That coverage made me wonder why the press is often so happy to categorize comments by women about other women in that way? If the scenario was changed and the comment had been made by Mitt Romney about John Edwards, the comment most likely would never have seen the light of the broadcast day.
The whole dust-up, from my perspective, is just another way the right-wingers are slyly trying to make the Democrats look like a bunch of pansies who can’t control their uppity, liberal wimmins. Especially when you compare it to the coverage the GOP wives are getting.
No need to talk about the issues or ask the Republican wives why they think their husbands should be in the Oval Office. They’re a little busy showing off the new condo or talking about movie preferences (Judith Giuliani says she and Rudy love to watch Sleepless in Seattle).
While I’m a confirmed Democrat from way back, I would really love to hear the wives of the GOP presidential candidates talk about the issues that are important to them. I have a feeling that they probably wouldn’t be all that different from the ones I’m concerned about — health care (especially for poor children), ending the war, ending poverty in this country and a whole host of other ones.
Think maybe that’s why they’re being limited to comments about hearth and home?
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You know, I think there is a Code among GOP wives. They must be demure. They must, as you indicated, concern themselves with home and hearth. However, I don’t think the Code precludes them from talking about policy, as long as it’s GOP-approved policy. Laura Bush’s policy cause was education. She was qualified to opine on it because she was a former school teacher. And education and nursing are the accepted vocations for a woman among conservative circles. So I think health care and education are fair game for the GOP wives, but beyond that - no. The republican base doesn’t want to hear what Ann Romney thinks about Iraq.
Do any of the contenders show promise of breaking that mold? Maybe Thompson’s wife. She is more than a set of nubile breasts, and no, she never worked a pole. She’s said to be smart and very engaged in politics. That said, I’ve never heard her open her mouth so who knows. The rest of the top tier wives - forget it.
Jane | August 27th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I’d mess up if I were a candidate’s wife. I just know I’d speak up at the perceived wrong moment. I guess I’ll have to run for office myself instead.
Daisy | November 10th, 2007 at 10:58 pm