(Crossposted from Democrats.com)
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Bill Clinton | Elizabeth Edwards | Michelle Obama | Elizabeth Kucinich |
On TV, the "faux issue of the day" is whether it's unfair that Obama has to fend off tag-team attacks by both Hillary and Bill. I could care less.
Every candidate for every public office sends his or her spouse out to campaign. In 2004, even Dr. Judy Dean overcame her famous loathing of the campaign trail to put in a few good words for Howard.
Some spouses add charm, others add brains, others add political ties, others add cash. No pundits ever complained about campaign events by Elizabeth Taylor (then Mrs. John Warner) or Maria Shriver (Mrs. Arnold Schwarzenegger). Mitt Romney is using his wealth to fund his campaign, but John McCain wouldn't be in the race without his beer-heiress wife Cindy (for whom John dumped the wife who nursed him back to health after Vietnam). Judy Dean hated campaigning, but Teresa Heinz Kerry was fantastic - and threw in a bit of her $1 billion ketchup forture.
So this "faux issue of the day" gives me an idea: let the Democratic spouses debate!
Look at the incredible talent we have. Bill Clinton was President of the United States and delivered peace and prosperity to America for 8 years. Elizabeth Edwards had a successful legal career, then started the Wade Edwards Foundation after the death of their oldest child. Michelle Obama went to Princeton (cum laude) and Harvard Law School, practiced law, and founded Public Allies Chicago. Elizabeth Kucinich volunteered for Mother Teresa in India at age 18, spent 16 months in a rural Tanzanian village, and earned a Masters degree in International Conflict Analysis.
And that's just on the professional side. Each of the spouses has gained personal wisdom from their personal struggles, including Clinton's complicated upbringing, Edwards' loss of a child and ongoing battle with cancer, Obama's fears of her husband's assassination, and Kucinich's life among the world's poorest.
And for this debate, let's can the egomaniacal male pundits like Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, and John Roberts, and turn instead to the most accomplished women in serious political journalism. How about Helen Thomas, Gwen Ifill of PBS, Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation, and Christy Hardin Smith of FireDogLake?