One of the most notable features of the 2008 presidential race is the amount of attention being lavished on the spouses of the candidates. Just today we have a New York Times interview in which Judith Giuliani responds to a scathing Vanity Fair profile of her and pieces in the Washington Post and Newsweek looking at the role of Fred Thompson’s wife Jeri (pictured) in his campaign.
You can come up with lots of reasons for all this interest in the other halves of the candidates. Obviously, there’s the Bill factor with the fascination with him and the Clinton marriage spilling over onto the other candidates and their wives. There’s the fact that the spouses this time out are a pretty interesting bunch who are taking on high-profile campaign roles. While on the Republican side, reporters want to know how Giuliani, Thompson and, to a lesser extent, John McCain are going to square their colourful personal lives with socially conservative voters in the Republican primary.
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