Being a wife is tough enough. Being a politician’s wife is a true bitch.
We found this out yet again today with the revelation that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has behaved badly. Seeing Silda Wall Spitzer standing next to her governor husband as he vaguely announced his indiscretion, I was moved to write another in my continuing series on things that threaten the modern American marriage. No need to thank me. Just my way of giving back for the many years of wedded bliss.
If your partner comes home one day and surprises you with the announcement that they are moved to run for political office. Smiling politely. Give them a supportive hug and say something like “honey, I’m so proud of you”. Then grab whatever cash you can and run. And keep going.
You may chuckle at this advice, but tell me that Senator Larry Craig’s wife in hindsight wouldn’t have minded getting it. You may remember Senator Craig from his funtime in the men’s room scandal and how his wife stood by her man despite his apparent attraction to men.
Of course, Craig had nothing on New Jersey’s favorite former favorite son Ex-Governor Jim McGreevey, the Gay American. Too bad he hadn’t come to the conclusion he was gay before marrying twice and forcing his second wife to stand there in disbelief as he came out to the nation live on television. Political wives have it all over Tammy Wynette. Come crunch time, they are forced to support the very person that has betrayed them while they themselves are just devastated by the revelation that their husband is into guys or in Spitzer’s case liaisons with high priced prostitutes.
Anyway back to Spitzer… You always need to walk a mile in another man’s shoes before passing judgement, but since the restraining order is still in affect and they made me give back his shoes, let me just say a few things. Perhaps his marriage had lost its passion. Perhaps he was really really stressed. Perhaps he’s a serial cheater. Perhaps not.
In any case, you’ve got to wonder what he was thinking. When you are known for your moral stands and have a reputation as a crime buster, the last thing you ought to be doing is committing one. The governor, who is a former prosecutor, had to know what he was doing was not only stupid, but illegal. From what I heard, because he arranged for his escort to travel from NY to DC, he can be charged with crimes that could bring five years of jail time. Who knew it was illegal to transport a prostitute to another state? Not me. Spitzer on the other hand, did know.
Finally, when will some politician caught in a scandal just refuse to trot out his dazed wife beside him? I think all of us would have respected Eliot Spitzer more if he made his admission solo. Perhaps he could have even gained points for saying something along the lines of “my wife isn’t here today. Understandably she is very disappointed. I will do my best to work with her to repair the damage done to our marriage. And the first step is not to have her here and put her through a media circus for something blatantly stupid that I’ve done. This is my mistake. I would ask that you spare my wife and family further pain by respecting their privacy.”
See. Not so hard right? Not sure why no one ever goes that route.
Then again, I’m not sure why most people can’t make marriage work. Hence, my continuing series.
Repeat after me. Don’t let your wife or husband run for office. Even local dog catcher. Like drugs. Bad habits always start off small. Next thing you know, you’ll find out that your wife is seeing the pool boy on the side. It will explain why you have no pool but have a pool boy, but it will still hurt…
