Candidate spouses talk of the trail
Posted: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 6:58 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum and Andy Merten
In the first of its kind, five wives from both parties joined together to discuss the demands of being a political spouse. California First Lady Maria Shriver, who is an example of adapting to the political life, hosted the women in Long Beach, while helping her husband deal with the fire crisis.
VIDEO: Candidates' spouses talk about their lives, in an unusual presidential campaign forum in California. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.In a set more like Oprah than a political debate, Democrats
Michelle Obama and
Elizabeth Edwards and Republicans
Jeri Thompson,
Ann Romney, and
Cindy McCain put aside partisan politics to discuss issues close to their hearts.
Thompson, making her first solo appearance on the trail, commented on her relative newness to politics and the race, saying she has "a lot to learn from everybody here." As a possible result, Thompson spoke the least of all the women, answering just four questions while Romney jumped in to answer 11 and Edwards nine. Obama answered seven and McCain answered six.
Later, Thompson admitted she is afraid of embarrassing her husband. "That would be my biggest fear," she said. "Is not doing the right thing, that -- you know, I would be terrified of hurting him. That -- it would break my heart."
Veteran Edwards jumped in telling Thompson "nobody pays that much attention to us, though" -- to which a relieved Thompson said, "Well that'd be good!" Edwards did say she is worried, however, about ending up on the front page of The Drudge Report for someone misinterpreting something she says about her husband's campaign.
Obama, Edwards and Thompson all have young children at home -- leading these women to walk a fine line. Thompson told her campaign staff she would not go on the trail without a changing table on the bus. "And you know what?" she said. "They did it." Obama also said the staff respects her desire to find the balance by going on day trips and being home in time to read her kids a bedtime story.
Edwards, who has publicly stated her different opinions on some issues -- such as gay marriage -- from her husband, did say she plays a role in her husband's campaign, but not as a strategist or micromanager. "All you're doing is expressing what you think is best for your spouse, as a spouse, not necessarily as a candidate," she said. "As a man, I think an advertisement that shows him in a dark room, when he's really a sunny kind of guy, doesn't accurately reflect him. If that becomes you're micromanaging the campaign, then so be it."
Shriver asked the wives if the public elects the candidate or the couple, to which most of the women replied, just the candidate. McCain, however, said the couple plays a strong role. "I think the American people truly are,” she said, “take this in the right word -- electing both people."
Romney said she helps to bring out another side of her husband. "Sometimes politics makes it very difficult for people to get to know the personal side," she said, "and the wonderful things about these men that are all running, and that's, I think, the role that we can uniquely play."
Obama, who has often campaigned solo for her husband, said she gives him advice but he doesn't always take it. "In any marriage, you come together and you talk about the issues that you care about," she said. "And you share those thoughts, but in the end, ... he goes to his job and he makes the decisions on his job. Now, I would like to think that he would have the good sense to understand that usually, I am correct."
Judith Giuliani and
Bill Clinton were invited but chose not to attend, citing scheduling conflicts.
