Why is the US so obsessed with the wives of Presidents???

[Bush_Sucks]

Honestly, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Kennedy and now Heinz Kerry...Why is that?

I seriously can't even name any Prime Minister's wives names if my life depended on it...

[Dookus]

1. our first ladies have a long tradition

of being public figures, and some of them have been among the most interesting women in our history. Dolly Madison, Mary Todd Lincoln, Edith Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton....

All very interesting people living close to the center of history in interesting times.

[LynzM]

2. Because they are prime 'scandal' material...

And apparently, we as a nation care more about 'scandal' than news :(

[koopie57]

3. I suspect this is one of those stories

where you have to have been there to see how funny it was, but since this post was referring to the wives of a president, I thought I would post this.

My husband and I were grocery shopping this afternoon and made our usual trip to the book section of the store to turn Hannity's and O'Reilly's books backwards when we noticed a book with old crazy Barbara Bush's picture on it. Being we had a small box of quaker oats in our cart, rather than turning the book over we left the box of quaker oats next to it with the faces as close together as possible. It looked so funny we couldn't help but get the giggles and it was those kind where you really didn't want to call any attention to yourself.

[seabeyond]

4. i really liked how dean handled it

what what she doesnt have to do all that, hire someone. well aware it wasnt what his wife was and why shouldnt she have her own life. and totally loved her, just that way she was. and her commonness. i loved that part of dean. when i started taking notice of dean was seeing him with wife and watching her.

i think it is stupidness bringing the wife into it. i am hiring one person to do a job

[eridani]

8. I hated what the press did to her for that

I really admire her a lot for just doing her own job.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. They're substitutes for a royal family

someone you can gossip about, patriotically, and coo "oohhh, isn't she nice, she's so gracious/down-to-earth/the anti-christ" ...

[GreenPartyVoter]

6. Welcome to DU!

[rock]

7. IMO they aren't

but the conservatives cannot discuss the issues and the conservative control the "liberal" press.