tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post8984813523829635451..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: in a supporting rolekatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-89971735304453404252012-09-10T21:03:39.762+12:002012-09-10T21:03:39.762+12:00To understand how we Americans view our First Ladi...To understand how we Americans view our First Ladies and the many roles they play, one has to go back to the the inception of our country and the wives of the "founding fathers". We recognise that they wield great influence and can make or break a politician. Dolly Madison and Martha Washington were no shrinking violets...in times when society expected them to be....Dolly in particular played a big role in how we see our first ladies,setting of the script in fact see http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2010/januaryfebruary/feature/the-politics-love<br /><br /><br />We believe that "birds of a feather, flock together" and think that it is very important to hear from the closest of close. and vet those that surround a man...or in the future a woman. I can only imagine the vetting of Bill Clinton if Hillary decided to run next election.<br /><br />Also, I found Michelle Obama's speech quite effective for a variety of reasons...including the fact that she is an articulate African American woman, who is breaking down just as many barriers and stereotypes that her husband is. <br /><br />I liked it, I liked it, I liked it. Re: Ann Romney, didn't see it and can't bring myself to watch it now. But I understand that many like her as well.Aliyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-66108171885766301522012-09-08T09:49:52.352+12:002012-09-08T09:49:52.352+12:00"i don't recall burton shipley doing a lo..."i don't recall burton shipley doing a lot of rallying and campaigning for the national party either - but then i wasn't really interested so might not have been paying attention."<br /><br />I -think- Shipley spoke at a National Party Conference once, but I could be imagining it.<br /><br />Apparently he was a bit of a star during diplomatic dinners and so on, but that's another matter.<br /><br />I think what we may be seeing here is as much a function of American political culture as it is gender. America has a strong expectation that the spouses of Presidents will play a major role in their administration. There are few countries which have similar expectations. I remember when Gordon Brown's wife spoke at the Labour conference, it was greeted with a lot of equanimity and disdained as being a move towards an American Presidential style of campaigning.<br /><br />Of course since America has never had a straight female President (or for that matter a gay male President) and doesn't look likely to get one any time soon, the question of whether this convention would hold for a First Gentleman is an open one. Bill Clinton was quizzed quite heavily on what his role would be if Hilary was President, so there seemed to be an expectation he'd be visible, but as you mentioned Clinton is an unusual case - another prospective first Gentleman is unlikely to have a former President as their husband (calls for Michelle Obama to run in 2016 notwithstanding).Hughhttp://www.tvgohome.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-85998785050280302452012-09-07T10:50:01.924+12:002012-09-07T10:50:01.924+12:00I don't think we can really make a call on the...I don't think we can really make a call on the US presidential elections until we have a few female presidents to compare them to. My impression is that the whole family gets dragged into the mess and it's not necessarily a "supportive wife" thing so much as "you want to live in the White House, who are you".<br /><br />I like the Westminster tradition of near-invisible partners, it makes sense to me. I mean, I'm not going along to any other job interviews with my spouse. On the other hand, if they did run for office I'd almost certainly be part of the campaign team. But I'm already part of the campaign team for the party they'd most likely be running for, so that's possibly not a strong indicator.Moznoreply@blogger.com