http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-688140.mp3
Albany, NY – Several high-powered women - whose husbands are politicians - have recently brought questions about their political duties into the foreground.
Perhaps most prominently, Silda Wall Spitzer's decision to stand next to her husband as he announced his resignation from office touched off a firestorm of debate. First lady of Massachusetts Denise Patrick also spoke out about the difficulties of adjusting to her role over the last year. And, of course, there is constant scrutiny of Hillary Clinton and debate over the legitimacy of her foreign policy role as first lady.
SO...with all of these current issues swirling about, we thought it was high time to talk about them on 51%. We begin with Penn State professor Molly Meijer Wertheimer, who has devoted much of her career to first ladies. She brought us up to date on changes in expectations of the first lady over history.
Now that we have some context, let's take a look at recent history. Syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker writes about gender all the time. Lately, she's been particularly fascinated by high-powered political wives - and politicians - like Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. Parker thinks these women are changing along with the rest of us, trying to navigate new opportunities.
Should she have stood by his side or socked him in the jaw? That's a question many answered with knee-jerk reactions when they watched Silda Wall Spitzer stand silently at Elliot Spitzer's elbow when he admitted to involvement in a prostitution scandal, and again when he announced his imminent resignation from the office of New York State Governor.
Obviously, Wall Spitzer's decision was her own, but the question of how to deal with public scandal among political power couples seems to come up more and more often. So, we called the Rutgers University Center for American Women and Politics to compare Wall Spitzer's approach with others. I spoke with the Center's director, Debbie Walsh, to talk about public reaction to Wall Spitzer's decision. Walsh says she was riveted along with many in the country when Spitzer resigned.
The Spitzer scandal caught the attention of the online community First Wives Club - in this case, first is a chronological, rather than a political, reference. Web site co-founder Debbie Nigro camped out on the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Streets in Manhattan to compile video messages for Silda Wall Spitzer from compassionate members of the public. 51%'s Dan Kramer headed over to meet up with Nigro.
They ducked into the Heartland Brewery to chat about her project; and then hit the streets to record messages for Silda Wall Spitzer.