Newt Gingrich reportedly offered his second wife Marianne two choices: an open marriage or a divorce, when he revealed to her he was having an affair with his now-wife, Callista Bisek (that plastic-haired blonde you always see with him on the campaign trail).
As they say, behind every great man is an even greater woman—or at the very least, one who's calling the shots when their husband isn't willing to do so. Whether or not you consider Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney or Donald Trump great, one thing you can't deny is that they're all very ambitious men, and all three of them have their wives to thank for it.
Do you love someone who doesn't share your political values? Or perhaps you know an R or a D or an I who is making a life with her opposite number? Purple States is casting red-and-blue couples for a docu-drama that will air in the fall of 2012.
The sad news broke yesterday that attorney, public speaker, best-selling author and activist Elizabeth Edwards, 61, passed away after her ongoing battle with breast cancer. Taking the public stage initially as the wife of 2004 Democratic candidate for vice-president, John Edwards, Elizabeth spent the years following the '04 election coping very publicly with John's infidelity, and her fight against cancer. However, in the midst of one tragedy after the next, she became a shining example of grace, vitality and courage. As a mother, wife and friend, Elizabeth demonstrated strength of character that made her a heroine to many. Here, a few of the lessons on love and relationships we learned from Elizabeth Edwards.
I recognize that parenthood is a journey filled with responsibility and challenges far greater than political quibbling. I also realize, that in the end, the political choices of our child are not up to us, but up to that squirming little fetus, who is currently making me puke and want to eat jars and jars of caramel ice cream topping. And yet, I am worried about what we will teach our child about conflict and resolution though our political wranglings. Will our child grow up to be polarized? Afraid of confrontation? Apathetic? Or will our child learn to build consensus and disagree with respect and love?
Elizabeth Edwards does not want John Edwards raising their children Emma (12) and Jack (10) after she is gone, especially if Rielle Hunter remains in the picture. And can you blame her? That nightmare scenario, however, is one that she is having to confront amidst reports that her health has "taken a turn for the worse lately." "She does not want Rielle anywhere near them," says a source to the New York Daily News, a fear made valid throughout the homewrecker's rambling GQ interview last March. After all, Rielle has made it abundantly clear that she remains patiently waiting with unconditional love to re-unite with her Johnny in marriage after Elizabeth's death. A sentiment to which Elizabeth replies, not over or in spite of my dead body.
Now we know why Silda Spitzer stood by her man Eliot: she believed that her husband's hooker-banging was her fault. "The wife is supposed to take care of the sex. This is my failing,'' she is quoted as saying in Peter Elkind's new book The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. "I wasn't adequate." Le sigh. Guess a J.D. from Harvard Law isn't enough to purge a victim's guilt for the perpetrator's crime. But hold on for a second. What responsibility does the wife bear for her husband's infidelities? (Or a husband for his wife's?) The "politically correct" answer would be "zero," but is it the truth?
Is it worse to be a Democrat's Mistress or a Republicans? What about the wives?
In our series on the 2008 presidential couples; Tango explores the Obamas. Barack and Michelle met each other at a law firm; he worked for her. Now he's one of the most famous first-term Senator of all time. But they're still partners and would likely make a formidable White House pair. Tango explores whether or not they are the best suited of the front-running candidate to call themselves Mr. and Mrs. President. "They met in 1989, while he was still a student at Harvard Law School (where he was the first black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review). Barack was interning for a Chicago law firm, and Michelle was his summer supervisor. She later told a reporter that she fell for him 'for the same reason many other people respect him: his connection with people.' Throughout his political career, she has been an asset. A Princeton grad, she's a Chicago native from the city's South Side. That association helped him win seats both in the Illinois legislature and the Senate. Now an executive at the University of Chicago Hospitals, she's savvy in dual roles as career woman and political wife. In an interview in The New Yorker, she was frank about the stress of the latter role: 'It's hard, and that’s why Barack is such a grateful man.'"
Huffington Post has rounded up a slideshow of John and Cindy McCain showing public displays of affection. Just looking at the lack of PDA between John and Cindy, suggests the would-be president's one true passion is cutting taxes. Little pecks on the cheek here, pats on the arm there, a couple tight-lipped smiles -- the McCains are downright prudish!
It's bad enough to be single and watch happy couples being all cute in public. But now we have a PDA-prone Democratic presidential candidate to make us feel extra-lonely on those long, cold nights. Rubbing salt in open wounds, Huffington Post has rounded up a slideshow of Barack and Michelle Obama nuzzling, kissing and cuddling. The couple has already earned praise for being a model of a healthy, happy relationship. I mean, really, how in-love are these two? It's enough to melt a Republican's heart!
