The first politician, aide, or publication that did so would have been publicly flogged and forced to apologize - or sent to "rehab" like they did to the actor in Gray's Anatomy.
Posted on 08/02/2007 2:55:17 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Speaking at his $1,000-a-ticket fund-raiser at the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown Washington Monday night, Fred Thompson began by introducing ''my campaign manager -- oh, I mean my wife.'' That little joke about Jeri Thompson reveals how the prospective Republican presidential candidate regards the attack on his intelligent, beautiful wife.
As the actor-lawyer-politician nears his long-awaited official announcement, Mrs. Thompson is slurred as a ''trophy wife'' 24 years younger than her husband -- privately by her husband's opponents for the Republican nomination and publicly by the news media. Even Thompson supporters grumble that Jeri, 40, is too alluring, should modify the way she dresses and even then should not practice her skills as a professional political operative on behalf of Fred, 64.
That Thompson made light of this at his fund-raiser reflects the cool reaction to crisis he has displayed as GOP counsel of the Watergate investigation, U.S. senator from Tennessee and many dramatic roles (most recently district attorney of Manhattan in ''Law & Order''). That he is in a commanding position for the nomination may explain the extraordinary attention paid to his wife.
Murmuring about Jeri Thompson hit a peak of attention on ''Fox News Sunday'' July 22 when its round table engaged in whimsical contemplation of debate between spouses of Democratic presidential candidates. ''Well, first,'' said Juan Williams of National Public Radio, ''I think you should get Jeri Thompson in here, the trophy wife, right?'' William Kristol of the Weekly Standard interjected: ''That's unfair.'' Williams: ''Unfair, unfair, I know, but -- .'' Kristol: ''It is unfair.''
That ended the discussion. I asked Williams, a respected journalist, whether he had regrets about his ''trophy wife'' comment. He did not, but explained he got the idea from the New York Times of July 8 in a Style section report by Susan Saulny. ''Is America ready for a president with a trophy wife?'' she asked. ''Subsequent to that,'' Williams told me, ''I heard the same thing in conversation with people in other campaigns -- about her being so young, so attractive and so powerful.''
The archetypal ''trophy wife'' (a phrase coined by Fortune magazine 18 years ago) conjures up the image of a rich corporate executive who tires of and abandons the woman he married when they both were young and has grown old with, and turns to a young, chic new wife, usually seen as a home wrecker. Mrs. Thompson does not fit that mold. Thompson had been divorced for 17 years and was on friendly terms with his first wife when he married Jeri Kehn in 2002. They also have two small children -- not the trophy wife caricature, either.
Nor does Mrs. Thompson's background fit the caricature. After working for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee, she became a big-time political media consultant in Washington. She has been intimately involved in the planning of her husband's campaign, including last week's staff shakeup. When Tom Collamore left as Thompson's campaign manager, he told CNN that he was ''very respectful of the desire of Fred and Jeri to make some changes as they move to the next level.'' Those comments generated whispers in the political community that whoever ran this campaign would have to answer to the candidate's wife.
Indeed, Fred Thompson's close associates maintain there was no chance he would be a candidate for president were he not married to Jeri. He tells friends the reason he abandoned what seemed a promising campaign for the 1996 nomination was that he did not feel he could manage that endeavor as a single man.
please post photos of wife...
Lot of cold showers for Fred.
The first politician, aide, or publication that did so would have been publicly flogged and forced to apologize - or sent to "rehab" like they did to the actor in Gray's Anatomy.
Jealousy, methinks.
ENVY.
Lust, too—mebbie.
Shame on all of them.
I don’t see it as a slur but coming from liberals that’s how it was clearly intended. I won’t begrudge a man for having a beautiful wife.
Here are some slurs. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1874862/posts?page=79#79
Its important that the candidate’s wife looks good. Who knows, today’s wife could be tomorrows President. ?Hmmm?
I wonder why Kook-cinich’s much younger wife is not vilified. Too average looking?
It’s OK to attack a Republicans wife, but if you mention Hillary’s cleavage she screams sexism. Come on Hillary we all know you were showing some so you can prove Elizabeth Edwards wrong. Question would be, did it work?
I think the men of Washington are just jealous because they wish they could snare a wife as attractive AND as accomplished as Jeri Thompson. Hell, I think they just wish they could still get it up.
So now a qualification to be POTUS is to have an ugly wife (or at least less than attractive)?
I guess some of the candidates fit that bill - especially Hillary....oopppsss..
I have a hard time with any candidate that cannot stay committed to one wife, and has little regard for the feelings of his current spouse. Talk about the ultimate flip-flop...I love her, I don’t love her...I’ll disregard my vows, I won’t disregard my vows.
Why such a puff piece from the Prince of Darkness? Some possibilities:
1. Fred has been an excellent “anonymous source” for Novak over the years; or
2. Novak is a huge Thompson supporter because:
a. Thompson like Novak is anti-Israel/pro-Arab,
b. Novak has personal grudges against:
(1) Giuliani, and/or
(2) Romney; or
3. any combination of the above
Yeah, I think “Gollum Makes Off With Elf Maiden” should be a much more compelling media story than “Older Senator Marries Younger Professional Woman”...but what do I know? ;)
“Nor does Mrs. Thompson’s background fit the caricature.”
Beg to differ. She decided to wear those revealing heinous “hoochimamma” get-ups and then expects us to take her seriously. Sorry.
Thanks for posting the infamous photo of her and him looking downright idiotic. To be President of the United States or First Lady for that matter you have to have at least an ounce of common decency and sense. And I don’t care if it was a Hollywood shindig for which that is “appropriate” attire. If either one of them had an inkling he would be running for President of the United States of America, they’d have understood that you don’t make those kind of judgment errors. Hello people!
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