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Saturday, February 6, 2010

Is there a gender issue regarding political spouses?


The traditional role of first spouse has evolved from the days of Eleanor Roosevelt to Hillary Clinton to Michelle Obama. Long gone are the days of carrying out some ceremonial duties and hosting tea parties.

The American public shouldn't be surprised to learn a politician has sought consultation and advisement and bounced ideas off his spouse. So why do some seem surprised that Todd Palin was "doing more than racing snowmachines" while wife Sarah Palin served as Alaska governor?

MSNBC.com and NBC news has obtained more than 3,000 pages of e-mails that show Todd Palin had a frequent presence in the governor's office, from monitoring union contract negotiations, being involved in a judicial appointment and having a say in state board appointments.The communications were released by the state of Alaska under its public records law. Officials offered 1,200 separate e-mails and withheld 243, claiming Todd Palin is protected as an unpaid government advisor.

I’m pretty sure that all husbands or wives exert at least some influence on the administration of their elected spouse and we’ve seen evidence of that in the past...

Read more of this article at Examiner.com

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