Politicians use their wives in campaigns. It's just how politics is played in the 21st century. Hell, even George Washington probably got some political mileage out of Martha.
Yes, we all know about his three marriages — and particularly about his very messy and public divorce from his second wife, Donna Hanover. The question going forward, however, is how does he introduce the American public to his current wife. As the video below shows, that could prove a pretty tricky proposition.
(The video is of the feed of Mrs. Giuliani up on the venue's projection screen. My apologies for the shaky camera work — still getting the hang of all this video blogging.)
I hadn't seen Mrs. Giuliani on the stump with her husband before now (has she done this anywhere else yet?), but, from this performance, I'd have to say the campaign might want to be more careful with how she frames her remarks.
Here, she starts off by saying, "I wanted to tell you all a little bit about how Rudy and I came to be our team together." The problem with this is that we all know their relationship began as an affair, while he was still married — be it in a publicly "distant" (that's how the press likes to put it) marriage. She then goes on to describe some of their early flirtations.
I don't think I was the only one at this point thinking: Ick.
The former Ms. Nathan is, after all, describing the beginning of an affair that would lead to an ugly and painful divorce that still is affecting the former mayor's relationship with his children.
Later in her brief remarks, Mrs. Giuliani describes how being married to the former mayor makes it easier for her to raise money for her chosen causes. "You can then pick up the phone as Judith Giuliani," she said, and speak to people with deep pockets "who might not normally take my telephone calls."
Again: Ick.
I've written previously about how Mitt Romney is using his wife on the stump — they're high-school sweethearts, have a bunch of kids and grandkids, and have celebrated some ludicrous number of wedding anniversaries.
Mr. Giuliani's personal life is the polar opposite of all that. None of this means the American people are going to punish him for that fact. But the former mayor and his campaign don't seem to have put much thought into how to roll out a prospective first lady who comes with a lot of baggage.
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