What does it say about John McCain that he requires his wife Cindy, aka the "cunt" (his term of endearment, not mine), to stand behind him--clapping, twinkling, nodding, laughing on cue--at every single press event, walk across the tarmac, casual "unscripted" moment? By all appearances, she's not even allowed bathroom breaks.
I have several theories:
1. Basic insecurity. McCain needs to know that at least one person in the room will chortle at his unfunny jokes, and nod vacuously no matter what confused free-flowing "verbage" (Palin's "word") comes out of his mouth.
2. Pure ego. She's younger, richer, more attractive than him. One look at her, and every man in the room wants to be him. I can't speak to that. But I can say this: One look at him, and none of the women in the room want to be her.
3. Total ignorance. He hasn't a clue that his propping her up like a mannequin might strike female voters as offensive, sexist and downright bizarre. He comes from a generation that believes women should be seen and not heard. Which also helps explain his choice in a running mate.
4. Complete condescension. He doesn't believe his wife could serve any useful purpose besides getting dressed in the morning. You can almost see them together in the bathroom mirror. As she paints on the last lick of makeup, Cindy asks, "What can I do for the cause today?" He grunts impatiently, "Just stand there and look pretty."
Whatever McCain's reasons for the public shaming of his wife, voters can assume freely that theirs is not a marriage of equals. She gives him money, class, support. He gives her nothing.
On the other side, we have the Obamas. You rarely see Michelle Obama propped up behind Barack when he addresses a room. Rather, Michelle prefers to be in the audience to get a feel for how the speech went over. As Michelle said recently on the Daily Show, she's a tough critic of her husband, she shares her opinions with him, good or bad. And he listens.
Isn't this the essential purpose of marriage? Not only to have one person you can count on to be on your side, but to have one person you can rely on to tell you when you're behaving like an asshole?
Cindy McCain surely has opinions, but whether she gets to express them to her husband is a mystery. As far as voters can tell, her role is standing upright with her mouth shut. If McCain silences and negates the value of his own wife, can any woman expect better treatment from him as a president? More likely, McCain would aspire to keep all women where he thinks they belong--one step behind.
