(Wife) Judy Flies In to Boost Hubby Howard (Dean)

[RUexperienced]

Judy Flies In to Boost Hubby Howard


WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Judith Steinberg Dean flew into Davenport Airport, Iowa, Sunday to boost her husband Howard's faltering campaign.

The weather was chilling Arctic cold but Mrs. Dean, dressed stylishly in blue, wore no overcoat as she hurried to the campaign bus from her plane alongside her husband, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/01180000aaa061b8.upi&Sys=siteia&Fid=LATEBRKN&Type=News&Filter=Late%20Breaking

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Off the subject, but, why is it that the media is always concerned with the clothes the woman is wearing?

"Monica Lewinsky, who showed up at the courthouse wearing a grey suit and black pumps..."

"Hillary Clinton, wearing a pink suit, responded to reporters questions..."

"Martha Stewart, walked into a Manhattan courthouse wearing a dark brown skirt and a matching scarf..."

When is the last time we heard, "Bill Clinton, wearing a colorful Armani tie, laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier"?

(Sorry, just a pet peeve of mine.)

[mandyky]

1. I was weeping with joy

when Tom Harkin introduced her as the next first lady of the US. She and Howard seemed to be beaming with joy. She did well introducing Howard and thanked the people of Iowa for being hospitable and kind to her husband for the last 2 years.

[The Zanti Regent]

16. I wonder what Whoreen Dowd has to say now?

After all, her "column" in last week's Screw York Times did nothing but trash Mrs. Dean!

[JoFerret]

19. Terrible news

..now she has to whore for her husband? OK OK so Dean won't win if he has no helpmate wifey by his side. And here is Dean with a sensible relationship and a sensible wife and now he has to prostitute that to win. Cést la terrible vie. (But nothing to celebrate.)

[gardenista]

29. Wonder if you would choose the same wording

i.e., "whore", if the gender roles were reversed.

I, for one, and appalled by your description of Judith Dean's support on the campaign trail as "whoring", or that Dean is "prostituting" his admirable marriage.

Both Drs. Dean have made it clear that she would participate in the campaign on her own terms. Looks like she made the choice to come to Iowa today. What a shame that you choose to try and denigrate that.

And, while I'm at it, your French grammar could use a bit more thoughtful application, as well.

Quelle vie terrible.

Unless you meant to use the slang, which would translate to "what a *great* life." On that, I would agree.

[patricia92243]

2. I think we will love her as first lady. She is much prettier than still

pictures show her. She has a sweet, calm air about her. I can see why Gov. Dean is crazy about her.

[buckeye1]

3. If Dean Is presidant,

I hope DR. Judy will take the new job. Being a DR. might be difficult with SS agents all about.

[TheDalaiMama]

4. Go Judy dean...she did great for her first major rally....and shes pretty.

One man's attire was mentioned..."Ahnold wore an Armani suit" to his inauguration....maybe he's more like a woman.

Judy...Judy..Judy...way to go.


dalai

[RUexperienced]

6. Of course, bodybuilders are as vain

as most women I know. lol

[salin]

24. nice.

:eyes:

[buckeye1]

12. I have no idea here.

If Dean's wife Judy flys ok. Howard is a BIGTiME GUY now. He just might be the Prez. I'll bet she will do well. No "Fancy Nancy" here. You got to be old to get it.

[aquart]

9. Worse. I can imagine patients being persecuted or bribed

to sue her for malpractice.

She may not realize the scumminess of the slime running this nation.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Because to the mainstream media,

women are manniquins without brains. And other women are only interested in what they wear. No wonder I don't watch mainstream media any more!

[aquart]

10. Democrats have husbands and wives.

Republicans have little women.

[buckeye1]

13. Please!

Don't talk about that. Whisper.

[polmaven]

7. Faux News evidently refuses to call her by her name.

"Wife Judy Dean" apparently appeared on the scene. When Dr. Dean and Dr. Steinberg married, she did NOT become an appendage of him. Why, in this day and age can some people not recognize that women should not be required to lose their own identities simply because they marry.

Howard Dean is not my first choice, but I will give him credit for his apparent enlightened views on women's "roles". Dr. Steinberg has been exactly where she belongs....Caring for her patients. Why should she be expected to abandon her career at this point in the race? If her husband is not elected president, she will still have her practice in tact. If he is elected, she is expected to open a practice in the DC area. Good for them!

And I totally agree with you, RUexperienced. Not only is a woman more than an extension of her husband, she is also more than the clothes she is wearing. Wake up, "liberal" press! Wake up conservatives! Women are....um....how should I put this....Um....well...PEOPLE!!!!

[RUexperienced]

8. In fairness to UPI

I added (Wife) to Judy and (Dean) to Howard to help people make more sense of the headline.

The original headline was: "Judy Flies In to Boost Hubby Howard"

[polmaven]

15. I'm sorry...I didn't mean your reference to her!

Just as I was reading your post, the story came on Fox News, and the female host...Sorry, I don't watch that station enough to know her name, simply said "Wife Judy Dean joined her husband today on the campaign trail"....I understood your references... They were in parentheses, and I was not the least bit offended by it...It was Fox News if found offensive...'course, I usually find them offensive...Sorry I didn't make that more clear.:-)

[salin]

25. Leave it to the Moon news organization

to show respect. *cough*

[October]

38. It's about choice

I chose to take my husband's name -- instead of keeping my father's -- and for good (and personal) reasons. Not only was I happy to be rid of his name, but I married a good man and was happy to share his name.

My daughter can make her own decision when/if the time comes.

We should be careful not to generalize or stereotype any woman's decision.

I know a husband and wife who decided to share their last names. Not only the children carry this new name, but the whole family does. I'd never before heard of that one. Their family's name is "BrownGold." I thought that was cool.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. When did his campaign start "faltering"?

That's news to me.
I was pissed that this morning's Washington Post had a blivet that suggested Dean was in trouble because his wife wasn't at his side.

What bullshit. As if he couldn't stand a chance in a campaign if he was single? As if Judy Steinberg should drop her career to be some sort of figurehead?

The last time I looked, this was the 21st century...not the 19th.

[DesignGirl]

17. Many were out today

I saw cspan this morning and it was all about the wives and family?! Edwards' wife, Gepharts' wife and son were on taking calls and promoting.

[CatWoman]

14. The hell with these jerks

said CatWoman, donned in an oversized pink sweat top, with leggings to match.

[Tansy_Gold]

18. Can someone 'splain to me why. . . . .

. . . . Dr. Steinberg suddenly showed up to campaign for Dr. Dean?

Did she do it to help him, or because she wanted to?

If she did it to help him, does that mean both she and he acknowledge that perhaps -- just perhaps -- the fact that Gephardt, Kerry, and Edwards are all nipping at Dr. Dean's heels suggests that maybe Dr. Dean's campaign has hit a rough spot?

If she did it just because she wanted to, why now, all of a sudden?

I'm sorry, but I have to air a bit of skepticism and cynicism here.

Whatever those of us enlightened folks on DU may think of a wife's place in a presidential primary campaign, I suspect many of the general electorate still believe that the job of president of the united states is a pretty darn big one and that it just might be that the candidate best suited to tackle that job is someone who sees her/his marriage as a partnership and her/his spouse as a full partner.

Frankly, I'd have had more respect for Dr. Steinberg if she had stayed at home, gone grocery shopping, and put her cannded goods in alphabetical order, all the while telling everyone in Iowa "Look, Howard wants to do this and I support him fully, but that doesn't mean I have to join him. I have my life and he has his, and if he wants to be president, well, that's what he wants to be. Can't I have my own life?"

But she didn't. . . .

Tansy Gold, wearing comfortable sweat pants, a tee-shirt with a welsh dragon on it, sandals, and three earrings.

[dansolo]

20. Maybe she just wanted to support her husband

This latest stretch has to have been extremely taxing on Howard, and perhaps she sensed that, and wanted to be by his side.

[gauguin57]

21. Whatever the reason ...

IF Dean becomes the nominee, I'm glad Dr. Steinberg appeared with him, whatever her reason for doing so.

WE agree a woman has a right to stick to her medical practice and not have to campaign for Dean. WE like that Dean supports her decision to do that. But WE are already voting for the Democratic candidate. If Dean is the nominee, Steinberg needs to be at his side OCCASIONALLY for the benefit of those voters for whom that might be a deciding factor between Dean and Bush. Some voters will be turned off if they sense (from the fact that Judy doesn't join Howard for ANYTHING outside their home in Vermont, let alone campaigning) what they perceive as "another weird marriage like Bill and Hill." Sucky as it is, some will see it as a "character issue" (ugh!) -- "His own wife doesn't support him ... blah blah blah." WE can support Judy's independence all WE want ... but if WE want a Democrat elected in the fall, this is political reality. She needs to help out a little bit.

Then, if Dean's elected president, she can show the world a First Lady can have a separate career, and she can stop all this nonsense once and for all.

[Tansy_Gold]

23. I'm very sorry, but that stinks of rank hypocrisy

If she only shows up in the campaign so her husband can get votes from people who want to see a traditional Dr. & Mrs. Howard Dean couple and if then after he wins the nomination/election she goes back to being Dr. Judith Steinberg and leaves him to do his thang, I think that's crass and shallow and pretty darn close to dishonest.

And, sadly, I think that's how at least some voters are going to see her sudden appearance in the campaign -- she's only doing it so he can win, not because she really means it.

If the pundits thought Dr. Dean flip-flopped on issues, how are they going to treat Dr. Steinberg?

[Upfront]

27. Very Well I Would Think

She gave a great intro. for Dr. Dean, thanking the people of Iowa for there kindness to her man over the last two years. She also said she wished she could be with him more but she has a two kids to look out for and a medical practice with many people who depend on her. I wish you people could confine your attacks to the candidates and leave there wives out of it. Mind boggling it is so pathetic.

[Tansy_Gold]

28. I'm not attacking anyone

I didn't ask how well she spoke, or how comfortable she looked or (for the love of mike) what she wore.

I asked how anyone thought the pundits -- who have already attacked her for NOT coming out to campaign -- are now going to react that she has come out. Also, how anyone thinks the electorate is going to react. In other words, if it was okay for her to stay home and take care of her practice and her kids PRIOR to 18 January 2004, why did she suddenly come out today, the day before the Iowa caucuses?

Again, I think Dr. Steinberg actually did Dr. Dean a disservice -- she made her previous decision to stay out of the campaign look like "oops, I guess I *shoulda* been out there, but I'll try to make up for that MISTAKE now!" If indeed she didn't think it was a mistake to stay out of the campaign, isn't jumping into it now a kind of admission that it was a mistake?

Oh, hell, I know there are few here who have any concept of logic -- it's all about candidate loyalty and never questioning the annointed one and seeing any kind of question as an attack.

It's like --- okay, how many here bitched and whined about the media ALWAYS yammering on and on and on about what political wives wear, then those some bitchers and whiners yammered on and on and on about how great "Judy Dean" looked?????

::::::huge sigh::::::::: I don't think anyone gets it.

[salin]

30. Or perhaps

some of us just disagree with your assessment.

Could be that some of us take it at face value. We can believe that she has chosen to stick with her practice, and we can believe that on the eve of the first big event of the primary season that she would chose to be there to offer support to her husband. Frankly I don't care what the pundits say, because they are always rather nasty and shallow to all of the democratic candidates (and apparently to family members as well.) As to the general population - many are in families, or have family members in marriages, where this scenario makes sense.

Just chalk it up to reading the same thing... differently. We will have no idea how the caucus goers in Iowa will read it. Even after they have cast their votes - we still won't know how to read it - given how many factors go into the last final moments of making the individual decision of the vote.

[Lugnut]

31. That's pretty much my take on it.

I've taken this event at face value. The Iowa caucus is a big deal for the candidates. If I were in her shoes I would've done exactly as she has done. :shrug:

[JNelson6563]

32. I get it and I will share something with you

that may help you "get it".

I too am a very political person. I am heavily involved with politics here in the real world and my husband is not. He has a career and is very, very busy. I have left my career behind once that was financially possible and with my kids getting older I was able to jump into politics.

I've gotten in deep too. Many fundraisers and other functions, hold a Chair on the Executive Board of the Party here. My hubby always supportive and encouraging but not involved. Busy with work and makes sure things are taken care of at home while I'm off overthrowing our fascist government.

Every once in a while he will attend a function with me. His reaction to some of those first events reminded me so much of Judy Dean last night.

It blew him away to see me talking and laughing with Senators, Congressment, US Attorney, Gov, etc. He had that same "WOW!" look on his face then that Dr. J. Dean had last night. (He still seems a bit awed by it all sometimes) Much like Judy Dean seemed awed by what her hubby has achieved--her obviously having much more reason for awe than my hubby. ;-)

He is a loving, supportive and encouraging spouse who doesn't share my passion for politics but occassionally comes along to be supportive and I know he gets a big kick out watching me in that world. It reminds me a lot of the Deans.

Perhaps the reasons are not so cynical as one might assume.

Julie

[soleft]

34. Exactly, she should let the pundits dictate when she decides to appear

:eyes:

[Tansy_Gold]

36. That is NOT what I said.

I asked "What do you think the pundits will say?"

I didn't ask how YOU (you individually and you collectively, whether pro-Dean or anti-Dean or undecided) felt about it; I asked what you thought the pundits would say.

I gave my personal opinion and I think I hinted at what I think the pundits may say. I still think there will be comments along the lines of "Gee, Howard Dean flip-flopped on a lot of issues and it looks like his wife is following in his footsteps!" Is that MY opinion? Not necessarily, it's just what I *THINK* the commentators will say.

The reason for looking at it this way is to plan strategy and tactics for countering it, but of course if we all just take things on face value, there's no reason to analyze and strategize, is there?

Dr. Steinberg's sudden entry into the campaign arena on the close heels of various (slightly negative) interviews and columns opens the Dean race to criticism and analysis, and if the Dean team doesn't have a response, it's going to look bad.

One of the purposes of a true devil's advocate is to prepare the other side for any possible opposition. There are a LOT of explanations I expected from the Dean supporters and even the Dean detractors on this board, but I didn't get anything except "Oh, you hate Dean" or "Who cares what the pundits say?" That's not good political strategy.

There's such a thing as preaching to the choir: Every candidate has to play to her/his base. But if the candidate doesn't spread out beyond that base, she/he isn't going to win. When there is the potential for negative campaigning from the opposition, the campaign ought to be prepared to counter it.

But all that comes out this particular forum is . . . .mush. Comments along the line of "My husband hasn't campaigned for me in my political career, so I think it's just fine that Dr. Steinberg isn't involved in Dr. Dean's race" don't do anything to provide counter-campaigning. It's just putting one's head in the sand. The easiest counter to a comment like that is, "Well, campaigning for state representative or even U.S. Senate isn't exactly like running for President of the United States in a time of economic crisis and an increasingly difficult conflict in Iraq."

I've already talked to people who saw the news about Dr. Steinberg's appearance in Iowa and have said, "Gee, why doesn't she support her husband? All the other wives do." And all the explanations to them about women's careers and the importance of Dr. Steinberg's continuing care to her patients goes right over their heads. These are voters, ordinary voters, and they find this to be a huge issue. They DIDN'T find her staying out of the campaign a very big issue until it was brought home to them when she DID appear.

But of course, we can just tell them to take it on face value, don't question, don't analyze. After all, that's how * has been getting by, isn't it?

[October]

39. Not to me...

She's busy with her practice and so forth, and joins him when she can. Seems normal/balanced to me.

[LosinIt]

33. Oh Pul-leaze!!! If she stays home it's bad, if she joins him, it's bad

Just because the Doctor is not your candidate of choice, do you have to disparage his family?

[Malva Zebrina]

22. Dr. Judy Dean was terrific

I watched this confident, calm woman approach the mike and speak softly without any apparent anxiety, in support of her husband's bid for the nomination. She was to me, a real person. There was nothing about her that was feigned or artificial. Together they seemed like a typical married couple. Judy Dean did not however give up her own status and accomplishments in order to promote her husband--she mentioned her "patients" who depend upon her, daily.

Obviously, she puts their needs , because they have confided in her as their healer and physician, ahead of any photo ops and the superficial embelishments of many of the contrived photo oops that have been laes=. She seems indeed to be an woman , an inteligent woman, of principle.

Let us not step tentatively into a comparison to Laura the dumbass, who has been quoted as saying that she is looking forward to "eating and shopping" on her Eurpean visit, (which we the poor, I might add, pay for. I mean should we suggest to the heavily, upholstered , well worn and frayed couch, that she at least try a little bit to look as though she has some class? )

Laura is outclassed by Judy and by Hillary. Laura is a Stepford, take care of me, woman who after all these years is used to being "cared for" by her wealthy, connected husband. She rides along on all the benefits that her marriage to this Bush brings her. She is propelled along on her 'entitlement"], of which she has none, but sees fit to latch onto GW Busj, to provide it to her. After all, she IS getting rather old looking and her eye lifts are really, really looking bery bad--many times making herlook as if her right eye is totallu berserk and wild and off track. It certainly is,

[gauguin57]

26. rank hypocrisy?

Nah, just political reality. Cripes ... it's not like her showing up for a couple of photo ops would be INCONSISTENT with her having a separate career once Dean's elected. Showing up to let the voters see and hear her for once doesn't constitute some campaign promise that she's going to give up her life for Howard to be president.

Idealistically speaking, we'd all love for her not to HAVE to show up to satisfy some Neanderthal image of the political wife. But guess what: in an election this vital, idealism is a luxury the Democratic party can't always afford.

This is the most important presidential election in history; we must take back the White House BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. If that means Judy showing up every once in a while, then so be it. I've been an independent, professional woman my whole adult life, and my conscience is totally clear making that statement (on behalf of the party I've been loyal to for decades). That's friggin' politics.

Yeah, some people will say she showed up just to satisfy the columnists who made a big deal about it. What politician DOESN'T jump through hoops to answer/silence the critics? I think her appearance was the perfect answer to them ... she introduced herself (so she's no longer the invisible wife), she said she supports her husband, and made it clear she's busy with their children and with her patients in Vermont (explaining, in the flesh, why she won't be doing much campaigning). Perfect. Now she can go back to Vermont and we can all get on with it already.

Oh, and by the way ... KERRY FOR PRESIDENT!

[BiggJawn]

35. But you never see "The First Lady, wearing a suit made of sofa fabric..."

Or any references to the "Laura Bush Herculon collection"?

That tells me that they notice when the women are Stylin' and not when they're Frumpin'...

[wildwww2]

37. What a wonderful smile she has. Reminds me of my wife. Whom I adore!

Dr. Dean and his Dr. wife are a lovely looking couple. I cannot critize them like I can the squatter in Al Gore`s White House and his Stepford wife. I hope they win tonight. If they win. They will really win. And not be able to run to court appointed persons who vote in the minority. To gain access to undeserved power.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President