Trophy Wife

Mrs. Instapundit, Dr. Helen, has linked an interesting discussion regarding Fred Thompson, and his lovely wife Jeri, who has gotten quite a bit of (likely unwanted) attention recently.

The subject under discussion here is leering and Fred Thompson's right (or not) to leer at his own wife. Ann Althouse weighs in:

He's leering at his own wife. Does that make it okay? Well, there are lots
of things you can do with your wife that people don't want to see in
public.

Well, leering strikes me as something about which not everyone has standing to complain. Obviously the object of the leering may feel violated and uncomfortable, perhaps even somewhat concerned for their safety. With regard to the leering in question, I think it's safe to say Mrs. Thompson was not offended.

Of course there are things you can't do with your wife in public. A little leering seems harmless, though, in light of the public displays of affection we generally deem acceptable.

What is really going on is that for some reason, people are offended by the fact that Jeri is (relatively speaking) young and attractive and Fred is old and not. Maybe he's striking. But he's old.

As Libby notes (from Dr. Helen):

She looks so young, you expect that she signs her name with a little smiley face instead of a dot on the "i" at the end.

Jeri should send Libby a valentine--she's 40 years old. And an attorney. And a political consultant. I'm not sure I'd expect that smiley face...




Margery Eagan similarly embarrasses herself here:

Flashed around the country Thursday was yet another full cleavage shot of Fred
Thompson’s child wife looking almost as well-endowed as Alex Rodriguez’s
stripper/pole-dancer girlfriend. “That was quite a dress,” said one GOP analyst,
breathless.

Child wife? This is a 40 year old woman. And let's be clear--this is Thompson's wife, not some stripper girlfriend.