Let's Knock Off the Catty Coverage

A male reporter gleefully lobbed this hand grenade recently: "You can stop worrying about us guys undermining your gender," he told me. "You ladies are doing a fine job of it all by yourselves."

He was talking about recent campaign coverage, and he was right. Women journalists are clawing at wives of presidential candidates like cats on tuna. Honestly, it's gotten so bad I almost found myself agreeing with Peggy Noonan, the former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, who weighed in on Friday in The Wall Street Journal.

"It's gotten catty out there," she wrote, rattling off the themes of some of the coverage: "Jeri Thompson is a trophy wife, as is Cindy McCain. Michelle Obama is too offhand and irreverent when speaking of her husband, and Judith Giuliani is a puppy-stapling princess."

She also mentioned Hillary Clinton's supposedly plunging neckline, a story by Washington Post fashion reporter Robin Givhan that was as contrived as it was ridiculous. Please. If anyone in the media gives two hoots about my cleavage when I'm 60, I'm going to throw a party and wear a granny thong.

Noonan was onto something, but then she quickly segued to her usual them-were-the-days narrative in which men were men and women were as mute as fence posts. Her rules for the presidential candidates' wives would reduce their lives to performance art:

— Don't act as if you want to be first lady.

— Pretend that nothing bothers you. Think of Laura Bush who would simply smile if someone said, "Your husband is the spawn of Satan." Noonan said that kind of response is a sign of wisdom. Others might take it as agreement.

— Don't talk about how much you love your husband, but do always redirect the spotlight from yourself to him. That way everyone knows you love your husband. Just don't say it. Ever.

— Don't worry your pretty little head about policy. No one cares what you think.

— Make it clear that some parts of your life are off-limits to the media, but don't ever say "off-limits." Just say no .

Oh, brother.

Her idea of a perfect wife sounds perfectly miserable.

Frankly, this recent coverage is embarrassing. For years, I've insisted that if more women covered politics, more Americans would vote. We've had mostly white, middle-aged men covering elections, which has resulted in too many stories about the horse race of polling, fundraising and who served how long in the military.

Women bring perspective to crucial issues confronting most Americans. That's what I've said, anyway.

And now here we are, writing stories that degrade a 40-year-old mother of two as a trophy wife. Others slip in snarky asides that mention another wife's slimmer figure. And is it really news when anonymous staffers complain about a meddling wife? There's a headline: "Wife Cares About Scheduling." Shocking!

In the September issue of Vanity Fair, Judy Bachrach cited more than 40 anonymous sources for a devastating piece on Judith Giuliani. We don't know whether Bachrach had 40 sources or four because they show up only as friends, observers, aides and former employees.

New York Times columnist Gail Collins took it from there, citing Vanity Fair as describing Giuliani as "an unpleasant combination of Catherine the Great and Britney Spears."

Aaargh. Stop it already.

It's 2007. Big election up ahead. Lots of scary things happening to too many Americans. Think jobs. Think health care. Think endless war in Iraq.

Enough with the necklines, designer bags and who weighs what. If a candidate's wife makes public statements or behaves in a way that undermines her husband's credibility, she's fair game. When Elizabeth Edwards disagreed publicly with her husband's stand on gay marriage, it was news. If Judith Giuliani lied about past marriages and how she met the already married Rudy, she deserves coverage.

But please, tales of bossy wives? Ask any husband. This is not news.

Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Plain Dealer and the author of two books from Random House: "Life Happens" and "… And His Lovely Wife." To find out more about Connie Schultz (cschultz@plaind.com) and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2007 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.