Oh come on, don't you know all the White House needs is a sexy First Lady!

/sarcasm

He views his wife as a "possession." Nice. Very nice.

"You know there are dudes out there who not only took that answer seriously, but admire Thompson for it."

Yep -- and this is where humor probably will become truth for lots of men in America. The old boys' club thing -- and I think this is the pop culture version of it -- is so out of touch with reality. This demonstrates yet again the backwards ideals of so many conservatives, because I know it's not only Fred Thompson.

Jeri Thompson? A trophy wife? Pfft. An honorable mention, maybe.

Eh. Fred Thompson's not going to be in the White House. If Jeri Thompson is okay with it, whatever. I've known girls who refer to their boyfriends as trophy boyfriends or arm candy in a joking way, and I think a lot of this was joking too.

I wouldn't have a problem with his response if it was to a different question. The word "possession" is what bothers me.

So that explains why the National Right to Life Committee endorsed Thompson. Both the NRLC and Thompson see women as property. Lovely.

I do not support FT politically, but I think his joke was meant to point out how stupid it is that people refer to his wife this way. It is not fair to assume she is a "trophy" just because she is young and attractive. We can not see what is in the hearts of this couple, this is none of our business

Methinks he should have stuck to Law & Order.

Methinks he should have stuck to Law & Order.

What a dumbass. It really goes to show you what Thompson thinks of women.

But let me make a comment, too: I know his answer was politically incorrect - and whatever dumbass political strategist he has needs to get fired for not preparing him (or feeding him) the question and answer, but here's my thing:

In the American political system - for the most part, aren't most politicians' spouses (wives majority of the time) objectified in some ways? Don't the wives looks and "charm" and intelligence matter? I think they do ...

I am working on a certain candidates' campaign and I tell you, the subject of this candidate's spouse has came up more than once, and the campaign itself is using it as a way to attract voters ...

Fred's comment might be dumb, but it does highlight how women are used as objects and political weapons in various races ...and unless we change the political landscape, we're not going to change that.

And I doubt we'll see a change in the political landscape anytime soon.

Heh. Susie Bright has a bang-on summary on the subject, not to mention the observations re: Hizzhoner.

http://susiebright.blogs.com/susie_brights_journal_/2007/11/if-you-had-to-p.html

"whatever dumbass political strategist he has needs to get fired for not preparing him (or feeding him) the question and answer, but here's my thing:"

His wife is his top political adviser! I'm guessing he had permission.

Rachel Rae had it right. This is a response to punditry giving Jeri Thompson a hard time and calling her a "trophy wife" because she's conventionally pretty and 20 years younger.

She's the brains behind the campaign. Damning with faint praise, but still not very "trophy" like.

of the many things that have pissed me off today, nothing tops this.

I love Thompson's sense of humor. Not sure about his politics.

And to those horribly shrill, hyper-sensitive, mosquito bite boobs that are simply outraged! at such a comment - 'effem, if they can't take a joke.'

Why thank you, locomotivebreath, for coming onto a feminist blog and spewing every single stereotype of feminists possible in one badly-constructed sentence. How very enlightening.

Oh. My. Goddess. I glanced at the picture before I started reading, and the first thing I thought after reading the headline was, "Oh, is this old guy saying that his daughter is his most prized possession?".

My boobs are not mosquito bites, thank you very much. I wear a DDD.

Locomotivebreath--
If you're going to insult us, would you at least be original about it? Seriously dude, do you think we haven't heard the "ugly, humorless feminist" insult before?

ldraggon, that's what I thought, too. I thought it was going to be a post about purity balls.

Sorry, ldragoon. That's what I get for not proofreading.

Agreed, KittenFluff. I could have accepted the possibility of this being a joke between the two of them if it hadn't been for the "possession" bit.

let's see, at last check I still had an A cup, and still get laid quite regularly. I'm not sure how my lack of fat bags is relevant to Thompson's so-called sense of humor, or anything else for that matter?

Whatevs. Kucinich has his own trophy, and Clinton is still getting shit for having the audacity to age in public. Wake me in 50 years when a female presidential candidate has a boy toy as a possible first man.