In 1992, one of the things that Bill Clinton had going for him was a wife who, by all accounts, was a competent professional woman. Democrats seemed intent on creating a virtual co-presidency, with Hillary presumably to have a leading role in the administration.

Why is it that today there are those so frightened by Jeri Kehn Thompson, and who seek to minimize her accomplishments with epithets like "trophy wife" and "child bride" or other insults? Could it be a bit of misogyny? A concern that a grassroots candidate like Thompson appears able to upset the best laid plans of GOP contenders for the nomination? Or is it a left-wing fear that this young, intelligent, competent woman who also happens to be quite attractive might be an asset to a candidate who can beat anyone the Democrats nominate?

Bob Novak takes on this subtle (and not-so-subtle) misogyny in his current column.

Murmuring about Jeri Thompson hit a peak July 22 on "Fox News Sunday," when the program's roundtable engaged in whimsical contemplation of debate between spouses of Democratic presidential candidates. "Well, first," said Juan Williams of National Public Radio, ". . . I think you should get Jeri Thompson in here, the trophy wife, right?" William Kristol of the Weekly Standard interjected: "That's unfair." Williams: "Unfair, unfair, I know, but --" Kristol: "It is unfair."

That ended the discussion. I asked Williams, a respected journalist, whether he regretted the comment. He did not, but he explained that he got the idea from a July 8 New York Times article by Susan Saulny. "Is America ready for a president with a trophy wife?" she asked in the paper's Style section. "Subsequent to that," Williams told me, "I heard the same thing in conversation with people in other campaigns -- about her being so young, so attractive and so powerful."

The archetypal "trophy wife" (a phrase coined by Fortune magazine 18 years ago) conjures up the image of a rich corporate executive who tires of the woman he married when they both were young, whom he has grown old with, and turns to a young, chic new wife, usually seen as a home wrecker. Mrs. Thompson does not fit that mold. Thompson had been divorced for 17 years and was on friendly terms with his first wife when he married Jeri Kehn in 2002. They also have two small children -- not the trophy wife caricature either.

Nor does Jeri Thompson's background fit the caricature. After working for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee, she became a big-time political media consultant in Washington. She has been intimately involved in the planning of her husband's campaign, including last week's staff shakeup. When Tom Collamore left as Thompson's campaign manager, he told CNN that he was "very respectful of the desire of Fred and Jeri to make some changes as they move to the next level." Those comments generated whispers in the political community that whoever ran this campaign would have to answer to the candidate's wife.

Competent, experienced, and beautiful -- that certainly puts her ahead of a certain Democrat seeking the presidency. And what's more, it leaves open the possibility that, following a successful Thompson presidency, we might see another Thompson seeking elected office -- and being a powerful figure in the GOP for decades to come.

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