Baltimore-based ethicist and philosophy professor Nina Guise-Gerrity ponders local goings-on and poses the questions that hit to the core and clarify--or muddy--the way of the world as seen from your backyard.
The next elected president of the United States will be named either McCain or Obama. By the end of November, we will have voted one of these two gentlemen into office because of his foreign and national policies. We will look at the issues, the stances, the past voting records, and the future promises of the two and vote according to our best judgment. What we will also be forced to look at are the issues, the stances, the utterances, and the outfits of the first lady to-be and decide whether or not she is worthy of the title. Starting this week, the surnames McCain and Obama will not automatically signal writing or an opinion about the two presidential candidates. The name may also precede a piece about the life of the woman standing next to the man. Our media is poised and ready to begin a slew of publications about Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama that will leave nothing about their lives private unexposed. As a viewing public, should we demand that stories about the presidential candidate’s wives are out of bounds? After all, neither will hold political office. As the voting public, should we demand that politics focus on issues and not the sensationalism that is sure to come with articles about the candidate’s wives? Can we agree that neither woman is running for political office nor will have any function in the government?