13 Apr 16
Please state the qualifications of the following people for the position of First Lady/Husband:
Melania Trump:
1. She speaks at least one foreign language fluently.
2. She looks terrific in an evening gown.
3. She looks terrific not in an evening gown.
4.
Bill Clinton:
1. He already knows which Korea is on our side.
2. He already knows the protocol for entertaining visiting dignitaries.
3. He already knows the protocol for entertaining White House interns.
4.
14 Apr 16
Originally posted by moonbusAnd what is 'the role' that they are supposed to fill? If the suitability of the candidates spouse to fill a largely ceremonial role is a serious consideration in your vote, then there is something seriously wrong with your decision making process. Are the candidates policies so similar that you can't tell them apart?
Some First Ladies fulfill the role better than others. American voters might want to consider this when they cast their ballots.
14 Apr 16
1 edit
The post that was quoted here has been removedThere have been a number of other cases where the First Lady was not the President's wife, as while Buchanan was the only president never to marry, several others were widowers (and Cleveland married while in office). On those occasions the role was filled by sisters, daughters or daughters-in-law of the sitting President. This occurred most recently in 1914-15, when Woodrow Wilson's daughter Margaret was official White House hostess in the interval between the death of his first wife and his remarriage.
14 Apr 16
The post that was quoted here has been removedIn fact it seems that the term was coined for one of these non-marital hostesses!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Lady#History_of_use_in_the_USA
"Harriet Lane, niece of bachelor President James Buchanan, was the first woman to be called first lady while actually serving in that position. The phrase appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Monthly in 1860, when he wrote, "The Lady of the White House, and by courtesy, the First Lady of the Land." Once Harriet Lane was called first lady, the term was applied retrospectively to her predecessors."