Saturday, June 27, 2009

Jenny Sanford Gets It Right

Everyone knew that Hillary Clinton got it wrong. The same applied to Silda Spitzer and Dina McGreevey.

None of them seemed to know how to maintain their dignity while being roundly humiliated by their husbands. Blaming it on the vast right wing conspiracy was obviously wrong. Standing next to him while he was confessing was clearly not right.

Now along comes Jenny Sanford, the wronged wife of the governor of South Carolina, and she has clearly gotten it right. In one of those "I know it when I see it" moments, women recognized the brilliance of her handling of the situation.

See New York Times article here.

And in another article in the Times she says, memorably: "Not only will I survive. I will thrive." Link here.

Perhaps Jenny Sanford is a genius at public relations. As we saw in the case of the other humiliated wives, it is very, very difficult to get it right. Perhaps she has an unimpeachable sense of her own dignity and knows that her goal should be to maintain it at whatever cost.

Mark Sanford's Argentinian siren was, as I suggested, a master of the art of romance. She was especially skilled in making a human life into a Harlequin romance.

Jenny Sanford, however, excels at self-respect, dignity, and good character.

Who do you think will come out ahead in what is surely a culture war?

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