Every successful politician is guaranteed a few things: enemies, worshippers, trendy hashtags and a seemingly loving spouse.
Despite the ever-changing role of the politician’s spouse, one aspect of the role remains the same: give your spouse unwavering support and love them.
The spouse is supposed to always stand by the politician, despite any and all missteps. They’re supposed to be a warm, welcoming and energetic being on the campaign trail. Most importantly, however, they’re never supposed to outshine the politician they married
But what happens when the façade is revealed? What if a political couple actually dislikes each other?
It’s an interesting question many repeatedly asked about the Clintons. After observing the Clintons at two separate events in Iowa, Bill sells the whole romance thing more effectively than Hillary. I can’t recall Hillary specifically mentioning her marriage even once. Regardless, I imagine the Clintons are seasoned pros at keeping their marriage afloat post-Lewinsky.
But I’m not convinced every couple campaigning has the routine down as effectively as the Clintons. In particular, the Huckabees were not a united front.
After seeing the Huckabees during the Manship School’s Iowa of the Tiger Program, I wanted to know what happened between them. Judging from the distaste on her face as Mike Huckabee spoke, Janet Huckabee was not happy to be back on the campaign trail. I desperately wanted someone to capture Janetgiving her husband major side-eye and turn it into an Internet phenomenon.
I was probably four feet away from Janet, so I couldn’t take a picture of her without being obnoxious. But she fascinated me! I wondered, “Does she think no one is watching her? Does she actually hate this man? Did she just roll her eye? WHY DOES SHE KEEP PLAYING WITH HER BRACELET INSTEAD OF WATCHING HIM?!” Her alleged misery isn’t surprising though. Surely being married to Mike is a real buzzkill.
I don’t know how much information is available about the Huckabees and their marriage. I doubt anyone has ever cared enough to study them. A quick Google search reveals Mike e made quite the salary hosting his self-titled Fox News program. Maybe Janet grew up poor and resented that Mike exchanged money for a presidential run. Old white couples fight over money, right?
I also learned Janet is a Louisiana native who is a failed politician and didn’t have a college degree until she was 48. When her husband ran for reelection in 2002, Janetwas the Republican Party’s nominee for Arkansas Secretary of State. I imagine the story of former Arkansas First Lady Hillary Clinton resonated with Janet.
But Clinton had something Janet lacked. Clinton was more than just a politician’s spouse. For starters, Clinton was an accomplished legal scholar. During her tenure as First Lady of Arkansas, she was a partner at influential law firm and served on the board of directors for Walmart .
In contrast, Janet Huckabee only had a high school diploma at the time, and she had zero experience in political or business affairs. Janet Huckabee was just clearly not fit for Arkansas’ Secretary of State, which is probably why she didn’t win.
Perhaps her failed attempts at replicating the Clintons’ success is what’s behind her apparent icy feelings toward her husband. Maybe she was just having a bad day and didn’t feel like campaigning in rural Iowa.
Regardless, Janet ee revealed something I never witnessed in a political persona before: a moment of absolute and unquestionable humanity. You can’t fake the absolute disgust on her face.While this is purely speculation, I believe there could be a story.
Whatever happened between the Huckabees clearly wasn’t good because if looks could kill, Mike would be a dead man.
John Gavin Harp is a 20-year-old mass communication Junior from St. Francisville, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter @SirJohnGavin.