Can we stop pretending that the spouses of our elected officials are important?
“Jill Biden is embarking on a high-stakes, six-day diplomatic tour of three Latin American countries, as part of a flurry of activity that marks her most prominent time as first lady on a global stage,” reported a breathless Jada Yuan for The Washington Post.
“You know Joe, and I hope that you know that he cares deeply about you,” Jill Biden told an audience in Ecuador on the first leg of her “high-stakes” diplomatic tour. “And I do too. And that’s why I’m here today.”
Er…what?
The notion that the unelected husbands/wives/boyfriends/girlfriends/f***-buddies of elected figures hold any level of authority or official influence has always baffled me. The American people — for some unknown reason — voted for Joe Biden to be President of the United States. But Jill Biden was never on the ballot.
Then why on earth is Jill Biden — whose entire professional career culminated in being a professor of English at a community college after earning a doctorate in education (whatever that means) from the University of Delaware (ranked 39th in “Best Education Schools”) — now embarking on a diplomatic tour on behalf of the United States?
