Hillary's Antecedents

A second Eleanor Roosevelt? Or another Lurleen Wallace? Or even ... Ma Ferguson? Ahem:

Miriam Amanda Wallace "Ma" Ferguson (June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961) became the first female governor of Texas in 1925. She was born in Bell County, Texas. Her husband, James Edward Ferguson, the governor from 1915 to 1917, was impeached, convicted, and removed from office during his second term. Under terms of the conviction, he was not allowed to hold state office again.

After her husband's impeachment and conviction, she ran as a Democrat for the office herself. During the campaign she said she would follow the advice of her husband and that Texas would get "two governors for the price of one." Against what would have seemed insurmountable odds, another Ferguson was elected not only as governor, but the first woman governor of Texas.

Wives following their husbands into office - and using their marital connections to get ahead - is not a new phenomenon in America. Hillary is a modern, spruced-up version, and less a creature of her husband than a partner. They are part of the same two-headed machine. And it has already had eight years in the White House.