Reading this New York Times piece about Rudy Giuliani’s wife has gotten me thinking about why it is everyone wants to make a big deal of the spouses and families of some of the candidates.

We’ve seen hit pieces on Fred Thompson’s wife and he isn’t even an official candidate yet.

Now we have this piece on Judith Giuliani.

When I step into the voting booth on election day or on primary day I’m going to be voting for a name on a ballot and not for the spouse of that name. The only spouse I would even consider would be Bill Clinton and that’s because he served our country as president for eight years. I can’t imagine him staying out of the decision-making process, given his experience.

Otherwise, I don’t care about the wives of the other candidates or if their kids were model kids or got into a lot of trouble.

I don’t care about Chelsea’s positions, her past life or anything else when it comes to deciding whether or not her mother should get my vote.

The families of the candidates should be off-limits, and we should judge the candidates by their stands on the issues we care most about.

We know President Clinton said we were getting two for the price of one when he first ran for president, and I think the same holds true today. Therefore, I have no problem looking at his record as president as I think it’s a good look at what a Hillary Clinton presidency would be.

That doesn’t mean I have to scrutinize Chelsea anymore than anyone should have been on the backs of the Bush twins during their father’s first term.

Laura Bush has not been the head of a panel charged with coming up with a universal health care plan or any other legislation, so I don’t consider her political views.

I want a first mate to be what I consider to be traditional. Someone who is there for the president at official events, keeps his or her mouth shut about differences with the president and carries himself/herself in a manner that makes me proud to have this person as a confidante of our president.

I think of Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Roselyn Carter, Barbara Bush and Laura Bush.

Notice I left out Eleanor Roosevelt and Nancy Reagan because I know Eleanor Roosevelt was active politically and Mrs. Reagan seemed to be a huge influence in her husband’s decisions.

I have enough trouble concentrating on the positions of the candidates without trying to dissect every move of their spouses and children.