Too Many (Unqualified) Cooks in the Giuliani Kitchen?

March 30, 2007— -- This evening, Judy Giuliani will have her political coming out party on ABC's "20/20" during a taped interview with correspondent Barbara Walters where she and hubby Rudy said that she could very well attend Cabinet meetings and advise on policy in a Giuliani administration.

Rudy currently leads the pack of 2008 GOP presidential hopefuls. Judy is a registered nurse. She is not qualified to attend such important senior-level gatherings, and certainly not equipped to deal with the serious subject matter that's discussed in them. One unqualified Giuliani in the White House would be enough. Excuse me for being blunt here, but I don't want Judy sitting in on Cabinet meetings anymore than I want Rudy sitting in on my next rectal exam.

To be sure, most everyone consults their spouse at some point on sensitive work-related matters. But there's a difference between a private, personal conversation between a husband and wife, and a "two-for-one" proclamation to the American public that the spouse could be injecting her opinions into the mix along with members of the president's Cabinet.

Those of us with business partners can appreciate that the partner's spouse is a likely confidant and adviser to him or her. But I don't think that anyone would want that spouse attending our board meetings and shaping policy. That's taking the spousal consultative role a bit too far. And there's no place for it in Washington either.

Elected officials are just that: elected. Americans don't vote for the spouses. They vote for who they believe to be the most experienced, capable candidates, and that's who they expect to make policy.

Not only is involving one's spouse in presidential politics setting a dangerous precedent, such souped-up involvement, as we saw with Hillary Clinton back in 1992 and '93, can serve to undermine the president and the party's overall agenda, weakening its position against the opposition. It can be a major distraction, and provide much needed fodder for the other party to go on the offensive.

Andy Ostroy is editor and publisher of The Ostroy Report, a New York-based blog that aggressively combats the powerful right-wing spin machine, taking on Bush, the Republican Party and the conservative media.