Affairs of State: The Rise and Rejection of the Presidential Couple Since World War II.

Watson, Robert P.

GIL TROY, Affairs of State: The Rise and Rejection of the Presidential Couple Since World War II (New York: The Free Press, 1997), 486 pp. $27.50 cloth (ISBN 0-684-82820-0).

For years mainstream presidential scholarship ignored examining the roles and responsibilities of the first lady or, perhaps more importantly, her contributions to the presidency. However, beginning slowly in the late 1980s and increasing today, scholarly research on the first ladies has begun to emerge. What we are beginning to realize is that analysis of the roles and activities of first ladies informs presidential scholarship, particularly presidential character and decision making. The reality of the matter is that many first ladies have wielded considerable power and served as key behind-the-scenes presidential advisers. Affairs of the State contributes to this growing field of first lady scholarship and calls for an expansion of presidential research to include the presidential marriage.

Author Gil Troy takes the reader on an intimate examination of the "first couples." He chronicles the challenges facing the first lady and the various approaches to the "office" taken by first ladies beginning with Eleanor Roosevelt. In so doing, this book raises important questions about the merits of having powerful first ladies, both from a constitutional perspective and in terms of the benefit to the presidency. Thoroughly researched with a variety of primary and secondary sources, the book begins by charting the "business partnership" of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Troy sees the Roosevelts as initiating the trend of spouse as "co-president," something that culminates with the Clintons. A problem arises in that he ignores the fact that there are earlier precedents for the activist "spouse as partner" model including Helen Taft, Florence Harding, Sarah Polk, and perhaps even dating to Abigail Adams. A chapter follows on each "first couple" since World War II, ending with a scathing critique of the Clintons and a concluding chapter offering his advice to first couples. The author's approach seems to be to assess and criticize the ever increasing visibility and influence of the first ladies from the vantage point of an American public simultaneously curious, critical, and uncertain about its expectations of the president's spouse. While the book falls to draw upon existing presidential theory or forward theory of its own, it does make a strong case for using the presidential couple as a conceptual framework from which to study the presidency. Essentially, Troy has two theses: (1) the blurring between political and private life and the increasingly public nature of presidential marriages has caused tensions in the White House and between it and the citizenry; (2) the growth and politicization of the "extra-constitutional position" of first lady is harmful to the presidency, our constitutional democracy, and the first lady herself. Unlike other books on the first ladies, he does not "celebrate" the growing power, influence, and political activism of presidential spouses.

Troy sees the president's spouse as, at times, both helping and harming the president, although he argues that there is a far greater potential for hindering the president. His model spouse is Barbara Bush, whom he feels best captured the American public's supposed interest in a traditional, non-threatening first lady; one who is less concerned with power and more concerned with supporting the president. He calls this the "Republican mother" model. He sees Hillary Rodham Clinton--the "first feminist"--as the sum of all that is wrong with the growing power and politicization of the "institution" of first lady. Troy does an excellent job of highlighting the challenges facing the presidential marriage and the many difficulties first ladies face in defining themselves and their role. He offers interesting anecdotes to support his claim that overly political spouses invite intense media and public scrutiny. Unfortunately, he lets an obvious personal hostility to feminism and certain first ladies shade his analysis. For example, 4is constant reference to the "radicals" and "rebels" of the 1960s and women's movement, his dismissal of Bill Clinton (who happened to win a second term) as a "draft-dodging, non-inhaling, boy of 1960s liberalism," and his grossly oversimplified criticisms of feminism and feminists border on petty name-calling and undermine the objectivity and accuracy of his claims. Troy encourages the first couple to support each other, but not to forget who is in charge.

His concluding chapter offers advice to presidential spouses and presidents. Presidential spouses should not attempt to be "pioneers" but should "be who they want you to be" and "symbolize the traditional marriage." The lessons, he says, are clear: this is what the American public wants and while first ladies can be players and can enhance the president's image, they should not, however, be involved in substantive political matters. He does a good job reminding the reader (and presidential couples) that the institution of first lady is not constitutionally derived, powerful spouses are un-impeachable and non-elected, and the wedding band does not permit one to make public policy.

But in his strong critique of activist partners, Troy falls to fully appreciate the many worthy causes championed by hard working, dedicated first ladies. Also, the nature of social hosting is highly political. Moreover, it has usually been the president himself who has managed his wife's image so as to enhance his popularity, often encouraging her to use the first lady's "white glove pulpit" to reach women and to broaden his appeal. Ironically, the same American public that he is convinced does not want politically active first ladies, also does not want inactive first ladies. There are intense public and media pressures on presidential spouses to be visible, accessible, and active in matters that are inevitably political.

Affairs of State is a must-read for anyone interested in the presidential marriage. The book brings the issue of the "co-presidency" to the forefront of contemporary debate about the presidency and makes a strong case for enlarging the scope of presidential scholarship to include "presidential couples." Despite some problems, it is recommended for a broad audience and will appeal to both the academician and general public, the presidential scholar, and the presidential couples (and all political couples for that matter). As Troy states, many presidential marriages have become stronger in the White House and all have endured the pressures of the presidency. Perhaps this is for a reason: presidents have needed their spouses and it could be argued that, in general, the first ladies performed with competence, dignity, and a remarkable degree of political savvy.

ROBERT P. WATSON Assistant Professor of Political Science University of Hawai'i at Hilo