Fred Thompson's wife, Jeri Kehn Thompson, demeaned by the New York Times as a "trophy wife," is instead someone who will be an "asset" to Fred's campaign, writes syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak.
After working for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee, she became a big-time political media consultant in Washington. She has been intimately involved in the planning of her husband's campaign, including last week's staff shakeup. When Tom Collamore left as Thompson's campaign manager, he told CNN that he was "very respectful of the desire of Fred and Jeri to make some changes as they move to the next level." Those comments generated whispers in the political community that whoever ran this campaign would have to answer to the candidate's wife.Actually, Collamore is a former bureaucrat and tobacco lobbyist with vastly less political experience than Mrs. Thompson has. Not even Collamore's friends could conceive of him running a national campaign.
The spectacle of Thompson's Republican adversaries demeaning his wife in conversations with journalists suggests how seriously they regard his prospective candidacy. He starts his campaign in the top tier of candidates and is already the candidate of the South and the favorite of social conservatives. His test is how he will do after Labor Day when his candidacy's phantom stage is over. Jeri Thompson will be at his side as an asset, not a liability.
I'm guessing Fred doesn't mind if his rivals dismiss Jeri as a "trophy wife," and discount her political experience and skills.
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