Of course there is the great and inestimable help that comes from the
mere fact that she is your wife. After all, that is the very greatest
help any woman can be to any man. The care of home, the upbringing of
children, the strengthening of a husband's character here and there,
the detection of those thousand little vices of manner and speech and
thought which develop in every man--in short, the living of a natural
woman's life--is the only method of real helpfulness of a woman to a
man. And it is a priceless helpfulness.
Particularly is this true of political life and career. A man who must
be lifted to distinction by his wife's apron-strings, does not deserve
distinction. In the end, he does not get it--the apron-strings usually
break, and they ought to break. It may be stated as a general truth
that a man is never helped by the active participation of the wife in
his political affairs.
There are notable exceptions, just as there are to every rule. But as
a generalization this statement is accurate. Men resent that kind of
thing in politics. They want a man who aspires to anything to be
worthy of that thing on his own account. They want their leader to be
a leader; and no leader is "managed" in politics by his wife.
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