Love In Short Supply For Political Spouses

ANDREW MIGA

WASHINGTON (AP) — Political spouses increasingly are finding little public love to go with marriage.

The husbands and wives of elected officials long have been considered fair game, especially those in high-profile, high-paying jobs. But now, with the rise of bloggers and the march of 24-hour news, they've never been more visible — or as vulnerable to the rough and tumble of the campaign.

Consider Jackie Clegg Dodd, wife of embattled five-term Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

Republicans have been criticizing her for the $400,000 a year she earns as a director of several corporate boards, with the state GOP chairman questioning whether she got the posts because of the political clout of her husband. The senator is chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and facing his toughest re-election fight in 2010.

The charges came despite Mrs. Dodd's background as the former vice chairwoman and chief operating officer of the Export-Import Bank of the United States and her decade of experience working as a staffer on the Senate Banking and Appropriations panels.