Feingold, wife planning to divorce

[Dolomite]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/daywatch.asp

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, a possible candidate for president in 2008, announced today that he is getting a divorce.

Feingold and his wife, Mary, issued a joint statement through the Democrat's Senate office saying they have decided to end their marriage of 14 years.

"We are separating amicably, and intend to remain very good friends," the statement said.

The marriage was the second for both. Feingold has two daughters from his first marriage, Mary Feingold has two sons from hers.

Feingold won his bid for a third term last fall by 11 percentage points in a state that Democrat John Kerry barely carried. Several Web sites have sprung up urging Feingold to run for president, and he hasn't ruled out a race.

[napi21]

1. There was a time when that would have mattered, but no more...

unless there's some sort of bad stuff comes out like it did with Rudy and some other Pubs like Gingrich.

[ProgressiveConn]

2. Its a shame but these things happen.

Its good that they part amicably and without children.

[hezekkia]

3. too bad

sadly, i think this will probably sink a Feingold '08 run. In these days where media imagery is everything, running as a twice-divorced single guy is anything but helpful. no pretty housewife for photo ops. no woman to stand behind her man. Pretty sad for the year 2008, huh?

[ProgressiveConn]

4. Not at all.

Especially since his wife was counseling him not to run.

[Ravenseye]

6. Yeah He's Done

I'm sorry, but 2 divorces and the current climate? Maybe if he was a Republican.

If he ran in the main campaign they'd focus on it, make it seem like he's the worst father since god knows when, etc. Worst husband. Worst human being. Lacking in morals.

They'd do it subtle, they'd do it direct.

I was open to a Feingold candadacy (willing to listen and read more before I decided) but this is it.

We need a strong candidate in 2008. No need to put up a candidate that already is painting targets on his back. No matter how good he might be otherwise.

[MADem]

18. They'll paint him with the "sanctity of marriage" brush

...with a helping of McGreevey on the side. The former governor of New Jersey had two lovely wives, too...

Toast.

Move on, there are plenty of smart Dems out there, and even the dumbest one is smarter than boyking.

[LizW]

7. Are you kidding? By '08 he could have a hot new wife

and a couple of toddlers! Think positive!

/sarcasm

[kskiska]

26. Right!

He could be another Rudy Giuliani!

[wellst0nev0ter]

5. Yet Another Reason To Ban Gay Marriages

[GOPBasher]

22. LOL good point.

In seriousness, isn't divorce a much greater threat to marriage than gay marriage? In fact, how is gay marriage even a threat to straight people's marriages? :shrug:

[Dr Fate]

8. None of my business. Best wishes to everyone in that family. n/t

n/t

[jaysunb]

12. Best response so far !!

:toast:

[maxsolomon]

9. goodnight irene

if we have the knives out for rudy in 2008 bcuz of his mistress, divorce, and general venality & hypocrisy, then the GOP is ready to go to work on russ TOMORROW.

[0rganism]

10. Divorce is a liability for a presidential candidate

Not that any multi-term senator will have a shortage of liabilities, but Divorces are yet another, and Sen. Feingold has two now.

I like Feingold's positions on a lot of issues, and he would give some pull in a swing state, but we need to be looking for governors and generals to run, not twice-divorced senators. Naturally, the article puts an emphasis on the presidential aspect of the case, but I really hope Russ stays out of the ring in 2008.

[Zen Democrat]

11. He's toast. One divorce? Okay. Two divorces? No way.

Not for Rudy. Not for Russ.

Look elsewhere for a candidate, folks.

[donheld]

45. He's not toast

If that's his biggest sin so what. Do we even know why they are divorcing?

[Freddie Stubbs]

20. I don't think that is much of an issue

It was never used against Reagan or Kerry.

[karynnj]

23. I agree assuming his ex-wives speak well of him

Kerry may have a bit protected as his first wife supported him strongly and her twin brother was high in Kerry's campaign. (Also, she asked for the divorce and said it was because she couldn't stand the anger, hatred and loneliness that she associated with politics. By bringing out the harassment that she and Kerry were subjected to by the Nixon dirty tricks people in 1971-2, it might even have generated sympathy for Kerry. They also obviously did a great job bringing up their 2 daughters who seem to have fantastic relationships with both parents.

[0rganism]

30. It was an issue -- at least by way of the second marriage

There was plenty of talk about Sen. Kerry's marrying the widow of another (republican) Senator, and Teresa was played up for a treacherous psychopath as only a republican-owned media can.

It is not the only issue, certainly. Reagan and Kerry and their opponents both had other factors that overshadowed divorce in the long run. But it is an issue.

[Leilani]

33. With Reagan, his wife walked out on him

He was devastated over her leaving him.

She said "he was too boring."

[tjdee]

46. Was he also having sex with Nancy Davis at that time?

I know next to nothing about Reagan's personal life (and I'm not sorry), but wasn't his wife walking out on him kind of good for him so he could get with Nancy?

[Leilani]

47. He met Nancy when his marriage was over.

Don't know if he was separated or divorced.

[hector459]

21. It wasn't for Bonzo (Reagan). But then this kind of morality only applies

to Dems, not Republicans...they can do no wrong.

[0rganism]

32. I think it *did* hurt Reagan, but Carter had higher negatives

some of which were implimented by Reagan's campaign staff specifically for the election (October Surprise, anyone?)

[Deja Q]

41. Unless you're Reagan.

[elfin]

13. Bet his ambition was the cause

He is getting her out of the way before his official bid for the Pres. I am from Wisconsin and I do vote for him, but have been distressed by his latest moves which seem out of bounds considering his resume'.

That's too bad - Washington doesn't seem to be very good for marriage.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

14. That's a shame

Do they have small children? I hope not!

[JI7]

15. they don't have any kids together

Feingold has 2 daughters from his first marriage, and she had 2 sons from her first marriage.

but they didn't have any kids together.

[Zynx]

16. Hey, the kids can date inside the family then.

j/k *cue Brady Bunch music*

Seriously, I don't think this is a political issue.

[BrainRants]

17. Maybe he could hook up with Hillary before '08?

Washington's new power couple?

OK, sorry, I like them both and am saddened by this news.

I hope it's not because of another woman because the Swift Boat Veterans for Defense of Marriage would crucify him if he still chooses to run in '08.

If he went after the "Divorced Voter" he might be on to something...the "Anti-marriage" candidate?

Hmmmmm.....?

Then again, Repugs shouldn't care. He could pull a Newt or Limbaugh a few more times.

[NNguyenMD]

19. hard to go after divorcee's when over half of marriages end up that way

Russ's campaign with survive this without a hitch. I hope that guy doesn't feel phased by this, we need guys like him to fun for president.

[AlGore-08.com]

25. Are we living in the same country?

It doesn't matter that most marriages end in divorce. The President is supposed to set an example. If you don't believe that, then you should be confused about all the DUers who are livid over Smirk's personal history of hypocrisy, cronyism, lying and cowardice.

Sluffing off multiple divorces because most marriages end that way just plays into the idea that Democrats have no morals. But more importantly: right now, nobody knows why the Feingolds got divorced except the Feingolds and their lawyers. If he runs for President, some news org is going to subpoena those records and Feingold's divorce proceedings will be one of 2008's major media-obsess-a-thons. What if there's something really lurid in the record - - like the Feingolds' sexual practices or allegations of spousal abuse? (It doesn't matter that the Feingolds publicly say they're divorcing amicably. Every public figure says that upon getting divorced. It has as much real meaning as a pol saying "I have no intention of running for President".)

In a way, it doesn't matter if the papers are totally boring, the speculation about what might be in the papers will be enough to derail the campaign coverage for weeks. Faux and the rest of the right wing media will cover Feingold's divorce as if the court record proves that Feingold is a Satan worshiping crack addict - - and the fact that Feingold is divorced is what will convince lots of gullible people that Faux's coverage "must be true".

The scandal (or pseudo-scandal) stirred up by Feingold's divorce could stop us from reclaiming the White House, and lose down ticket races in 2008 and possibly 2010.

[piece sine]

28. refreshing!

thanks for the grounded, rational assessment of the way politics works. I know Russ, he's a great guy who works hard, but this is not going to play in Peoria.

[NNguyenMD]

37. my point is like the millions of other flawed human beings, Russ just

happens to be one of them. Yes human beings get divorced and make mistakes. Sure there will be some in the electorate who will cry bloody murder over it, but it will come across as extraordinarily hypocritical, and very hurtful to the millions of divorced Americans who will have their integrity questioned because of the fact that they happened to be divorced.

People who go through divorces will understand, and being a recent divorcee will NOT be that much of a liability to Russ if he can effectively communicate that it has no bearing in his ability to be a power broker.

Just a modification of what Alan Alda's character said on the West Wing said, anyone who want to base their vote on a candidate's personal life is just begging to be lied to, and it'll be one of the easiest lies they'll ever tell. Its their business and as long as they're not engaged in spousal abuse, child molestation or satanic cultism I couldn't give two shits about why Russ Feingold got divorced.

I'm sure that deep down Barack Obama is dissapointed that he beat Jack Ryan based on the fact that Jack's a pervert than the fact that Obama is more talented and has better ideas.

[Voltaire99]

24. "Oh, no, now he can't run" and other blah blah blah

If this disqualifies Feingold in your eyes, get thee to a nunnery.

Even if Feingold were divorced 10 times, his progressive views and integrity would still make him ten times better a candidate than Hillary "Let's go to war! Let's curtail abortion! Let's sign the Patriot Act!" Clinton.

And on the level of social experience, Feingold's divorces make him more typically American than the right wing senator from New York, a Tammy Wynette figure if ever there was.

[customerserviceguy]

29. The people for whom

a second divorce matters that much to, would never vote for him anyway. Most of us know very, very well people who have been divorced, and often multiple times. Only the idiots who think Jesus is gonna mess with them if they even think about it will judge others' relationships...

[truthisfreedom]

34. if he does run in 2008, every time the thugs bring up his divorce, we

invoke reagan. it's that simple.

[Zynx]

27. If Cleveland could survive having an illegitimate kid and Clinton could

survive affairs, this is small potatoes.

[hopein08]

31. Wasn't she with him...

on his trip to Alabama over the Easter recess?

Kind of odd.

This could be the end for him in 2008. God, I hope not.

[Leilani]

35. I like Russ Feingold a lot

& I wouldn't be influenced by his divorces, however the greater public will have problems.

Look at the Kerry Campaign...I think part of the reason he picked Edwards was the image of the very photogenic Edwards family. The kids were available at all times in photo ops, & because they're so cute, you had to smile.

Remember the day Edwards was announced from Theresa's home. 2 big happy families...even Britt Hume always gushed over those 2 little kids.

Face it, politics is about image.

[ikojo]

36. The fact that the Edwards' kids are so aryan looking

also plays well in the government/corporate media.

[Leilani]

38. Aryan?

I never thought of such a thing.

Cute kids are cute kids, whether they're White, Asian, Black, Brown.

[ikojo]

39. Tis true but blonde haired blue eyed white

kids garner more press than any other kid.

Just look at the media frenzy when a kid like Jon Benet Ramsey disappears versus a kid who does not look like her.

[hopein08]

42. That is an off the wall thing to say

You mentioned Jon Benet Ramsey, but what about Polly Klaas (sp?)? If memory serves, she was dark haired.

But I'm not sure why I'm getting into this.

[Binka]

48. Polly Was White And Gorgeous

She was my neighbor too. I still dream about her.

[hopein08]

43. Okay

I have to disagree on part of the reason for picking Edwards being the photogenic-ness of the family. If I believed what you said, I would have just lost a lot of respect for John Kerry and even for John Edwards for using and letting the kids be used, respectively.

Politics is, to an extent, about image. But even with two divorces, Feingold's daughters are both at least college students. The wife he's divorcing has two sons the same age. I've read where Feingold said people didn't believe they were a family because of the drastically different characteristics. So it may not even have worked out then.

[nickshepDEM]

40. You can toss those Presidential asspirations out the door. n/t

[jefferson_dem]

44. Sadly...I think you're right.

[Placebo]

49. bye-bye RUSS '08

Sad to say, even a superman like Russ likely can't try and end a marriage, and find a new wife, and run for President.