Cinderella in the White House

So Mrs. Fred Thompson is not a lawyer, a surprise comparable to the news a while back that Mrs. Rudy Giuliani has two former husbands rather than one.

These unexpected twists only add to the fascination of a First Lady who would embody the American dream of rising out of poverty by sheer will and determination, a Horatio Alger story featuring a Cinderella with erotic power.

As their sagas unfold, the outlines are remarkably similar, two young women from small towns, after struggling through unhappy relationships and money problems, drawn to the lights of big cities where they meet their true loves--Judi in a Manhattan cigar bar, Jeri at a Fourth of July barbecue.

The Giuliani and Thompson campaign staffs are busily airbrushing their stories so as not to offend voters of the Religious Right, but they may be underestimating the appeal of love conquering the barriers of age, social standing and, in Rudy’s case, marital status.

Unlike their handlers, the couples themselves are not being shy. Jeri Thompson is seen with a plunging neck line, and Judi is holding her husband’s face for serious smooching in Harper’s Bazaar. "Rudy's a very, very romantic guy," Mrs. Giuliani told the magazine. "We love watching 'Sleepless in Seattle.' Can you imagine my big testosterone factor husband doing that?"

Well, yes. and if enough voters agree, they could end up snuggling in the White House where the sexual activity would, for a change, be in the master bedroom. In the Thompson case, the fertility rites could go even further with the first baby born there since President Cleveland’s wife, Frances, gave birth in 1893.

In contrast, all the Democrats have to offer in Clinton, Obama and Edwards are long-term first marriages. But if Hillary wins, the Secret Service will have to add spousal extramarital sex to their laundry list of threats against the President.