Can a Single Person Win the White House?

Since it is Wedding Week here on the blog, and since we try to discuss American politics on a daily basis, I thought it would be an interesting time to take a look at one of the odder taboos in American politics: the single politician and the White House.

This is probably one of weirder taboos in the political sphere, if only because most other “barriers” to the presidency have become more tolerant with time, rather than less.  We currently have an African-American president, and few would expect that the next African-American president will have to overcome the same sorts of hurtles as Barack Obama.  Similarly, women such as Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have made it significantly easier and more likely that we’ll have a female president, if not in the next election, almost certainly in the next 10-20 years.

However, we’ve had a bachelor president: James Buchanan in 1856 (it’s also worth noting that Grover Cleveland wasn’t married yet when he initially became president).  Bachelors were regular fixtures in politics in the 19^th century, when the role of the First Lady was less public and the president’s personal life wasn’t broadcast on television and in magazines and on the internet.  Since then, though, the presidential spouses have become major figures on the campaign trail, and the public is far more interested in the president’s private life.  Women such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, and Michelle Obama have had an enormous influence over issues in the United States, and people enjoy the image of the president as a family man, as someone who has a life that mirrors that of many Americans.  It’s worth noting that no major party presidential candidate has been unmarried since Adlai Stevenson, who was divorced when he mounted two unsuccessful attempts against President Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956.  The spouses of candidates are able to tackle more ground on the campaign trail and can help to “soften” the candidates during a particularly grueling and nasty campaign.  Think of how both Ann Romney and Michelle Obama gave speeches about the man behind the candidate in 2012, and think of how that sort of message wouldn’t resonate with almost any other person.  People can relate to knowing things about a spouse that no one else does, and will take others' word on it.

So, it’s obvious that being married is an advantage as a candidate and a president, but is it a deal-breaker?  The thing to consider is that there are a few different definitions of “single.”  I personally don’t feel that, for example, anyone would have the remotest qualm with a widower running for president, as all of the implied success in marriage would still be there.  A divorced person, though, runs into issues.  We’ve had presidential candidates who were divorced (Ronald Reagan, John Kerry, and John McCain), but it’s still rare and it’s worth noting that all three men were happily remarried before they set off on the presidential trail.  We’ve never had a divorced man who wasn’t remarried successfully win the presidency (Stevenson coming the closest), and the highest-profile divorced presidential candidate (Andrew Cuomo) is in a serious relationship and probably would be married prior to launching a campaign in 2016.  The reasons for this are myriad, and not easy to dissect without specific polling (and it’s hard not to see a Bradley Effect bias with this sort of questioning).  One could assume that voters wouldn’t want to have someone who doesn’t reflect the “American Dream” in office-successful at home and at work.  Despite protestations, there is still a pretty high stigma in the country surrounding either choosing remaining single or to remain single because you haven’t been successful in previous romantic relationships.  This is something that doesn’t seem to be deteriorating, despite our attitudes toward marriage and relationships themselves evolving.

The final point, of course, is that rumors plague candidates who have never been married.  Cory Booker, probably the country’s most prominent unmarried politician and the likeliest unmarried candidate to run for president in the near future, is a prime example of this.  Rumors regarding Sen. Booker’s sexuality as well as his romantic pursuits have dogged him the further he has stepped into the spotlight.  While all presidential candidates have to be dogged by their past in some fashion (just ask Bill Clinton), people are a lot more willing to forgive romantic entanglements prior to marriage (we all have things in that file we’d like to hide), but if you’re still single the question becomes do you still partake in such casual dating?  Fair or unfair (okay, it’s wildly unfair), what the media can sell is what gets broadcast, and a prominent unmarried politician’s dating life is more interesting than debates about healthcare or the economy.

I guess we won’t be able to know a definitive answer to this question until we have to cross the bridge.  It’s worth noting that governors have recently been elected to office and been single, with relatively little fanfare, but of course the presidency is a bigger deal (to prove this point, name the spouse of your governor).  It is, however a bizarre glass ceiling that’s already been shattered over a century ago that still seems to persist.