It is a silly question. Of course they are. Especially so when the political spouse is involved in a campaign for the presidency of the United States.

The whiniest campaign on the planet, however, thinks otherwise. Barack Obama himself has jumped to Michelle Obama’s defense (against what, exactly), as if she is unassuming, unoffensive and uninvolved in the political process.

This is one of my favorite liberal paradoxes. You want to be strong woman, you want to be treated equally, you are, by choice, a feminist. And then, when things get mildly uncomfortable and it is politically expedient, you are the meek female in need of manly defense. Besides, what is Barack Obama defending his wife from, really? A cartoon by a sympathetic communist New York rag?

Let’s get this straight. Michelle Obama is fair game from now until her husband loses in November. In the primary, she made herself an arm of his campaign. She still makes appearances and speeches on his behalf. She has given sermons from the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ that are, unapologetically, Marxist in nature. And she wants to be the first spouse of a country she doesn’t terribly like.

Yeah, she’s fair game. And no, Barack, you don’t look chivalrous defending her from a cartoon.