If you are a thin-skinned candidate, you may not want to go there. As of today, any and all past indiscretions on your part may have a great impact on your race. The man stands pretty much alone, when he is the candidate in this area but, again for women, not only is her own past a focus of scrutiny, but if the spouse or another member of her family has a past, it will be used against her. Remember when Geraldine Ferraro was attempting to run for Vice President? One of the main issues that brought her down was the questionable business dealings of her husband.
In conducting numerous campaign researches on candidates, I can tell you that there are very, very few people that have not made past mistakes or have, as you would say, "skeletons in ones closet!" Let me tell you, the only time you may want skeletons in your closet is when they are the plastic bone skeleton type on Halloween.
In today's world of probing media practices and advanced technology, the attacks seem uglier than ever. The ability of a candidate with enough money to run a media attack on you is a scary thing and it is no fun to be politically and emotionally undressed in public in the homes of your voters, let alone friends and family. The backlash can come when you are in the a grocery store doing your weekly shopping — people recognize you from your pictures and then come up to you like they know you, even if you have no idea who they are, and you have to stand and listen to their opinions of you and your stands on issues. It is not always complimentary. Political issues can become emotional hot boxes and you may become the focus of the emotion and anger.
At one point I took an unpopular stand on an issue against the "big boys" and had the tires on my car slashed. Although I'm sure this practice is not the norm. Your children may also fall victim to being on the receiving end of verbal opinions about you. Their classmates listen to the verbal opinions of their parents and carry them with them to school. Husbands my also come under attack, as they may be approached and asked if they can't control you. This not only is an attack on your husband's manhood, but it will begin to cause friction on the homefront. A husband of a female candidate must be very supportive of his wife and be very tactful with those who approach him.
