Calling wives by their husbands' name

[MADem]

24. Greenspan has more "hits" and "visibility" than

Mitchell, Amanpour and Rubin combined.

Andrea Mitchell didn't marry a schmuck. At the time of her wedding, she was marrying one of the most powerful men in the world. Nowadays, he's retired, but when he was on the job, he made E. F. Hutton look like an amateur (i.e., when he talked, the WORLD listened).

Just like James Rubin married one of the most powerful WOMEN in the world. There are many countries in the world where Andrea Mitchell can walk unrecognized, but there isn't a corner of this planet where Christiane Amanpour can walk without being known for the famed international reporter that she is. Now, she's certainly an "influencer" owing to the platform she has on television, but she doesn't have one one thousandth of the clout that Greenspan had--all he had to say was "irrational exuberance" and people started clutching their wallets frantically.

The fame of Alan G:

http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Shrugged-Greenspan-Worlds-Powerful/dp/047139906X
Books were written about this guy--that's just one of several...

This, though, is the point everyone is trying to make:

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/12/hitchens-200012

Now into his fourth term as Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan holds unparalleled power, despite a history of idealism that started with his worship of Ayn Rand. But Greenspan's official record, as he rose to near-mystical pre-eminence, shows how Washington can compromise even the most passionate of principles.

The annual White House Correspondents' Dinner is a feast of sycophancy and pretended satire, and last April's gathering was no exception. Only one real shaft was launched all evening, when the night's designated jester, Jay Leno, jutted himself toward Hillary Clinton and inquired, “What's it like being married to the most powerful man in the world? Let's ask Andrea Mitchell.” Everybody laughed. Nobody missed the point. This country is in awe of a mousy, bespectacled accountant with enigmatic powers—America's least-likely celebrity.

Everyone laughed. Nobody missed the point.

Greenspan was a powerful guy, and he is intimately--as a consequence of serving for 2 decades as Fed Chair--associated with a school of economic/political thought. It's not unreasonable to think that when his spouse says something that matches his POV, that one might think the spouse is carrying his water.