While I was watching Sarah Palin’s speech during the Republican National Convention last night, I found it interesting to learn she married her high school sweetheart. It made me think that might make a fun blog: profiling the marriages of the 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees.
Barack and Michelle Obama
They first met in 1989 when Barack interned at a law firm where Michelle worked. Apparently he was smitten with her right from the get go, but she didn’t want any part of an office romance.
But Barack wouldn’t be deterred. He persisted in asking her out for a month. She finally said yes.
Their first date was pretty traditional fare: dinner and a movie. But it seems that was all it took. Obama went back to school, but they continued dating long distance.
He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991. Barack and Michelle were married on October 18, 1992.
This is the first marriage for both of them.
YEARS TOGETHER: This October, they’ll celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary.
AGE DIFFERENCE: Three years.
John and Cindy McCain
They met in Honolulu, Hawaii, at a military reception. Like Obama, John was smitten with Cindy from their first meeting.
As far as their age difference, Cindy is reported as saying that he made himself seem younger, and she had strived to make herself appear older when they first met. Neither knew how old the other really was until they saw their marriage application.
They were married on May 17, 1980.
Something I found interesting to note during my research is that he was still married to his first wife, Carol Shepp McCain, at the time he met Cindy. (Though that marriage had been on the rocks for a while. Due in part to injuries Carol sustained in a bad car wreck while he was in Vietnam, and also due to him having extramarital affairs once he returned.)
YEARS TOGETHER: This past May John and Cindy McCain celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary.
AGE DIFFERENCE: Seventeen years.
Joe and Jill Biden
I didn’t come across any “I knew I loved her from the first time met her” stories regarding Joe Biden. They met when Jill was in college. Joe’s brother introduced them. Two years later, on June 17, 1977, Joe and Jill were married.
The most notable thing I stumbled across was Joe Biden had two boys from a previous marriage. It was very important to him that they be included in all aspects of the wedding, from the ceremony to the honeymoon. As I dug deeper about why this would be so important, I was reminded that he was the senator with a tragic past. His first wife, Neilia, and one of his children, Amy, had been killed in a car accident.
YEARS TOGETHER: This past June Joe and Jill celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary.
AGE DIFFERENCE: Eight years.
Sarah and Todd Palin
As I mentioned in the intro, my interest was piqued when I learned that I had something in common with Sarah Palin. Like me, she, too, had married her high school sweetheart.
Unlike me and Wayne, they eloped. They were married on August 29, 1988.
Elopements always sound so mysterious and romantic to me. I figured there must be some reason behind it. His parents didn’t approve of her? Hers didn’t approve of him? Nope. They eloped because they couldn’t afford a wedding.
But why the urgent need to marry at all? Unless, like her daughter, Bristol, has now done, Sarah, too, had found herself with child.
I can’t verify it, but I’m not the only one wondering about this. The birthday for Track Palin, Todd and Sarah’s oldest son, can’t be easily verified. Some say he’s 18, some 19. All I can find is a year: 1989. But in an article I stumbled across, they reported a traffic ticket for Track Palin listing his birthday as April 20, 1989.
If that’s accurate, then, yep, pregnancy sparked her marriage, too.
But it’s just a rumor at this point.
(And even if that was the case there’s no shame in it. They have a long marriage and five beautiful children together to show for it all. However, trying to cover it up wouldn’t bode too well. Better just to be honest about it.)
YEARS TOGETHER: Todd and Sarah just celebrated their 20th anniversary.
AGE DIFFERENCE: One year.
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