The XX Factor: What women really think.

In Defense of Option "A"

In defense of the political wives who go to the press conference, smile forced smiles, and say nothing:

Speaking (ahem) as a political wife myself, I can see one clear advantage to this option: It's all over quickly. And no one asks you for a follow-up interview. You appear once—and then you vanish forever, along with your husband's career. If you've been clever about it, you've kept your maiden name and can thus return to your own career. Those who make other, more attention-getting choices will later be forced back into the limelight to explain themselves, which is gruesome.

And you can, of course, quietly change the locks the next day. Though I hasten to add that I've never had to.