Ann Althouse has a picture of the Kerrys (from the New York Times) that seems to show… A happy Teresa?.

While conservatives (myself included, though more in private than on my blog) were hard on Teresa, I can’t help but wonder how hard this campaign must be for the spouses. Remember when Teresa said that Laura Bush had never had a real job. The response from Mrs. Bush was fairly gracious (source):

Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for Mrs. Bush, said the first lady was not upset by the comments.

“Mrs. Bush knows it’s not always easy when your husband runs for president,” Johndroe said. “She knows that some days there’s lots of interviews where lots of things are said, and knows that everyone looks forward to Nov. 2 coming around.”

It’s undeniably true that Mrs. Kerry did little to endear herself to the public, especially the conservative public, but I’d wager that Mr. Johndroe’s words are truer than most of us will ever know.

Especially in light of what we now know about Elizabeth Edwards’ breast cancer diagnosis (and some speculation that I’ve heard that she may have delayed testing because of the hectic schedule involved in her husband’s race), I can’t even imagine what these women go through. (To be fair, I can’t imagine what it would have to be like for Mr. Bush or Mr. Kerry, either.)

All four of these families have been placed in the spotlight for the last year, and I hope that the next couple of months are a more restful time for them. (Though, I wager that neither the Bush family nor the Cheney family is getting too much rest even now).

A liberal acquaintance of mine (I’m afraid I don’t know her well enough to feel comfortable calling her a friend, though I’ve nothing but good feelings toward her) pointed the following posts out, from an AOL forum:

Tonymozzarella70@aol.com: FAT WHORE!!! God is punishing her for being a anti american traitor. Screw those liberals they did nothing but lie and cheat about the great GW Bush for the last year. I have no sympathy

wkt1186@aol.com: POETIC JUSTICE I read she found a lump in her breast. That must have been like finding a needle in a haystack since her whole body is one GIANT lump!!!!!!

dspahr2648@aol.com: Mrs. Edwards.. Mrs. Edwards got cancer because she probably is morally corrupt. Mrs. Bush however is a fine strong moral woman with no health problems. I rest my CASE.

Seriously, people, this is outrageous. In a lot of ways, it’s worse than the hatred we see coming from the Left, because it’s aimed not at the decisions this woman made, but at some sick sense of pleasure that you’re taking out of her illness.

I’m hoping and praying all of these comments come from idiot teenagers who can at least have the defense that they know no better. Sadly, I fear that’s not true.