The Eleanor Index

Hillary Clinton’s planned race for the Senate demonstrates that First Ladies can have a political afterlife. A new biography of Eleanor Roosevelt got us wondering: Which of the current candidates’ spouses has the most in common with the first among First Ladies?

CAME FROM ELITE FAMILY

ELEANOR Niece of Theodore Roosevelt

WINNER SABINA FORBES (8) (nee Beekman): father was a prominent clergyman

RUNNER-UP CINDY MCCAIN (nee Hensley): family owns a distribution company

WAS EDUCATED ABROAD

[ELEANOR] Went to finishing school in England where all classes were in French

[WINNER] ERNESTINE BRADLEY (2): raised in Germany; fluent in four languages

[RUNNER-UP] SABINA FORBES: studied in Paris and Rome

HAD DAREDEVIL IMPULSES

[ELEANOR] Took a dangerous mile-long toboggan ride at Lake Placid

[WINNER] SABINA FORBES: likes tractor driving; has assisted with calving

[RUNNER-UP] TIPPER GORE (1): plays drums; tried marijuana; Rollerblades

INCURRED PUBLIC WRATH

[ELEANOR] Criticized for profiting from her radio show and for anti-segregation stance

[WINNER] CINDY MCCAIN: drew fire for avoiding serious punishment after she admitted stealing painkillers

[RUNNER-UP] TIPPER GORE: branded a “cultural terrorist” for advocating censorship of violent, sexual lyrics

PROMOTED STIGMATIZED ISSUES

[ELEANOR] Raised awareness of conditions in prisons and mental hospitals

[WINNER] TIPPER GORE: promoted awareness of mental illness, like clinical depression

[RUNNER-UP] BOB DOLE (6): spoke out on prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction

WORKED IN POLITICS

[ELEANOR] Served as chairwoman of women’s division of Democratic Party

[WINNER] BOB DOLE: was Kansas Senator, Senate majority leader, presidential nominee

[RUNNER-UP] SHELLEY BUCHANAN (5): campaigned for Nixon and Goldwater

HAD HER OWN SENSE OF STYLE

[ELEANOR] Fancied fox furs and basic colors

[WINNER] LAURA BUSH (3): campaigns in pantsuits; has worn mohair dresses, Escada

[RUNNER-UP] SHELLEY BUCHANAN: favors Donna Karan and Oscar de la Renta

WROTE BOOKS

[ELEANOR] This Is My Story, On My Own and The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, among others

[WINNER] ERNESTINE BRADLEY: Die Philosophie Hermann Broch, Hermann Broch and The Language of Silence

[RUNNER-UP] MARILYN QUAYLE (7): Embrace the Serpent and The Campaign: A Novel

HAD NIFTY NICKNAME

[ELEANOR] Real name: Anna; also called “Granny”

[WINNER] TIPPER GORE: real name is Mary Elizabeth

[RUNNER-UP] HONEY ALEXANDER (4): real name is Leslee Kathryn

TRIUMPHED OVER PERSONAL TRAGEDY

[ELEANOR] Lost second son; grappled with depression and spousal infidelity

[WINNER] BOB DOLE: war wounds paralyzed right arm; beat prostate cancer

[RUNNER-UP] TIPPER GORE: suffered depression after son’s dire accident

DRAWN TO WOMEN

[ELEANOR] Sent love letters to a female journalist

[WINNER] BOB DOLE: married to a woman

[RUNNER-UP] None. / OVERALL WINNER: BOB DOLE