By Peter Galuszka
How does Maureen McDonnell define being Virginia’s first spouse? What does she say about other women who are or have been in her role? How does she compare with other First Ladies?
Testimony in the federal corruption trial of Ms. McDonnell and her husband former Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has been highly defamatory to her. She’s been characterized as a greedy, deceptive “nutbag” who misled her husband, demanded fine things like designer clothing, and maintained a strange, emotionally close relationship to Jonnie R. Williams, a businessman who gave the McDonnells more than $170,000 in various loans and gifts to gain their help in promoting his products.
In another setting, anything of this, assuming it is true, would be a personal matter. But it isn’t. The fact is that Ms. McDonnell was very much a part of the political process. McDonnell ran for office repeatedly on the theme that he and his wife were religious, family-oriented individuals dedicated to public service. She could have chosen to minimize her role but she did not.
In fact, according to evidence introduced at the trial, she actually sent instructions to state employees pretending that she had the authority of the “Gov” to do the bidding of Williams. And when she traveled with Williams out of state to promote his product Anatabloc, she represented herself as “The First Lady of Virginia” and often had security officers with her at taxpayers expense. In other words, she is fair game for comparisons. Mind you, just a few years ago, this woman could have been a possibility for First Lady of the United States some time down the road.
She grew up mostly in Northern Virginia in a large family parented by civil service workers of the FBI. The former Washington Redskins cheerleader attended community college and worked mostly as a secretarial worker or aide for the FBI and other federal agencies. She and her husband have five children, and besides raising them, she has had a small, part-time business selling beauty and creams and health aids. As First Lady, she ran an initiative to help women and promote wine, veterans benefits and other matters.
The trial, now entering its fourth week, begs questions about what differentiates her background and behavior with that of other recent First Ladies. I think it is a fair question. None of the others has ever had similar questions about them. I think a review of their backgrounds and accomplishments is the best way to make the point. Here goes:
Dorothy McAuliffe, wife of current Gov. Terry McAuliffe. A graduate of The Catholic University of America and the Georgetown University Law Center, she has practiced securities law and now advocates for children and family issues.
Anne Holton, wife of former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine. As a child, 
she and her father, former Gov. Linwood Holton, made national headlines during the civil rights area when they were photographed walking hand-in-hand to a newly integrated Richmond public school. The brave image helped calm tensions over court-ordered integration. She graduated magna cum laude from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton and then got a law degree cum laude from Harvard. She was a prominent judge specializing in youth and domestic relations issues and is now Virginia’s Secretary of Education.
Lisa Collis, wife of former Gov. and U.S. Senator Mark Warner. A graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Texas, she has specialized in health and youth issues as head of the Collis Warner Foundation.
Roxanne Gatling Gilmore, wife of former Gov. Jim Gilmore. A 
descendant of the man who invented the rapid-fire Gatling gun, Ms. Gilmore is a University of Virginia graduate and has a bachelor’s and master’s degree. A specialist in classical studies she has taught Latin at the high school level and has been a professor in Greek and Roman studies at Randolph Macon College. She oversaw a multimillion makeover of the Executive Mansion and later wrote a book about it.
Susan Brown Allen, wife of former Gov. and former U.S. Senator George Allen. She is a marketing specialist from Charlottesville who graduated from the University of South Carolina.
With one possible exception, I’d say that Virginia should be proud of its FLOVAs, the security term for First Lady.
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