"W is for ..."

"W Stands for Women" is the theme for Laura Bush as she appears today at the Marriot Madison West:

The visit to Madison is somewhat unusual for the GOP: President Bush has been to Wisconsin more than 20 times since 2000, but the closest he's come to Madison is Waukesha County. The last Republican presidential candidate to campaign in Madison was Bob Dole in 1996.

"Somewhat unusual?" It never happens and it's not happening today either, because the Marriot Madison West is not in Madison, but Middleton, Wisconsin.

Anyway, about this "W is for ..." business. Last week the Kerry campaign was sponsored by the letter W, with much accompanying scorn.

I don't blame the Bush campaign for wanting to restore the good reputation of the President's middle initial--and there are so many good W words to choose from, like "win" and "wonderful." But the childish, "Sesame Street" quality of the "W is for" phrase is quite annoying, and not really what a candidate mocked for reading a children's book too long ought to want to associate himself with. What irks me the most about "W Stands for Women" is the usual idea that women need a specialized campaign, in a different voice, preferably the candidate's wife's, rephrasing every issue to be about family and children, and even selecting language ("W is for") straight out of a children's introductory reader.

UPDATE: I note the double meaning in "W Stands for Women": there's the idea of representing or standing up for women but also the idea of putting up with them!