Bill? Are you still there?

What is the role of a presidential candidates family?

If you were Barack Obama, your family would be considered your backbone and remain in the wing as the perfect, happy American family. If you were JFK, your family would be considered like English royalty, ever elegant and regal.

But, if you were Hilary Clinton, your family would occasionally hold more of the spotlight than you. Bill, although a great president, has an interesting track record. Apart from the obvious misstep with an intern, Bill recently became defensive while a journalist questioned him. He also twisted the words of Obama eledging that a simple statement about change meant that the senator thought "Republicans have had all the good ideas in the last 16 years." I am sure if Obama were asked to reply to this (and doubtless he will) he would disagree, seeing as in his statement, he simply claimed that Reagan was an agent of change. Not that Reagan was the only one to put his change thinking cap on since his presidency.

I believe that like HIlary, Rudy Giulaini's family background is working against him too. Divorce was an ugly mark on a family's reputation in the early 1900s, but why when the divorce rate is at around 51%, why is it still an obstacle in Rudy's campaign trail?

So, what is the family's role? Should a candidate's family matter?