No room for the changing table on the campaign bus

More from my semi-regular, semi-serious coverage of the '08 presidential campaign featuring an unprecedented number of older dads.




A group of five would-be first ladies recently joined host Maria Shriver for a Conference on Women in Long Beach, Calif.


I loved a quote from Jeri Thompson, wife of candidate and older dad Fred Thompson. During the conference, Jeri spoke indignantly about being asked to join the campaign bus, but being told there was no room for a changing table. (The couple have a son, Samuel, who is still in diapers.)

Jeri Thompson says she remembers responding "I'm not going unless they find room for the changing table."

Amen - you gotta have the changing table if you're making a long trip with baby. That didn't stop the quote from ending up as fodder on "The Daily Show." Jon Stewart ran a clip from the convention with Thompson's quote, then adds "...and that's how the world learned Fred Thompson wears a diaper." You can watch for yourself here, with that particular quote coming about two minutes into the clip. Standard language warning applies.




Photo: One of these things is not like the other...(L-R) Jeri Thompson, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney, Elizabeth Edwards, and Cindy Hensley McCain pose together after speaking at the California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women on Oct. 23. Romney is the only one who did not have a child near the time or after their husband turned 40. AP Photo by Matt Sayles