Huntington News

Issue date: 6/18/08 Section: Sex

Media Credit: Derek Yu Differing political views on social issues can tear apart long-term relationships.

With the candidates set for the 2008 presidential election, controversial discussions among Republicans and Democrats are at their peak. And although it might seem difficult to debate with a person at the opposite end of the political spectrum, it might be even harder to date one.

Political advisors James Carville and Mary Matalin seemed to have nothing in common when both were aiding opposing nominees during the 1992 presidential election.

Carville, a Democrat from Louisiana, was the lead strategist for former President Bill Clinton, and Matalin, a Republican from Illinois, worked on the campaign for former President George Bush Sr. But by the end of the election, the two had one thing in common - they wanted to marry each other.

In 1993, the couple married and, a year later, they published the book "All's Fair: Love, War and Running for President." In a 1997 interview with Salon.com, Matalin said the pair avoids conflict by not talking about politics at home. But Dr. Julie Albright, a licensed marriage therapist and sociology professor at the University of Southern California, said this kind of relationship is a rarity.

"Mary Matalin and James Carville are a great example of a couple … although they're on different sides of the fence," Albright said. "The value of being engaged in the political process sort of trumped the individual differences in the relationship."

But Albright said most "opposites attract" relationships made up of members of opposing political parties don't work as well as those that follow the motto, "birds of a feather flock together."

"Although 'opposites attract' can be sexy and the sparks can be there … sometimes they don't prevail," she said.

Albright said these issues can be magnified depending on how involved in politics the people in the relationship are to begin with.

Ashley Picillo, a middler business administration major, said that while she's not heavily involved in political debate, the two issues she cares about most are gay marriage and abortion.

"I could never date someone who wasn't in support of gay marriage," Picillo said. "I have mixed issues on abortion, but I would like to say it's up for the woman to decide. I guess on most fronts, I'm very liberal."

Continued...

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