Because she let John run for President. Really. (And while we’re at it, let’s throw in quite a disturbing violent fantasy about John, just because that’s always fun.)
I think Sally Quinn has identified a rich new vein to mine for woman-blaming. (Just blaming them for their husbands’ affairs is so cliched.) Iraq war? Laura Bush should never have let it happen. That guy Dick Cheney shot in the face? Why did Lynne ever let him leave the house with a gun? But let’s not stop with recent history. Surely Neville Chamberlain’s wife is one of the great unsung bumblers of history. Reader contributions much appreciated.
Feminist Philosophers 
You left out Hillary’s blame for Monica! O wait, that’s already been done.
Ah, great minds think alike – I also wrote about women being blamed for men’s actions (http://alicedale.blogspot.com/2008/08/women-through-history.html ) after finding out that David Lloyd George didn’t accept his Earldom because of pressure from his wife, but because he knew he was going to lost his seat in the House of Commons.
And whatever your feelings about Victoria Beckham, I always thoought it unfair that she was blamed for her husband’s affair. I think it was because she didn’t move it Spain in the same week he did and support his career … or something.
[…] going on? I think it’s the same ‘blame the woman” trope that we saw visited on Elizabeth Edwards. […]
My god, this after what Rush Limbaugh said. People need to stop blaming her and blame the man who was thinking wasn’t thinking with what’s under that $400 dollar hair cut. So it’s not bad enough the woman is in her second bout with cancer, people have to add the pressure that she “failed” her husband.
i apologize for the miss type above
Thanks Alice, for your excellent historical women-blaming examples.