Instead, Goodman was set to speak for Sue Minter, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and, as you’d learn, his college sweetheart turned wife of 25 years.
Minter — a former state representative, Tropical Storm Irene recovery officer and transportation secretary — has plenty of experience juggling the public, other politicians and the press. Her husband, in contrast, is more accustomed to watching the circus from the bleachers — or, during this campaign cycle, on a high wire up above.
Society has set expectations for a candidate’s wife. But what if you’re the man married to the woman campaigning to be Vermont’s second-ever female governor?
Goodman has racked up an impressive writing resume, be it his nine books or countless contributions to coast-to-coast publications ranging from The New York Times to the Los Angeles Times.
Then again, his day job isn’t necessarily an asset on the campaign trail. The Irish have a saying: “Most writers are failed talkers.” It’s not that they can’t speak publicly, but instead prefer time to compose their thoughts privately before a reporter suddenly pops up like a jack-in-the-box with a few potentially intrusive questions.
Goodman will answer an inquiry about why he’s attending.
But follow up and the deflection begins.
What kind of things?
“This.”
What about fairs?
“Sue has been to far more fairs than I have.”
But have you had to sample midway staples like fried dough or fried …
“I normally don’t do any interviews because Sue is so much better at this,” he concluded before retreating. “I’d much rather let her speak for herself.”
And so you won’t hear Goodman talk more about himself, much less discuss the potential of being a first spouse. Again, it’s not that he can’t put thoughts into words, sentences or paragraphs. Moving on to address a crowd, he’ll offer a clear, concise argument why Minter should be elected.
“We know in Vermont we make national change locally,” he said in Brattleboro. “How much does it matter? The Koch brothers certainly think it matters. They have dumped $1 million to stop this wonderful 5-foot-2 woman I call my wife.”
The fact Goodman is a writer is just part of his challenge. While society expects men to talk politics, he’s attempting a balancing act of both speaking for Minter and helping others understand she’s a woman and leader with her own voice.
“It is still one of the thickest glass ceilings in America,” he said in Brattleboro.
Minter is only one of two female U.S. gubernatorial candidates this election year, the other being fellow Democrat Kate Brown of Oregon.
“I decided to do this with the strong encouragement of my husband,” Minter herself says before also naming their 15-year-old son, Jasper, and 23-year-old daughter, Ariel. “It’s definitely an all-hands-on-deck family affair.”
Goodman is game to travel from their Waterbury home to map points some three hours away. But in his role as supporter, he’s more comfortable refocusing the spotlight.
“It’s really great to be here,” the writer said at Brattleboro’s Everyone’s Books. “Two things really warm my heart. One is being in a bookstore. I walk in here and my shoulders relax. I am home.”
After launching into a spirited defense of independent bookstores (“we know, on the national stage, this kind of space for independent thinking is threatened”), he then recalled his other passion.
“I’ll say a word about my wonderful wife,” he continued before summing up her “most progressive agenda” and stepping back into the stacks.
Minter, for her part, is more than happy to reveal she has eaten fried dough and fried ice cream and fried blooming onions. But asked to comment on her husband’s fair favorites, she goes silent.
On that issue, the candidate will let her surrogate speak for himself.
