In the course of the past few months, I’ve read "Wives Behaving Badly," "The Good Wife Strikes Back," "The Senator’s Wife," "The Spare Wife" and "The Sabbath Wife."  I passed up "The Fugitive Wife"   and  "The Saturday Wife."

The latest on the reading radar is "American Wife," purportedly fiction but obviously based on Laura Bush and her life wed to the president of the United States.

We haven’t seen anyone produce a work called "Trophy Wives" but we can imagine it would be an easy topic to explore. A trophy wife, as we all know, is younger than her spouse, often without a significant career or notable income of her own. Usually the trophy wife is good looking, has a perfect body, is always nicely coiffed and well dressed. Her career credentials are most often not a major factor influencing her ability to draw high-powered males and she’s sadly  referred to as "arm candy," seen squired by industrial tycoons, millionaires and a lot of politicians for whom image is everything.

The women I admire most in public life cannot be described as trophy wives but they certainly are deserving of trophy status. They are also physically attractive, but it’s the intellect by which they’re marked on my scale.

There’s Condoleezza Rice, the exceedingly accomplished secretary of state who has advanced college degrees and will likely return to her high-level college leadership position after she leaves office. She has not married (though she would be a trophy for any partner)  and her aspiration for her time after her public service is to become a professional sports commissioner. There aren’t many women like her.

Also highly admirable is Cindy McCain. Although she’s mainly known as the wife of John McCain, she has an extremely impressive resume.  She’s dedicated to social issues and has a long record of commitment and service that outshines her more commonly known personal, high-income. She has the outward visibility of a trophy wife but lesser light is cast on her very worthy endeavors.

Meg Whitman, president and CEO of e-Bay, fleetingly considered to be McCain's running mate, is another high caliber wife who has earned her own status.

Then there's Hillary Clinton with her more public, long list of achievements way beyond the political arena in which she has carved more than one "first," including the ability to transcend public humiliation about transgressions that were made painfully public.

And to even out the Democrats and Republicans as trophy-worthy, there's Michelle Obama, attractive, with a law degree and the mother of two young daughters. She has put her legal career on hold while she balances motherhood and appearing in support of her presidential candidate husband. She also deals daily with an undercurrent of racism that most of us recognize but abhor.

Maybe the old wives tales about what constitutes a "trophy wife" need to be shelved.