Submissive Wife Question Appropriate?

A moderator at last night’s GOP presidential debate is coming under fire for questioning Michele Bachmann on what it means when she says she’s a “submissive” wife and how it might affect her presidency.  The moderator was following up on a quote from an earlier Washington Post interview where she referenced the biblical phrase.  “The Lord says: Be submissive, wives. You are to be submissive to your husbands,” Bachmann said at the time, according to the Post. Her campaign hasn’t disputed the remarks.

On Thursday, the Washington Examiner’s Byron York, a conservative columnist who was one of the moderators of the 2012 debate, asked Bachmann directly about that quote.  “As president, would you be submissive to your husband?” he asked, a question that prompted the crowd to erupt in loud boos.

After a slight pause, Bachmann smiled and thanked York for his question. “Marcus and I will be married for 33 years this September 10th,” she said. “What submission means to us … it means respect. I respect my husband. He’s a wonderful, godly man and a great father, and he respects me as his wife. That’s how we operate our marriage.”  Read more here . AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall.

Fair question?  Does ‘submissive’ = mutual respect?