In some cases, as Coulter pointed out, political re-evaluation is always a possibility. After all, Hillary Clinton, the junior Democratic senator from New York, began her adult life as president of Wellesley's Young Republicans. Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz, was a Republican; Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark has voted Republican.

"My sister has always dated Republicans and is very good at converting them ... You find one and you fix him!" said Gretchen, a 29-year old Democrat and New York librarian who didn't want her last name published. Gretchen herself hasn't managed to perform any such alchemy on her own husband, a 29-year-old journalism student named Mark. But politically transformative capabilities run in her bloodstream. Gretchen was raised in Washington by staunch Democrats; her father was a Clinton appointee. Mark, whom she met in college, is a conservative Republican. Gretchen and Mark don't have children yet, but Gretchen said she expects that her offspring will be raised in an environment full of political conversation and debate.

"Absolutely I expect to have a political family. I'm sure we'll talk and agree and disagree and they [the children] will learn from both of us," she said, adding that sometimes familial conflicts can sharpen debate. "I think the differences help you cement your own argument," said Gretchen, while her husband admits, "there's an advantage in knowing your enemy."

There's also the possibility that your "enemy" might teach you a thing or two. Mary Lee Gowland, the poetry teacher from California who was initially freaked by her suit-wearing Republican husband John, said that talking to him about his political views made her question some of her own. Despite her upbringing and four decades committed to the left, she's become a Libertarian -- "fiscally conservative and socially liberal" -- and even ran for state senator on the ticket. (She lost.)

"When I met John, I found out by talking to him that he was raised to think that Democrats were the evil people, because they take all your money and give it to other people," said Gowland. "It was very eye-opening."

The two still disagree on some issues, like gay marriage -- she's for it, he's against it -- but, she said, "He yells what he thinks and I yell what I think and we're done." They agree that in many ways, their relationship is enhanced by their occasional squabbles -- remember Beatrice and Benedick? "The sex is great," said Gowland, who later expanded on this by saying "living with somebody who has different political beliefs is actually more enjoyable, I think. I never know when we're going to agree and when we're going disagree, so it's much more exciting to have someone who's going to surprise you."

Gowland's husband agreed. "It's sort of like I sought out somebody different because I already know me. I already have a set of views. Why would I want to go out and marry myself?"

This year, the couple found common ground when they both supported former Austrian bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger for California governor. Their Christmas card consisted of a photo of them with a Schwarzenegger cutout, and a politically themed, cleverly rhymed poem that read in part, "In March the U.S. invaded Iraq/May was my anaphylactic attack ... At fifty-four some people might fold/but we're determined to be brave and bold./Our Governator has given us courage/To go out and kick ass and not get discouraged."

See how exhilarating mixed ideologies can be? Perhaps someone should recommend it to the 17-year-old Open Diary contributor Thin Mint, who describes herself as "the kind of right-Winger who watched FOX New's [sic] 'Bombs to Music' and wanted to purchase a taped copy." Thin Mint wants to date among her tribe. "Out of the 4 people who hit on me last week I can very safely say that none are republicans. None get the same warm fuzzies when they see a B-2 bomber tare [sic] through the air. None get the Limbaugh Letter, and none really know who Ann Coulter is ... Anyway ... Met a nice Republican boy, went to Starbuck's (my date place, no pressure) and it was absolutely horrible. Worst date ever. Ever. You know why? We talked foreign policy. We spent 45 minutes discussing tax cuts in my head I kept repeating the mantra 'IhatehimIhatehimIhatehim.' He was horrible, and by the end of the experience I was a little naucice [sic]." Tax cuts are gonna do that to you sometimes, honey.

Which brings us back to Florida couple Jan Glidewell and Betty Kennedy. The 59-year-old retired liberal journalist described himself as "an aging Vietnam vet flower child," and his 47-year-old bride of two years as "someone who briefly belonged to a Rotary club," and "the only poor Republican Kennedy in the United States." Kennedy actually started life as a Boston Catholic lefty, but switched affiliations when she started working for Republican state Senate campaigns in Florida.

"It gives us something to talk about besides what's on television," said Glidewell, for whom this is a fifth marriage. No kidding. Glidewell, who voted for Nader -- in Florida -- had to have one of his earlier unions annulled before he could marry Kennedy in a Catholic church. She wore a Hindu sari that they'd picked up at a California ashram, and in lieu of gifts they asked guests to make donations to a charity she founded that brings terminally ill children from Northern Ireland to Florida.

These are colorful people, open about their differences. "I once took her to a folk concert," said Glidewell, "and she said, 'God, you know so many nice people.' And I said, 'Well, you're a Republican, no wonder you've never been exposed to any of these people."

"In the beginning, he didn't want me to tell people that I ran certain people's campaigns," said Kennedy, especially John Grant, a state senator whom she described as "up there with the Bush people." But, she added, his embarrassment about her politics was a tradeoff. "I didn't want him to tell people that he was going to take me to a nudist camp."

Recent Stories