Re: Finebaum Grilling Jame Franklin
I recall Franklin's remark about how he determined the self-confidence of a prospective coach by the attractiveness of their wife. That theory seems to have some merit on the surface, but it probably only applies to superficial, shallow-minded persons like himself. It's somewhat ironic that he was working in Nashville, home of Andrew Jackson's home (the Hermitage). Andrew Jackson was likely one of the most self-confident men that ever lived and his love for his wife Rachel (who by most accounts was quite homely in appearance) was legendary. When he first married her (details are murky about when and where this happened), she was not divorced yet from her first husband and this would be an issue in Andrew Jackson's political reputation for the remainder of his life. After her divorce was final, they remarried in 1791.
Rachel was often insulted (usually behind her back due to Andrew Jackson's temper) about her looks and also her adultery with Andrew Jackson before she was divorced from her first husband. After one public insult in 1806, Andrew Jackson challenged Charles Dickinson (an established duelist who had killed 28 men in duels) to a duel to defend Rachel's honor. Dickinson fired first, hitting Jackson in the left upper chest just one inch from his heart. Jackson did not fall, but instead stood calmly, took careful aim, and then killed Dickinson. It is said that of Jackson's 103 duels fought, most were due to insults against Rachel.
In actuality, it probably takes more self-confidence to marry someone that isn't attractive than the other way around, especially if you are in a profession that makes you a public figure. In any case, discrimination in hiring based on the attractiveness of a candidate's spouse seems that it could get him in some legal trouble if it could be proven.