THE TWO POLES OF SUPPORT holding up Pat Buchanan are polar opposites. Bay, sister, spitfire campaign chairman, is the prototype of the postfeminist woman. She works round the clock, rears three kids on her own, yet insists that she's a traditionalist. Shelley, wife, constant campaign companion, is an unrepentant prefeminist. She defines herself almost exclusively through her husband and prefers it that way. For a premodern man like Pat, independence may be tolerable in a sister but never in a spouse.
As campaign chairman, the tall and taut Bay is mostly behind the scenes, plotting strategy, raising money, orchestrating commercials. Pat...