It's not just Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton; it's husband vs. wife
Bob Marshalla made a $100 contribution to his choice for president last summer. As the Democratic primary season rolled out, he upped that with $200, $300 and $500 donations.
Then his wife started giving too -- but not to the same candidate.
"We're a mixed marriage," said Renee Marshalla, a bookkeeper who likes Hillary Rodham Clinton's toughness and finds her husband's admiration of Barack Obama's message of hope a bit naive.
"We watch 'Hardball' together every day until one of us gets angry," said Bob, an investment counselor.
Between them, the Marshallas of Palo Alto have drained their family budget by just under $4,000 to feed their mutual zest for politics.
For more than a year, the political version of "The War of the Roses" has been raging in Democratic homes across the country. Friendly wagers have been made, evenings have been ravaged and all manner of persuasion has been tried -- and often has failed.
As the pundits see an end to the race in sight, some of the bets soon may be paying off. Wounds might start to heal and dinner conversations could turn more civil.
Or maybe not.
"I campaigned so hard to counteract him," Barbara Hosein said of Everold, her husband of 39 years.
And she has trampled over his $250 contribution to Clinton, giving $2,000 to Obama. Now that her candidate seems to have secured a safe lead for the nomination -- in part because of his strong (though losing) effort in the Hoseins' home state of Indiana -- she confessed: "I sometimes threw away some solicitations."
In the money race among households that split their support between candidates, Clinton has received $1.3 million, compared with $1.1 million for Obama, a Times analysis of campaign reports shows.
"I was a little shocked when I opened up the credit card bill," said attorney Mark Samuels of La Cañada Flintridge. He had given $2,300 to Clinton through a contact at work and had no idea that his wife, Nancy, also a lawyer, was contributing to Obama.
On rare occasion, one family member has switched allegiances and brought unity to the household.
The Hauptfuhrer family of Charlotte, N.C., was about as split as it could be. Wife Cammie donated $1,000 to Clinton, while her husband, W. Barnes, contributed $2,300 to Obama.
"We're used to canceling each other out," she said.
Perhaps it was their teenage son who tipped the balance with his complaints about the tension at the dinner table.
