You can tell a lot about a man by looking at the women in his family – and especially his wife.

It’s not every man who feels up to the task of keeping company with a strong, intelligent woman. It’s not always easy to live with someone who, gently but firmly, demands to have an equal role, someone who can and will counter your best arguments and call your bluff when need be.

It takes a guy with a certain amount of self-confidence – not to mention a good sense of humor – to feel comfortable with a powerful woman.

This thought probably occurred to many Americans who watched the opening nights of the Democratic National Convention, which featured prime-time speeches by Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama; and Sen. Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton. Or should it be the other way around: Barack and Bill are the husbands of these two accomplished, articulate women?

Neither of these women deserves to take a back seat to anyone. Their speeches to Democratic delegates were masterfully written and eloquently delivered. The national party was counting on them to set a tone that would unify and inspire the Democratic gathering. The degree to which they accomplished that goal is open to debate, but Michelle Obama touched people’s hearts, and Hillary Clinton had the place rocking with her political jabs and her challenge to Democrats to make this nation even better.

Barack Obama and Bill Clinton certainly are not without flaws – and their wives know all about those flaws. Obama doesn’t pick up his socks or make the bed. Clinton’s well-reported failings have been considerably more serious and more disrespectful to the women in his life. Yet it is clear that both of these men have a special admiration for the women they married.

On some level, that also is an indication of how they view other women. They have strong mothers or grandmothers who influenced their lives. They delight in the accomplishments of their wives and want their daughters to have all the same opportunities offered to other people’s sons.

Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton are just examples. There are accomplished Republican women (Elizabeth Dole comes to mind), as well as women in virtually every walk of American life, who have men in their lives who respect their talents and feel lucky to have them as partners.

American women have spent a lot of time living in the reflected glory of their fathers, husbands and sons. It’s sort of nice to see some of those women now standing in their own spotlight and perhaps enlightening the views of the men around them.