First Ladies vs. Pastors' Wives?

I had the privilege of visiting my country's capitol, for the first time, last week. We took the Metro in from New Carrolton, MD and walked by the White House, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial (where we found my wife's late grandfather and my late grandfather's profiles both in the veteran database), Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial. We passed by Lincoln's statue and the Jefferson Memorial, and toured the national museums (Art Gallery, Air and Space, and American History).

Upon my wife's request, we visited the "First Ladies" exhibit of the National Museum of American History. The line to see the gown archives (which seemed to be the main attraction) was packed and moving at a snail's pace, so we looked at other displays in the exhibit. The caption under the exhibit's welcome sign was so intriguing that I photographed it. It reads:

First ladies are unofficial but important members of presidential administrations. For more than 200 years, we have judged their clothes, their parties, their projects, and their roles in the White House.

While some duties, such as White House hostess, are performed by all first ladies, the job does not come with a specific list of responsibilities. America's first ladies have been national advocates, trend setters, leaders and role models. Each one remakes this undefined and challenging position to suit her own interests, the needs of the administration, and the public's changing expectations of women in general and first ladies in particular. 

Now, without delving into a debate on either the role of women in the church or the level of power a pastor possesses (as I am analogizing them to Presidents), I found these two paragraphs fascinating because of a possible similarity to the life of a pastor's wife.  Pastors' wives also are often "unofficial" faces in church leadership who fill an "undefined and challenging" role and often face various types of (sometimes unwarranted) judgment. Yet, at least from the people I've met in my travels, pastors' wives personalities and ministry strengths have been so diverse that it (rightfully) attempts to keep the local culture's expectations for a pastor's wife, or sometimes for women in general, from being extra-biblically specific. 

Thoughts?

Needless to say, I'm thankful to God for the diversity of personalities and ministry strengths I see in the "unofficial" members of the church staff and how they've served Him! So, here's a shout-out.