I saw this as well. Trippi could have made a comment like "Dr. Dean values his wife's commitment to her profession and won't ask her to give that up."
Instead, Trippi went on the attack immediately.
This indicates to me that Dr. Steinberg is wanted on the campaign trail but refuses to comply.
Very interesting exchange, I think.
I was also shocked by Trippi's totally over-the-top response. It seemed clear that Hopkins wasn't trying to score partisan political points but was simply reacting spontaneously as a woman and a wife.
The Dean campaign is obviously feeling the heat and are stressed out and defensive about Steinberg's absence from the campaign.