Have to say I disagree with you persephone, even though I agree with you at large about wife-jokes. There seems to be a general opinion that a mans freedom and life is hampered by marriage, a conception that I think has to do with classic gender roles at large. But it is also the reason that I disagree with you about the joke being offensive and that T-man should exercise more self-censoring when posting about women/wives (which in turn is a pretty offensive concept to me).

In the end this joke really makes no comment about women/wives in general, just about this couples specific relationship and by your own admittance it is your own reading of the joke coupled you’re your own situation and your own interpretation of the current social climate and other wife jokes that make it offensive to YOU. Frankly that seems to narrow the field of the people who would take offence at it very considerably.

Obviously (as you say) this joke strikes a cord with people, and judging by the up-vote a lot more people find its value then find it offensive. It’s likely to assume that people find it funny/enlightening/whatever precisely because it makes a comment about current social views as amounts to marriage and gender roles, even if they don’t put that analysis into it themselves and just find it funny because they relate to it or find the stereotypes amusing.

I didn’t really find it amusing either but in the end his freedom to express this commentary weighs heavier to me then your right not to be offended by that commentary. Especially since your problem in this case seems to lie with popular opinion or society at large rather then this joke in particular or T-mans method of conveying it. Frankly the chance of offending someone with that particular joke seems very slim, even as sexist jokes go, if it is to be considered as such (the fact that it DID happen to offend someone in this case notwithstanding).

To demand of T-man to exercise more self-censuring to the point of not posting these types of very tame jokes (in my opinion), would be asking too much and might deprive people of what many obviously find valuable comments.

[EDIT] I also upvoted T-mans comment before I decided to write this, but more to show support of me finding it acceptable then finding it funny. As an additional note about its offensiveness I can mention this video:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Zero-Punctuation-Review-Super-Mario-Galaxy
Just in the first minute Princess Peach is referred to as Marios "emotionally retarded ball and chain", a "needy bitch who fails to put out" and a "clueless bint". So it seems to me that if these types of stereotypes and jokes is something that is in danger of offending a lot of people then things like that would be of higher priority then comments like T-mans (on a side note I did however find that video hilarious).

Chromophobia, 1966

"Raoul Servais achieved international acclaim with his ground-breaking, anti-militarist fable on repression, perseverance, and the indomitability of the human spirit, Chromophobia, a compact, yet articulate parable of an aggressive, chromophobic army that marches into an idyllic kingdom and systematically terrorizes the population by erasing all traces of color within its periphery, until a little girl unexpectedly cultivates a lone, resilient red flower in her garden. Evoking the instinctual compositions of a more geometric Joan Miró, the film is particularly remarkable in Servais' illustration of resonant, iconic symbolism: a balloon that is converted into a ball and chain mirrors the town's spiritual captivity, the transformation of trees into gallows represents the corrupted interrelation between life and unnatural death in times of war, flowers emerging from the barrel of a rifle reflects a restoration of peace and gesture of renewed humanity."

more on raoul servais...