There are some pretty good products out there that will remove residue from screens safely. Monster Screen Cleaner kits, and other micro fiber and gel based solutions. if your wife wiped it down with any sort of abrasive cleaner, windex, 409, or the like, unfortunately, the screen is chemically etched. The safest way to clean a TV is with a microfiber rag, and water, OR a specific cleaning kit.
If your tv is an LCD, there really isn't much to do. If it is a plasma, you might be able to order the front plate of glass to replace it.
Edit. NEVER wipe a screen with paper towels, they can easily scratch the surface of both plasma, and LCD