Michelle Obama's Rocky Road to the White House

Now that Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, it is time to focus on a woman that could have a lot of influence over his life.

No, not Hillary Clinton.

Michelle Obama.

In early May, when ABC's "Good Morning America" asked Obama about an online video attacking his wife, he told the local Tennessee GOP to "lay off" her.

"The GOP, should I be the nominee, can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record," said Obama. "If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful because that I find unacceptable, the notion that you start attacking my wife or my family."

The video focused on a remark Michelle Obama made during a speech in Wisconsin in February. "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country," she said in the speech. The quote is played six times during the video, interspersed with video of Tennessee residents saying why they love their country.

This was one of the first real attacks on Michelle, and while Sen. Obama's attempt to extinguish future criticism was admirable, it was also unrealistic.

Sure, in a perfect world, the wives of presidential candidates could be protected from the harsh criticism of rival campaigns and the media. But in reality, attacks on significant others are as old as elections themselves. In 1828, Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel came under severe scrutiny when it was discovered that their marriage was not legal because Rachel had never divorced her previous husband. Critics said that if Jackson couldn't understand simple divorce laws, how could he possibly run the country?

The modern-day system of criticism began with another career woman who was very active in her husband's campaign--Eleanor Roosevelt.

When her husband was running for a third term, Eleanor became the first wife to address a political convention. Soon after, "We don't want Eleanor either" buttons started appearing on the jackets of Roosevelt's critics.

Sen. Hillary Clinton also faced severe criticism for some of her remarks during her husband's campaign. "I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession," said Clinton in 1992. She was called culturally dismissive and insensitive to the plight of the domestic realm.

The bottom line is that Americans believe that they are not only electing the president, but also a first spouse. Therefore, every action and every word hers will be just as severely scrutinized as those of the candidate.

Michelle Obama is a confident, educated woman who can hold her own. Her speeches are persuasive and poignant. There is no reason she can't handle the scrutiny of the press and the GOP, just as long as she knows what she's in for.

Comments

[heal57]

Senator Obama is a loving and protective spouse. HE'S running for office, not his wife, and it's in very poor taste to keep demeaning potential First Ladies. Michelle Obama is not in politics just like Laura Bush is not in politics so stop bashing her. She is a strong, intelligent woman with opinions that are hers. Since they still call the US a 'free' country, Michelle Obama doesn't have to feel proud of her country all the time, and neither do we; especially the last 8 years. Lay off Michell Obama. If you're planning on voting for Senator Obama, you should be supportive of his family. Nuff said.

Independent for Obama '08

[kgb999]

Hmmmm .... I don't remember anyone writing something like this RE Chelsea.

[Dansden]

Now you know why so many of us would rather have President Clinton as the first one the President talks to at that 3:00AM phone call rather than Michele Obama!

Wake up! If the Obamabots can diss President Clinton why can't anyone else call Michele Obama on her angry and reactionary responses! The Democratic Party, to which I have been loyal, has ONLY begun to see the onslaught of fear/smear attacks on 'Mouthy Michele' ....millions of us saw it coming....
and are afraid it would make the difference in the campaign........get ready----no 'times out' in politics, Sen. Obama- another novice and ridiculous response from a presidential candidate.­...hhhhmmm­m!

[kgb999]

Oh I'm sorry, is there a YouTube video of Michelle wagging her finger in someone's face while she shouts at them on the campaign trail? Did she serve in an elected office and give Obama the job of pushing health care through congress in the 90's? Did she use powers of elective office to grant pardons during an administration Obama is using to pad his resume?

I must have missed it. If she does something like that - I'm sure we should hear about it. But she hasn't, so you are full of poo.

Do the honest comparison: Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain. Both without political careers, married to a presidential nominee.

[wwsword]

If Barack doesn't want his wife to be subjected to criticism for her statements and views, then she needs to not make statements or express her views.

In this country we have a thing called free speech. If you make an argument in the public domain, then anybody is free to criticize that argument. I distinctly recall Michelle Obama giving making statements and giving speeches on her husband's behalf.

Obama talking this way about his wife, a professional woman who can speak for herself, is yet another expression of his sexist views with respect to women. She's not a second class citizen and he's not her guardian. She is an adult person who has put herself in the public spotlight.

[Suthngal]

I take it you aren't married? A MAN will defend his wife and vice-versa. It's not about her being a second class citizen, but ABOUT she won't be disrespected. Get it now???????­??????????

[Yansher]

Are you for real? Give me a f**king break! Instead of attacking Michelle, the other side need to focus on the issues. If they do that Obama wins.

[JulianDamanas]

That is absolutely correct. Michelle needs to either quit making controversial statements or be graceful about taking the heat on her own for making them. She may be a wife, but she is speaking on a public platform about public matters that concern the general public. She has wrongly used this platform to state her own personal views, which is inappropriate. Mr. Obama may care deeply for his wife but she should not be "protected" by him when she is an older adult woman with views of her own which she voices irresponsibly. Ms. Obama is not tactful, but as a public figure, she should expect and deal with the fallout from that discrepancy without being "sheltered" by paternalism or "husbandly concern". Mr. Obama does not respect his wife at a level that I would consider appropriate if he attempts to place himself between his wife and her critics. Bill Clinton does not apologize or defend Ms. Clinton's speeches. She speaks for herself and is respected for it.

[walk0nwalls]

Both Clintons are politicians in the public arena. Mrs. Obama is a private citizen. Cindy McCain receives nowhere near the amount of scrutiny that does Michelle Obama.

And just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD.

Black, from Georgia or otherwise Julian you don't have a leg to stand on. You claim to be an ethicist and you come here and you espouse a model of morality so fundamentally rooted in a backwards conception of "True American Morality" from the 1930s. You are an anomaly. Your "morality" has no place here. Your perspective bears no merit. And most tellingly your signifiers for "class" and your indicators of morality prove that no matter what color your skin or where you are from, you bear the seeds of a racialized narrative.

So good day. Come back when you've met the real world.

[Sixtwo]

Think about this: 1. Pundints and nobody else has a "Black First Lady "to compare Michelle with--after 200 years! 2. Pundints and nobody else know how she feels unless they have walked in HER shoes. 3. She has a right to express her feelings/views from her own frame-of -reference without being accused of being unAmerican. 4. Pundints and nobody else has a right to get inside her head/heart and define what her statement meant. She explained her reasons for saying what she said and people who did not want to accept her explanation proceeded to define what she meant!!!
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I TOO AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, AMERICA HAS ALLOWED AND/OR SUPORTED A BLACK MAN TO COMPETE FOR THE HIGHEST POSITION IN THE LAND! jUST BE FAIR WHEN YOU COVER MICHELLE IN THE FUTURE!!!!

[ccrnjr]

Well, I think the media has forgotten about the carnage in Iraq, the huge federal budget deficit, the rising price of gas, the rising price of food, the people dying from lack of proper health care, the social security crisis, the credit crunch, global warming and other important issues. Give me the real picture and tell me if the political parties have solutions, please. The drama about egos and personalities is getting so tiresome.

[sciphy]

Why is it that Condi Rice can say "And I think that what we're seeing is, an extraordinary expression of the fact that 'we the people,' is beginning to mean all of us" in referring to Senator Obama's victory and no one give her any grief?

[jpaultel]

I see you disagree with the statement by Condoleeza Rice. But what part of it is wrong or inaccurate? She also did say something, aptly correct, about America's birth defect. Maybe no one gives her grief because she is often heard saying painfully dumb things like referring to the suicide bombings and the orgy of violence in Iraq as "birth pains of democracy." I kind of like the new Condi, as you refer to her. Go Condi! I am convinced she is an Obama girl.

[Suthngal]

Here is the problem. The average American already has a preconceived idea of how OUR first lady should be or look. And MO doesn’t fit their profile…it comes down to color. My non-black friends are ALWAYS asking about the relationship that I have with my husband. I have told them that they will never understand because it's truly a different issue. That in no way means that it’s any better than theirs, it’s just different. That’s why the AVERAGE white American can’t understand the connection between these 2.

If the GOP, which I am a member of, desires to compare wives, I can assure them that CM would fail w/o incident. They could bring up her dark past and speak about her being the mistress, drug issues, thievery, etc., but BHO is better than that.

As BHO stated it’s best that they debate on the issues, and focus on who is best to run the country.

[tukatz]

I'll bet Michelle Obama has no designs on co-presidency or 8 years of her own.

[JulianDamanas]

Sory. I posted this as a reply rather than a general comment, so I'm reposting it here:
Come on people. Is it always race when the Obamas are critiqued? My skin is darker than either of the Obamas'. Are you all racists for disagreeing with me? Good grief, get a grip! Why is the truth "mean"?
Please start thinking in a more color-blind manner.

[jpaultel]

Julian, raise an I issue, perhaps even a hot topic issue and let me agree or disagree with you. Name calling is not criticism. In case you don't remember, the story at the beginning was "Barack Obama is not black enough and that was why black people are tentative in responding to him." But I argued then and the fact was and remains, if skin color were the only reason to vote for a candidate, then ALL Blacks would have voted for him en masse. But, not so. Blacks are people too: they listen, evaluate and then they engage and vote. Would you have it any differently?

[walk0nwalls]

"Why is the truth "mean"?"

I responded to you on the other post and I will respond to you here. You were discussing a supposed disparity in "class" between the Obamas and the Clintons.

In your mind, the disparity is clear and obvious, the Clintons have 'class' the Obamas do not.

This is not fact.

This is YOUR OPINION that you are PRESENTING as fact.

But it is not fact.

Regardless of the color of your skin, regardless of where you are from and what your situation is, the fact that you present YOUR OPINION as FACT when it clearly IS NOT indicates a solidity of conviction in suspicious claims that is usually indicative of some innate bias.

It might be racist, it might not be. But your choice of words and your presentation of YOUR OPINION as FACT leads me to suspect that you grew up in an environment where one of the qualifications for 'Class' included non-white. And just because you're black (or so you say) doesn't preclude you from buying into this definition.

So that's pretty much it. You're free to clarify for the rest of us what constitutes 'class' to you. Just be aware that it's a subjective measure, the clear distinction is yours and yours alone, and take care to keep from citing opinions as facts in the future. It's usually indicative of a dysfunctional worldview.

[JulianDamanas]

i believe I AM opinionating. So are you. My opinions are the truth as I see it, sometiimes wry, often cynical. You seem exhaustingly passionate, which I, in turn, tend to mistrust. You may not agree with me, but why should I care particularly for your opinions, which I am sure you know are innately biased as anyone else's. Why try to stop others from voicing their views? Why the ad hominim approach? I believe in cultivating tolerance for all viewpoints while remaining open to discussion.

[edwarvir]

dora_rice, When I see Senator O , Michelle O and their children, I see love. When I
see them as a couple I see a couple inlove. I was so proud of them this past
Tuesday (June 3rd 2008) a night that History was made. Not only did they hug they

kissed each other, and then they gave each other a pound and she gave him a thumbs
up and he patted her and watched to see that she got down the steps safely.

I for one love the tenderness I see that they love each other. You can tell
that Michelle is a little nerveous when he is speaking. I love them and I wish
them the best. I will be praying for them, with all of my heart. I will be praying
that he can go forth with his staff (without the clintons) and put the country
in a place where it has never been before . Without all of this racism . Put us
back on our feet again financially. and get us the Hell out of this war. I just hope
that Hillary Clinton will remember that it's Michelle's time and respect her.

[ITrustObama]

Pretty interesting issue, as I have watched and listened to Michelle Obama's speeches during the primaries. She has so much more relevant things to argue than her naysayers' claim about her not being proud to be an American. It all goes back to that lame argument used in the last general election- "You're not being patriotic if _______________ (i.e., you're opposed to the war)".

[walk0nwalls]

I just realized how silly it was to actually engage these trolls on their own game when their profiles clearly show that they're just run-of-the-mill trolls.

I mean Julian doesn't even have the decency to not copy-paste his trolls.

And meanguy is so transparently a troll whose disdain for all the people on this site drips from his jowls every time he types so between actually falling for the two of them I feel pretty damn dumb.

[meanguy]

as long as she's out on the CAMPAIGN trail, giving CAMPAIGN speeches, and advising obama's CAMPAIGN, she's fair game and CAMPAIGN fodder...i'm not impressed. i've yet to see such bitterness, anger, and negativity in someone with as much blessings...the angriest millionaire in america...give her a few more months, a few more ill-advised rants, and the obamas will have taken BOTH of hillary's 'titles'..­.'inevitab­le nominee' (BO has that already) and most despised woman in america (MO is working hard for that title)

[walk0nwalls]

Hey there gnat.

Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD.

They call them ethics. Standards of conduct. Moral compases. Jesus sticks.

It's neither fair nor right to attack the spouses of these candidates unless they've been making the attack rounds themselves. I guess to you Michelle is fair game because she represents every single person in America who hopes for the destruction of everything you stand for.

Your America is over. We're bringing it to the ground.

[EdithF]

I am kind of shocked by the tone of these comments; I couldn't disagree more. From where I'm sitting, Michelle Obama is an intelligent, beautiful, inspiring woman who clearly means the world to her husband.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I agree that it's an unfortunate, but inevitable part of the campaign. Michelle will come under intense scrutiny; she is not the simpering stepford wife we are used to seeing behind and to right of our candidates. As a successful, outspoken woman she'll come in for boatload of criticism, and as she is a black woman, I fear it may get even uglier than the attacks on Hillary when she was first lady. I hate it for her, but I have the feeling she's both tougher and more gracious than we know.

[iowacorn]

gotta agree, edith....she's a good looking woman.. i'm speaking at my 69 yrs old....
she doesn't have the experience in politics that hillary does, but she looks to me to be a perfect wife..
i think she's going to make a definite difference in the whitehouse.. she's more of a woman than hillary is..
ya don't come out of harvard law school stupid...no monica in her life...