Thursday, July 17, 2008

Failing to Revere Michelle   [Lisa Schiffren]

As Byron reports, in an interview with Glamour Magazine to be published shortly, presidential candidate Obama whines at length about how the right — including National Review — has attempted to systematically demonize his wife, thereby driving up her negatives. It is a bit dismaying to see that Obama either believes in, or in any case wishes to invoke the spectre of the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy," invented, of course, by former rival Hillary Clinton. It should be recalled that when she first invoked the VRWC, in 1998, it was to defend her guilty husband.

To be sure, Michelle Obama's negatives are higher than Cindy McCain's, at 22% vs 16%. This isn't such a big distinction, and arguably it is based on the real impression created by Michelle herself. For one thing, while Cindy has taken a traditional, background role in her huband's campaign, Michelle, the campaign, and the friendly media have made it clear that she is not only an advisor, but first among equals. The body language the couple exhibits at events indicates clearly that theirs is an equal partnership.

That's nice for a marriage. But when we the voters understand that this is a "two for the price of one" deal, and the price is very high, it behooves us to pay attention to the substance on offer from both. While Cindy has managed to speak around the country without making any notable gaffes, the same cannot be said about Michelle.

Starting with the "first time I have been proud of my country" line; followed by the whining about how expensive private school, ballet, and other yuppie childrearing niceties are to hard-hit working class women in Ohio; and the frequent complaints about having to pay back the (taxpayer subsidized) loans that put her through Princeton and Harvard Law School, Michelle has seemed like one angry, entitled woman.

She got a pass on her stunning, self-revelatory, nouveau riche, "let them eat cake," comment last weekend to an audience of black women in Pontiac, Michigan. Noting the insignificance of the $600 rebate, she advised them to go buy earrings with it. Note her apology for sounding ungrateful:

"You're getting $600," she told an audience of mostly African-American women (about this year's federal tax rebates, designed to stimulate the economy). "What can you do with that? Not to be ungrateful or anything. But maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every month."

"Barack's approach is that the short-term quick fix kinda stuff sounds good," she continued. "And it may even feel good that first month when you get that check. And then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings," she joked.

It is always nice to see a husband defend his wife or daughters — when they are truly "civilians" in the political wars. When, as in this case, the wife has the professional skills and the power to act for herself, that defense seems a bit condescending — and like wanting it both ways. As we learned from Team Clinton, a wife with with real power does better defending herself. And a wife with real power needs to learn how not to speak down to real people who vote, lest she earn her negatives all by herself.

07/17 03:38 PMShare