The Cleaverization of Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama is rightly being praised for her charming speech Monday night to the Democratic National Convention. If anyone -- say, low-IQ New Yorker readers -- thought she was a radical, her self-portrait should have disabused them of that thought. As one commentator put it: "Michelle Obama's speech reflected great nobility. She presented herself as a loving wife and mom, and she presented herself as being in sync with the values of most Americans." In other words, she was June Cleaver, mother of the Beaver.
Fair enough, but she also is a lawyer with the same blue-chip education boasted by her husband. Apparently, campaign tacticians decided that she should de-emphasize that aspect of her persona, much as Hillary Rodham did when she belatedly took the Clinton surname.
Speaking of radical, here's a suggestion that will never be adopted: Make party conventions and other political events off-limits to spouses, parents, children, siblings, high school coaches and pets. The practice of politicians proving that they are family men (or women), which was satirized as early as 1956 in the great political novel "The Last Hurrah," isn't just cheesy. As Larry Craig, Elliot Spitzer and John Edwards can attest, it also can set you up for a fall big-time (as Dick Cheney would say).
But Americans will never give up on the family portrait as a political symbol. The other day a poll was released showing that a majority of Americans would be willing to vote for a gay or lesbian candidate for president. I suppose that means that in the future, life partners of nominees will be coached to portray themselves as "being in sync with the values of most Americans."
Photo of Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver and Hugh Beaumont as Ward Cleaver courtesy of Billingsley's MySpace page
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Posted by: speech writing | August 06, 2009 at 03:58 AM
Obama…
“If my daughter makes a mistake, I don’t want her punished with a baby”
I guess we know what Obama really thinks of Palin's daughter's pregnancy.
He must feel guilty for having punished his mother when she made a mistake. Now we all have to live with it.
Posted by: jvsp | September 02, 2008 at 01:18 AM
Whats it like to be stupid? Seriously ask yourself that question because this opinion piece forgot one major problem about Michelle's "charming" speech. It was pre-scripted and written by Obama's staffers trained in public speech writing. You people are so pathetic that you would get wrapped up in the drama and magic without realizing its all a dog and pony show. Can we get to the issues or is there a strategic reason you Obama lovers have been hiding from being specific about his policies?
Posted by: Joe | August 26, 2008 at 07:33 PM
Sparafucil -- forgive me for parsing the author's sentences for you, but the "low-IQ New Yorker readers" he referred to were the ones who *missed* the humor in that infamous cover illustration.
Paul Stewart -- The point, I think, wasn't to judge Michelle Obama's conformity with "American values," it's to lament that politicians feel compelled to hold their families up to such a measure. You can argue that it's a valid exercise in this political season -- after all, one measure of a person is his or her family. But I think the author would prefer that the focus stay on the candidate's background, qualifications and policies, given how hard it is to get a true picture of a candidate's family life in these days of rigorously stage-managed campaigns.
Posted by: Jon Healey | August 26, 2008 at 05:29 PM
So, your point is what? They are not the Cleavers? Even thought they do indeed represent and practice the values of America, it should be ignored? And her hard earned sterling education somehow negates her up-bringing? Negates her family values?
I don't get it. If John and Cindy McCain could say all this, they would be cheered. They would be held up as indeed being the Cleavers and as representing the values to be aspired to by all American families.
You are saying either Obama and his family are not what they clearly are,. And since most people would disagree with that, you go on to say if they do have these values, then the values and their possession of them should somehow be off limits / should not count. You need to step back from the plate and get a better perspective. More importantly you need to get past your prejudice.
And for those who read this and say I am playing the race card, sorry no. This article is exactly about this on a "below the line" level. With the McCain wink wink and nudge nudge.
Good day.
Posted by: Paul Stewart | August 26, 2008 at 04:49 PM
I don't think there is much about either Obama that is real
Posted by: volunteer | August 26, 2008 at 04:15 PM
evidently the "low-IQ" New Yorker readers were the only ones who caught on to the fact that it was SATIRE.
Posted by: Sparafucil | August 26, 2008 at 04:02 PM