DISQUS

roadkill refugee · 1 year ago

Great post! Michelle is incredibly kind, intelligent and "the closer". Like Obama, she offers a different generational approach to politics that is very refreshing and more difficult to define under old labels and preconceptions. But that doesn't stop the GOP from trying to demonize her.

Karoli · 1 year ago

I really think Michelle Obama has class. One of the things I most appreciate about her is that she's not afraid to speak her mind. I also like the fact that she's an involved, loving mom even as she takes on the job of campaigning for Barack. It makes me deeply angry that there are still those out there who think it's okay to attack her simply because she's not a shrinking violet.

The NYT also has an article on Michelle's fashion sense. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but for me, I'd much rather hear what she has to say about more important issues than what she wears to rallies. It's so typical. So stereotypical. One of the reasons I never bought into the 'pantsuit' jokes about Hillary Clinton was because I thought it was petty and mean. Geez, I wear jeans as a uniform. Sue me.

This is the kind of sexism we all need to push back on, repudiate and reject. :)

Concern4Civility · 1 year ago

Agree. Really great post. Nothing to add, other comments have said it.

Summerm · 1 year ago

Here here! I expect the conservatives will have plenty of dirty tricks up their sleeves that they plan to pull out while pointing and screaming about a WOMAN who dares be an individual. They can't aim their disgust at clinton now, so Michelle will get the brunt of it. And in the runoff so will every other woman who speaks up. trickle down economics might have been a joke, but trickle down abuse never fails.

KristenForbriger · 1 year ago

Great post -- thanks for starting this discussion. What has surprised me most from talking to women who are strong Hillary supporters, is the amount that cite Michelle as a reason they are hesitant to vote for Barack. "She's too rough around the edges." This indicates a couple things to me....

First, women are the ones holding our gender back. We, as women, are intimidated and turned off by strong women. Recall back to earlier in the primary race when Hillary was constantly being forced to soften her demeanor (some might call it being more "lady like").

More importantly, people are still, unfortunately, voting based on an individual's personality (likability) -- or those of his/her family -- rather than his/her abilities and stance on the issues. It's written between the lines of this post, and it's a problem we all need to start talking about more often. When it comes to choosing a President, having an opinion on a person is not a substitute for being educated on the issues.

Kim Woodbridge · 1 year ago

@Kristen - I completely agree that woman are the ones holding women back. I've had a variety of managers through the years and the ones that have been the most encouraging and the most understanding about family issues have been the men. You would think that a woman who obtains a respected position and struggled through the issues of career and family would provide understanding and assistance. But often the opposite is true - "I suffered through it so you should too."

@Karoli - I just discovered this site and you on twitter and am so pleased to have found it.

Karoli · 1 year ago

Hi Kim,

Welcome! I'm glad to have found you too. You speak truth about women -- there is often a sense that they somehow need to put their younger sisters through a trial of fire, or give them at least a taste of their battles before they will welcome them to the fold. It's too bad.

There is also a generational struggle at hand. In my generation (coming of age in the 70's) there is a sense that we owe women some sort of payoff for the struggle. I certainly remember the unspoken bias toward women, but far more often I found that men were eager to mentor and push the motivated smart women up the ladder -- as long as they got the credit.

In my case, I was okay with giving the credit as long as my goals were still met. Why did I care, especially when I knew that everyone knew who was doing the work and why.

Today, I'm a real advocate for women taking hold of their own careers and destiny through self-employment wherever possible, even if it means working on their own business while holding down their job. In the long run, I think the maximum empowerment comes to those women who do not rely upon anyone but themselves to advance, and then hopefully provide opportunities for other women to advance.

Karoli · 1 year ago

The identity politics playing out in this election are frightening. It's not entirely the fault of the voters. As an example, Hillary courted the older women's vote by invoking the suffragettes and leaders of the women's movement. Barack, by his very appearance, invited voters to choose identity over issues, and since both were so similar policy-wise, voters were just about forced into a choice based on identity.

But as I point out below, there is also a generational struggle in place here. I can't remember one as stark as this since the 60's, when people were coming to Bobby Kennedy in droves. This is a good thing. It's time for the young people to shed their apathy toward politics and become involved again, for their own good as well as ours. I really don't want someone old enough to be my father running the country, because they're too out of touch with the issues that are emerging in this election. The war is one that affects us all, but the BILL for the war impacts young people far more than it does me. The loss of prestige around the world affects young people more than it will me. Same for environmental issues.

I'm passionate about these issues too, but I'm not representative of all boomers, being somewhat liberal and disdainful of the establishment voters even after all these years.

In the generational struggle, what people forget is that they RAISED these kids. Their values are different, but they still raised them to form opinions, express them, and deal with the issues at hand. So when I hear snorts of disdain about Barack Obama or downticket progressive candidates and when they allow the discourse to sink into invective and personal attacks, I can't help but wonder what double standard they adopted to arrive at such behavior.

ursulas · 1 year ago

This makes sense to me. Hillary was merely a pawn theme for these sexist war-mongering pigs.

Amy@UWM · 1 year ago

As a PR pro, I read that graph differently. I love, love, love Michelle, but she is a bit rough around the edges, particularly in how she conducts media interviews. Not surprising considering she really hasn't been in the national spotlight until the primaries. I don't think they're going to try to make her into something she's not (i.e., a cookie-baking Hillary). I suspect they're looking to give her some polish so that she can leverage her strengths, be prepared for her critics and dazzle us even more in the general election.