Letters to the Editor
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When has context ever been known to stop a Republican smear?
When a speaker praised Hillary Clinton for "redefining the role of the first lady" some years ago, Republicans leaped on it as an implied insult to Laura Bush. Since Laura Bush wasn't yet even First Lady, since her husband had not yet been inaugurated, it's hard to imagine how the speaker could have been contrasting her "performance" of a role she hadn't yet assumed with anyone else's, but why should that stop them? There are people who still insist that Al Gore said he "invented the Internet" and "discovered Love Canal," even when you show them the correct, full text of both alleged remarks. Their minds are made up, don't bother them with the facts.
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"...her own family life, not anybody else's..."
Since when does a statement -- especially in politics -- have only one meaning? Sure, the principal context of Michelle Obama's comments is that of her own family life, but those words are carefully chosen with an ear to subtext, and the anti-Hillary Clinton implications are no accident. You better believe it's an attack, and the Obama/Clinton race is only going to get nastier from here on.
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Are you sure it's Hillary Clinton?
Since when does a statement -- especially in politics -- have only one meaning?
True. But sometimes a spade is just a spade.
And if we're going to view Michelle Obama's comments as a narrow political dig, it was aimed at Rudy Giuliani:
one of the most important things that we need to know about the next President of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person?
Especially after the whole Giuliani daughter Facebook debacle, that's who I thought of immediately. Does Giuliani share our values? Does Giuliani respect family? If there's a front-runner who doesn't have his or her own house in order, it's Rudy Giuliani.
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My email to Jennfer Hunter of the Chicago Sun-Times
Dear Ms. Hunter,
From your article today:
At another stop, in Atlantic, Michelle said she travels with her husband in part "to model what it means to have family values," adding "if you can't run your own house, you can't run the White House." She didn't elaborate, but it could be interpreted as a swipe at the Clintons.
What do you mean, "she didn't elaborate"? A transcript is available at numerous sites (such as TalkingPointsMemo) and it's clear you've quoted Ms. Obama out of context. She's talking about the Obama family's decisions:
That one of the most important things that we need to know about the next President of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can'’t run the White House. So, so we’'ve adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he’s traveling around, I do day trips. That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I’'m home before bedtime. So the girls know that I was gone somewhere, but they don’t care. They just know that I was at home to tuck them in at night, and it keeps them grounded, and, and children, the children in our country have to know that they come first. And our girls do and that’s why we’re doing this. We’re in this race for not just our children, but all of our children.
Even Drudge had the decency to quote the part about adjusting their schedules to put their girls first...
Sincerely,
Here is her address: jhunter@suntimes.com
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It is about Rudy, If not intentional
Rudy is the candidate that’s been married the most, had several mistresses, and does not get along with his children. He left his wife in a way to embarrass her and his children. His current wife has demonstrated no skills in maintaining a substantial relationship. Even Gene Simmons and Barry Bonds get along with their children.
By all accounts Hillary raised her daughter well. There is nothing in the out of context quote or the total quote that can be construed as anti Hillary, except by Right Wingers who believe Mrs. Clinton was a bad mother and is a bad wife.
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Reactionary
By all accounts Hillary raised her daughter well. There is nothing in the out of context quote or the total quote that can be construed as anti Hillary, except by Right Wingers who believe Mrs. Clinton was a bad mother and is a bad wife.
I agree with nardwilly. Clinton's so-called deficiencies as a wife and mother are really just a reactionary jab against ambitious women. And the media is just salivating for a catfight, which is why they paired Michelle Obama's comments with Hillary Clinton.
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Quit with the ideal family stuff.
It probably wouldn't have crossed my mind that it's a dig at other candidates specifically. Now that it's been suggested, I suppose it's possible (though I still seriously doubt it) because it's politics and Obama's campaign hasn't conducted itself with any big degree of difference from the typical political campaign. So if it's a dig, it's very subtle.
She might have done better with 'we' and 'our' rather than 'you' and 'your'. I say that because it's a bit of a rub to have yet another candidate trying to earn "family values" creds by holding up their own family as some sort of ideal that doesn't square with the lives of many, many Americans. Nice that the Obamas have the resources to ensure there is always one parent available to their kids. That's not reality for a lot of single parents and homes where both parents have full-time jobs (and that's a lot of people). I was a kid who came home to an empty house for years. I can't imagine that reflects on my parents' intelligence and capabilities on the job.
"Family values" is on its last leg as anything meaningful in political discourse because the American family hasn't been Cleaver-esque for decades, if ever. It seems to me that part of the dissatisfaction with Republicans is that people are tired of being told some sort of phony ideal makes for a "real" a American family. People don't like the implication that their family and their life isn't legitimate simply because it's not perfect. Almost by definition, family isn't perfect.