What kind of first lady will Michelle Obama be?

[babylonsister]

What kind of first lady will Michelle Obama be?


Michelle Obama, wife of President-elect Barack Obama, "is going to set a record in the amount of attention she will receive," Democratic strategist and CNN analyst Donna Brazile says.

By Mark Wilson, Getty Images

By Maria Puente, USA TODAY


You could call it "Obamalot."

That makes some sense. The incoming presidential couple, Barack and Michelle Obama, bear superficial similarities to John and Jacqueline Kennedy of the 1960s "Camelot" White House — charisma, vigor, her fondness for sheath dresses, for instance.

But maybe the most obvious similarity is that many Americans are as excited and curious about her as they are about him.

"People will be riveted," predicts Donna Brazile, Democratic strategist and CNN analyst. "She is going to set a record in the amount of attention she will receive."

President Kennedy once jokingly introduced himself, during a press-frenzied visit to France, as "the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris." Someday, the president-elect may have occasion to say the same.

In fact, on the day this month that Barack Obama was announcing important Cabinet picks, a British tabloid reported (with no apparent evidence) that he planned to buy his wife an exotic $30,000 ring as a thank-you gift. Exasperated, his transition team had to interrupt actual news to deny fake news.

It was a sign of the hyper-increased focus on the role of first lady in general, and on Michelle in particular, as Americans seek to learn more about her and sort out what kind of first lady she might be and how she might influence public perceptions of her husband's administration.

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-12-18-michelleobama-firstlady_N.htm

[lunatica]

1. Her life thus far is prologue

She's a good role model for just about anything women and their daughters could look up to. She's a good mother, a good wife, and good daughter and a good sister who has much intelligence and ambition for herself and her family. She is educated, a professional, gracious, engaging and knowledgeable.

I see all this and I know she will be able to converse with leaders from every corner of the globe. She will be a fine hostess and a perfect ambassador for us wherever she goes. And for extra points so will her daughters.

The days of drunken parties and fratboy antics and demurely doped up housewives if over. Michelle will be exactly who she's been all along. She won't even get all caught up in the fact that she's First Lady. She's too grounded for that.

And I love that her mother will be living in the White House. I love it! That too is a good example of an extended family environment for the girls.

[gblady]

5. just wondering....

"And I love that her mother will be living in the White House. I love it!"

Has this been confirmed? I was under the impression that she was moving to Washington,
but would live in her own place?

[lunatica]

6. Not confirmed, but I'm hopeful.

It'll be a good model for the families that will be having to move in with their siblings and children just to keep at least one roof over their heads. The nuclear family is soon to become the extended family. Bad for some, good for others. A role model in the White House could make it a little more bearable.

[babylonsister]

7. Per this, she is moving to the wh with the family...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/3407525/Michelle-Obama-persuades-First-Granny-to-join-new-White-House-team.html

[gblady]

8. actually....

the article says she hadn't decided whether to move into the WH or in a place of her own...
It was affirmative that she would be moving to DC.

[firedupdem]

2. She's a smart lady and a good mother....and also from the south

side of chicago like me! I love her!

[glowing]

3. She's the only reason I hope he stays grounded and doesn't become

stuck in the stupid crowd of Washington.

[bluestateguy]

4. She will be outstanding

I am so excited about her being First Lady. I think she will be my all time favorite First Lady.