MW: You’re Nice Enough, Michelle
Posted by: chatblu on: May 18, 2010
- In: Current Events | Women
- Comment!
Michelle Obama, 44th First Lady of the United States of America, is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law. She had a successful career as an associate of Sidley Austin, then on the staff of Chicago Mayor Richard Dailey. She also worked for the University of Chicago Medical Center, first as Executive Director of Community Affairs, then later as Vice President for External and Community Affairs. Mrs. Obama served on the TreeHouse board for a number of years. She was also involved on the board of her daughters’ private school, and in community fundraising.
Now, I don’t always agree with the paths that Mrs. Obama chose. She wrote a rather controversial paper entitled “Princeton Educated Blacks and the Black Community” that popped up into the campaign upon occasion. There is evidence that some of her work for UNC Hospitals entailed shuttling the poor elsewhere. TreeHouse Corporation (the Keebler Elves) is snack food with strong ties to Wal-Mart), but Mrs. O. did leave the board after Mr. O. made some disparaging remarks about Wal-Mart while campaigning. Whether one agrees with her pathway or not, it’s clear that Michelle Obama is an educated, intelligent professional. That said, let’s talk about the 2008 campaign and election. Michelle Obama campaigned hard and apparently effectively for her husband. I remember her mainly wearing dark, tailored clothing with minimal make-up and a pulled-back hairstyle. After Barack was nominated, someone decided to give Michelle a make-over, whether she needed one or not.
It would seem that the campaign advisors felt that she needed a less professional, motherly, softer-yet-hipper image. They summoned hairdressers, make-up artists, designers et voila! The new, ultra-chic (yet motherly) Michelle emerged. She assumed the usual role of FLOTUS and mother, reinforcing that Mother-in-Chief was her foremost obligation. She presided over Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Easter Egg Roll with grace and style. Mrs. Obama planted an organic garden, helped out at soup kitchens, and wowed the press with her beauty and cool on an ongoing basis. I swear that it was absolutely impossible to pick up a newspaper or magazine without being awash in fawning descriptions of clothing and other cool stuff regarding Michelle Obama.
Enough of this. Michelle Obama has decided that her signature venture will be to combat childhood obesity. As a nurse, I applaud her choice. Almost half of American children are overweight, and nearly a third are just plain obese. African-American children are statistically over-represented in these figures, and Mrs, Obama’s concern is both justified and laudable. She wants children to get more exercise, stop the junk food (sorry, TreeHouse Corp.) and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
She recently unveiled a 70-point plan (anyone got a 70-letter acronym?) to combat obesity and the alarming rates of childhood type II diabetes (the kind that you usually find in older, overweight people). She recommends a national holistic approach. While I philosophically agree with Mrs. O, I find a few inherent problems. To wit, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables are some of the more expensive foods out there. People with limited food budgets tend to eat a lot of carbohydrates, as they are cheaper and more filling. Also, schools are cutting physical education and athletics at an alarming rate, and inner city parents are justifiably afraid to let their children play outside. I have sent more than one child to the Medical Examiner, collateral damage in a drive-by shooting. If these were my kids, they would never leave the house. Further, the American Academy of Pediatrics is suspicious that ADHD is tied to pesticides found on fruits and vegetables. (Ruh-roh.) All in all, I hope that the other sixty-eight points are somewhat more do-able.
So, anyhow, the 70-point plan is unveiled, and the reaction of both press and public is:
So what the heck happened? I watched CNN interview several reporters about the paucity of coverage of Mrs. O’s signature venture, and they more or less admitted that they just couldn’t get into it, but didn’t she look great?
This is an open thread.
53 Responses to "MW: You’re Nice Enough, Michelle"
May 18, 2010 at 8:24 AM
Chat, I’m so glad you wrote this. I had been wondering what happened too when I saw her recommendations make such a small splash.
Janicen is right. Pointing the finger at the kids and parents is simply not going to work. Obesity is for poor people, for the most part; and for the most part, it’s not their falt they’re poor, or that their schools do not provide them with healthy foods at lunch and have sugary sodas in the vending machines and take recess away from them.
The problem of childhood obesity can only be addressed by good public policy, and as we all know, the Obama administration doesn’t make public policy to benefit poor people.
In addition, I used to watch a show called “Honey, we’re killing the kids.” It was a show where parents were educated on good nutrition by a nutritionist, and put on a program of diet and exercise by the host. The amount of nutritional ignorance that is out there is truly unbelievable. We need better education of our population instead of encouraging them to believe that Alpha-Bits are good for them.
May 18, 2010 at 8:31 AM
She seems to be an iuntelligent woman, yet the WH has “re-imaged” her into June Cleaver-cum-fashionista. This tells me that she’s been effectively marginalized. Even middle-class kids are not going out and playing. Parents are working longer and longer hours, and they are frightened by these well-documented child snatches by pedophiles. Therefore, the kids sit inside gaining weight.
May 18, 2010 at 8:41 AM
MB> I can’t believe you used to watch “Honey, we’re killing the kids!” Didn’t you see my name flying by in the credits?
It’s true what Janicen says: people who are overweight already know it and telling them to eat more greens is not breaking news. So FLOTUS’ plan is more like an advertising campaign if it doesn’t have any specific plans on fixing the problem of food that’s good for you being more expensive, and school lunches, etc. etc. I’m sure Mrs. Obama means well, but then most socialites do when they join big and important causes. I’m thinking of Portia De Rossi’s character in “Arrested Development.”
http://www.movieweb.com/tv/TEMHPMPRRJutRQ/HUzLQHBIzcIKDI
May 18, 2010 at 9:01 AM
This initiative reminds me of the “Just Say No” campaign to end drug addiction. Just say no to all of those empty calories and you’ll be healthy! Yay!
May 18, 2010 at 9:03 AM
DYB – LOL! Actually I was wondering if you knew about that show. That is too much! 
Chat – yes, a 70-pt plan is basically a no-point plan. I can just imagine writing a 70-pt business case for purchasing software I need. I think my boss would send it to the trash post-haste, but not before I got a “WTF! Keep it simple, stupid!” phone call.
Bill Clinton’s foundation had an initiative to remove sugary sodas from kid’s school vending machines, IIRC. That’s a one-point plan that seems like it might actually help a bit.
May 18, 2010 at 9:11 AM
That’s a starting point. School breakfasts and lunches that are slanted toward fruits and veggies would be another. Resumption of PE, athletics, and safe neighborhood athletic centers would be a third. The other 67 are, at the moment, eluding me.
May 18, 2010 at 9:40 AM
The other 67 probably involve sending business to Barack and Michelle’s Chicago cronies, a la “No Child Left Behind,” which gave Neil Bush’s educational software business tens of millions in government contracts.
May 18, 2010 at 9:56 AM
Here’s a link to the 70-point plan. I’ll be reading it after I get back from meeting a friend for breakfast at Denny’s.
http://www.letsmove.gov/taskforce_childhoodobesityrpt.html
May 18, 2010 at 10:10 AM
HuffPo today –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/michelle-obamas-floral-fr_n_579256.html
May 18, 2010 at 11:08 AM
@10 – LOL!
@11 – Wow, they really focused on the important part of that story, didn’t they – what was she wearing? (SARCASM)
May 18, 2010 at 12:48 PM
If you read the tee-tiny print below the picture, you will gather that she wore this outfit (and’s it’s frumpy by a nose in the polling) when she rolled out her initiative.
May 18, 2010 at 12:48 PM
As chatblu mentioned, I thought Michelle looked stunning during the campaign. She did look imposing and powerful, however. I guess Obama’s sexist handlers couldn’t deal with that.
I, personally, do not find Michelle Obama “likeable enough.” However, it is ridiculous that her press announcement about her Anti-Obesity initiative is being reduced to “fab or frumpy.”
May 18, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Oh, Mad, I was just quoting the “You’re likeable enough, Hillary” thingie. The Law of Rebound has done struck again.
May 18, 2010 at 12:51 PM
And, yes, what is it with the silly florals? Are they back to shopping the drapery fabrics again?
May 18, 2010 at 1:34 PM
I dont like her she is as much a loyal democrat as her husband…
May 18, 2010 at 2:11 PM
The other 67 probably involve sending business to Barack and Michelle’s Chicago cronies
I don’t know about that, but there is a lot of mention of “private” businesses getting involved, and they’ve already got one initiative to get local chefs to “adopt” a school. I reapeat “A” school. How many thousands of schools are there?
Good gawd. School nutritionists know what to do. They know how to make tasty food. They need MONEY! And with school budgets being slashed up the whazoo, I don’t see that happening any time soon.
May 18, 2010 at 2:13 PM
PS- I want to apologize for not having posted anything for a couple of days. Busy weekend and then immediately into the work week. Tonight’s our anniversary, so . . .
May 18, 2010 at 2:14 PM
I don’t understand Michelle’s love for florals. And in this case, the outfit simply doesn’t fit her. Fuzzy’s right – it’s awful.
May 18, 2010 at 2:25 PM
BL – please don’t apologize. Your posts are VERY MUCH appreciated when they come, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to do one every day.
Happy anniversary!
May 18, 2010 at 2:50 PM
Can’t buy a lot of fruits/veggies and lean meat with food stamps-they don’t go that far. Macaroni and cheese on the other hand is gut-filling and goes a long way. And face it: when you having two working parents, they’re gonna hit the drive thru quite frequently.
I haven’t seen the HuffPo piece or seen the dress. That bad?
Okay couldn’t resist:
May 18, 2010 at 3:39 PM
OT: Resigning Rep. Mark Souder ( R-IN ) and the staffwoman he had an affair with – Tracy Jackson – discuss “abstinence education”. I wonder what was going on under that table. LOL.
May 18, 2010 at 3:43 PM
I saw that in the elevator and thought of you, Beata! Hey now, Indiana’s sexier than I thought!
May 18, 2010 at 4:30 PM
Beata@30: I read it but didn’t know if it was with a male or female staffer. Geez…having sex with a female staffer is pretty vanilla these days!
May 18, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Okay…I’m gonna say it. He’s not attractive and he appears to be a rather dim bulb. I can see how he was attracted to her. But, really, the reverse? Ew.
May 18, 2010 at 4:52 PM
It’s really a power thing, BL. She has a case for sexual harrassment, if she wants to pursue it. Did she really feel free to say no? He was her boss.
May 18, 2010 at 4:56 PM
Shades of John Edwards.
I don’t think it was a power thing.
The affair began after Jackson was hired in a part-time role in 2004, according to a source knowledgeable about the relationship. Jackson, who is married, was hired to play guest host with Souder for a daily radio spot he recorded for WFCV, a Christian radio station in Fort Wayne. The spots were taped once a week and aired daily. Jackson played host, asking Souder questions about what he was working on in Washington for his constituents.
Jackson was also hired to play host for a local cable access show Souder had at one point. The show served as a platform for Souder to discuss conservative issues dear to him. Jackson has also helped produce numerous videos of Souder’s speeches and positions, including one in which they discussed his strong support for teen abstinence.
May 18, 2010 at 5:20 PM
How romantic. A boat launch….
“Less than a week before the Republican primary election, anonymous callers phoned some of the Republican candidates running against Souder, with allegations that he was regularly meeting a girlfriend for romantic trysts in state parks. One alleged that he and a staffer went together late at night to the remote and heavily forested Robinson Lake boat launch in Whitley County.”
May 18, 2010 at 5:34 PM
he recorded for WFCV, a Christian radio station in Fort Wayne.
Gawd, they are such hypocrites!!
May 18, 2010 at 5:38 PM
sigh…guess it could have been worse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10637316
May 18, 2010 at 7:18 PM
I’m going to be paying close attention tonight to who wins the special election in PA’s 12th district – John Murtha’s seat.
Any predictions?
May 18, 2010 at 7:21 PM
I remember hearing a snippet of an episode of Alan Colmes’ radio show way back when…some Congressman from the South somewhere was saying he had had sex with farm animals and watermelons.
Yes, he was a gawd-fearin Christian Republican from the party of farm animal, er, family, values.
May 18, 2010 at 7:25 PM
Oh yes – Sestak vs. Specter. I have no clue, Beata. To hear the “progressives” talk, Sestak is going to win.
You know what, this is worthy of a thread. Let me get home and I’ll put one up.
May 18, 2010 at 7:44 PM
No, MB, I mean the special House election to replace Murtha. Republican Tim Burns vs. Democrat Mark Critz. If a Republican wins that seat, it will be a real shocker, like Brown winning Kennedy’s seat.
May 18, 2010 at 7:48 PM
Beata@45: I haven’t even heard that much about that race on the tube. Isn’t that a fairly conservative district?
May 18, 2010 at 7:55 PM
Oh wow, me neither, Fredster. I’ll put up that information too, Beata.
May 18, 2010 at 7:56 PM
Fredster @49: It’s the Johnstown area. FDR-type Dems heavily dependent on $ from Washington. Socially conservative though. Lots of East European and Irish Catholics.
May 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM
I’ll have to keep an eye out on that one. Thanks for reminding about it! 
Comments are closed.
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May 18, 2010 at 8:01 AM
It’s a waste of time to tell overweight people that they need to eat less and exercise more. They know that. Messages like that have no impact on people, especially children, when they are bombarded by advertising and being constantly conditioned to reach for the pretty packages and trendy snack foods. There are actually ads on TV that recommended having a Three Musketeers bar to satisfy mid-afternoon hunger. I’ve heard the argument that we shouldn’t let them watch TV and that would solve the problem, but that’s overly simplistic. It’s not only TV, it’s advertising that’s all around us in subtle ways.
Words are not enough. I wish Michelle Obama would begin an initiative to overhaul school lunches, get vending machines with snack foods out of schools, and promote physical education classes in schools. I lived in the Seattle area when my daughter was in elementary school through junior high. Seattle consistently ranks in the top 10, more often in the top five physically fit cities in the U.S. They also devote a lot of classroom time to teaching kids about nutrition and, as well, placed a high priority on physical education. In middle and junior high schools, if a student missed a day of school during which there was a PE class, they were required to make up the PE class. They could come in early or stay after school to go on a run with the PE teachers, or make up the class in the weight room. In the younger grades, they could make up the exercise at home, and bring in a form, signed by a parent, stating that they exercised (walked, ran, biked) for 40 minutes to make up the class. I had never heard of making up a PE class until we lived there, but I thought it was a great idea. Besides getting the kids to exercise more, it communicated the importance of exercise to the kids.