Michelle Obama has no reason to complain about her treatment at the hands of Jodi Kantor, whose book, “The Obamas,’’ presents her in such overwhelmingly positive light that Connie Schultz’s New York Times review said admiringly that it was the first book about the Obama presidency to give the first lady her due.
So it’s more than surprising to see the first lady pushing back against . . . nothing, defensively telling Gayle King on “CBS This Morning,” “I guess it’s more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here and a strong woman — you know. But that’s been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced [that he was running for president] : That I’m some angry black woman.”
So let’s dissect the words ‘angry’, ‘black’ and ‘woman’.
Angry — I would not say that during Michelle’s stay at the White House that she has come across as angry but I would agree that anxious would be more like the descriptive word.
Black — Yes, Michelle has made history as America’s first ever black first lady to the most powerful man in the world.
Woman — What’s the big deal? There have been powerful women in previous history and there are powerful women in the world now. More so in Europe and the East and Asia and Australia, and Latin America…well…pretty much everywhere apart from North America & the Arabic States. So on a global level how about ‘Human Being’ rather than gender?
Don’t get me wrong? I am a global human rights campaigner and I am aware that women’s issues are high on the agenda especially violence against women but in Michelle’s case, we are talking about powerful women and politics. Let’s not forget, Hillary Clinton is the most powerful woman in the White House whereas Michelle gets the job of ‘ First Lady ‘ by default. As first lady there is no power or job description in that role. You just have to behave yourself as the whole world is watching.
Is Michelle Obama angry?
