Michelle Obama suffering from 'Hillary-itis'?

Mon, 06/29/2009 - 12:44pm

Michelle Obama, White House garden, June 16, 2009 

London's Sunday Times ran an article this weekend saying that Democratic insiders are worried that U.S. first lady Michelle Obama might end up with a "Hillary Clinton-style debacle" as she ventures out of her White House vegetable garden "in search of a meatier political role."

From the article (with my emphasis in bold):

Despite denials from White House officials that Michelle Obama is suffering from "Hillary-itis" -- a burning desire to help her husband run the country -- her long-running interest in healthcare has raised painful memories of 1994, when Hillary Clinton presided over a political debacle as her health reform proposals collapsed in Congress.

Healthcare reform is badly needed in the United States, so whatever the first lady -- a former hospital administrator -- might attempt, I hope it leads to outcomes that help the uninsured and underinsured get the healthcare they need at prices they can afford. Meanwhile, at least she's pushing the veggies.

Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

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Lord help us all.

by anne on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 6:56pm

Lord help us all.

Regardless of what one thinks

by stacyx on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 7:27am

Regardless of what one thinks of Michelle Obama, I think it's pretty frustrating how the media react so predictably to any First Lady who wants to do something other than pick out china patterns and stand silently beside her husband.

Hillary was ripped apart almost from the moment she moved into 1600 PA avenue as First Lady- they questioned her clothes, her hair, her sexuality, her insistence on being outspoken about issues she cared about, her former career and on and on...

It's clear that despite so much progress in woman's rights, our society is still uncomfortable with the idea that the wife of the President might have some ideas of her own or have any interest in an independent career at some point. It's hard to believe that that same standard would be applied to the "First Man".

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