The First Spouse

Who is Michelle Obama? Other than hearing about a few outrageous statements that she has made, I don’t know much about the woman who could very well become the next First Lady. After she did a not so glamorous interview for Glamour Magazine where she said her husband was “snore-y and stinky” in the morning she seems to have been muzzled until the more recent inflammatory statement that she is proud of the U.S. “for the first time in my adult life”.

I think it is past time to better understand who is this woman who could be living in the White House for the next four years. We already know more than we want to know about Bill but Michelle Obama is an enigma. I admit that I also know very little about John McCain’s wife, Cindy, except that she has not embarrassed her husband or his campaign. But it is time that we get to know these potential First Ladies.

We need to know if the future First Lady can act with grace under pressure. Yes, I realize we are electing her husband not her but we will nonetheless have to deal with the spouse of the next president. Today’s First Ladies are often sent overseas to represent her husband and our country so we need to know how she will handle herself. Can she answer not just softball questions from an adoring press but also tough questions about herself, her husband and her plans for the next four years? What are her values, beliefs, ideology? Can she be a modern day First Lady while still honoring the history of her role and the White House? Will she be able to help plan and then host a state dinner? Will the President, much less the American people, have to worry about what the First Lady might say to the press or a visiting head of state? Plus a better understanding of the candidate's spouses will also give us a greater insight into the candidate.

It looks as if the primaries will soon be over and both parties will have elected their candidates for president. There is a long time between now and the conventions and that time should be used to learn as much as possible about each candidate. And this includes learning about their spouses. We need to find out about them now, before they are in the White House when it may be too late.