With the presidential race well under way with the recent debates, there’s no telling who is going to win the title of commander in chief this election. However, we do know that whoever does win is going to bring their wife along for the ride.
Many topics are discussed during the election, with focus right now being on the economy, health care and our failing education system. However, it seems very seldom that we focus on the ladies supporting the men during these stressful campaigns. They seem like mere shadows standing behind the candidates.
These shadows actually have names, Michelle Obama being the current first lady and Ann Romney being Governor Romney’s wife, but how much do we really know about the first lady candidates?
Throughout the years the life style magazine, Family Circle, has held a cookie baking contest between the potential first ladies to see who the better baker is. This year, Michelle Obama won the contest with her white and dark chocolate cookies. I do think that the contest is meant to be a fun way to connect with the general population, but you may find yourself wondering what this contest has to do with anything in the presidential election.
Cookie baking is fun, and I do it from time to time, but it completely misses the point. The magazine has an opportunity to have the general public look at the first ladies and see who they would want to have beside the president, but instead they are concerned about what kind of cookies they are going to bake with all the free time they have in the White House.
The magazine fails to see that women, including first ladies, have careers, and that if first lady’s husband gets into office, it gives not only her husband a national stage, but it also gives her an opportunity to put forth initiatives that she is passionate about.
When Michelle Obama isn’t making cookies, she is rallying for and supporting her husband and raising her children. She is also busy launching programs such as Educating the Educator, which is a program for teachers who are educating students whose military parents move around a lot. She has also helped launch a program called Let’s Move! Which get kids outside to exercise in an effort to control America’s obesity epidemic.
The program also called for drastic changes to school lunches to make them healthier for not only obese people but also for kids who don’t get to eat a lot. However some students claim they are still hungry for more after eating a healthy 850 calorie meal and they are protesting the small portion sizes because they claim it’s not enough.
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Although her intentions were good, the kids are not happy, but she still defends her program. It’s not that she wants to completely cut out fried foods and sweets; she just wants to make sure kids aren’t eating this unhealthy food every day for lunch. Despite the lunch criticism, she has directed many other successful programs including Joining Forces, which is committed to support businesses who hire veterans coming back from the war in the Middle East.
Mrs. Obama also holds a bachelors degree in sociology and African American studies as well as a law degree. This means that she knows a lot about how society works, and she has in depth knowledge about race and racial relations in the US.
Mrs. Ann Romney, the first lady of Massachusetts and potential first lady of the United States, has lived a privileged life; this is not to say she is not down to earth though. She has raised five children, which is not an easy task and she is a devout Mormon. She was also active in her local PTA and played tennis at the local club.
As she was raising her children, she was also a concerned citizen and researched public issues. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis which affects your nervous system and your whole body, in 1998. She receives a lot of treatments, but now leads a life that is not controlled by MS.
She has also been involved in a lot of charity work, and has sat on many boards for charitable causes, including but not limited to equine therapy programs for physically challenged children, literacy programs, as well as organizations such as Partners for Youth with Disabilities, the American Red Cross, and the Perkins School for the Blind.
Unfortunately, she was generally invisible during her husband’s term as Governor of Massachusetts. During this presidential campaign though, she has been slightly more vocal in support of her husband and has appeared on many television shows, including The View and Good Morning America.
So, here is my question: Who is the better first lady to be? The woman who has experience, but has angered students across the nation, or the woman who has done so much outside of government, but when given the chance to do things as first lady of Massachusetts has remained almost invisible?
To answer this question, I feel we need to put aside their husband’s politics and focus on what these wonderful women have done with their time. Both have overcome some large barriers and have done great things for other people, and I feel we would be lucky to have either one of them representing our country.
Unfortunately, when Americans go to vote on November 6th, the first ladies will probably be nothing more than a distant thought. This is regrettable, since First ladies do have a great influence on the nation, and I feel that the president and first lady work as a team on many issues. With that said, I hope you have all registered to vote and that you pick the best first lady (and president) for the country.
America is facing many problems at this time and we need a good president to steer us clear of any icebergs in the distance, but he also needs his wife to have his back when a storm approaches.
Sources
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/michelle-obamas-low-calorie-sch…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/michelle-obama-defends-lets-mov…
http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/first-lady-michelle-obama
http://www.biography.com/people/ann-romney-20950331?page=1
http://www.womensconference.org/ann-romney
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/michelle-obama-cookies_n_193546…