It’s not clear where Michelle Obama thinks she is, or what she believes she is doing, but she’s currently the First Lady of theUnited States.
That means, for the first time in her adult life, she has to behave in a way that Americans coast to coast can be proud of.
We’re running a series here called “Class vs. Crass”, highlighting accomplishments and attributes of previous first ladies that the current occupant of this position can learn from.
So far, our series has included Dolley Madison, Lou Hoover, Mamie Eisenhower, and Grace Coolidge.
Previously, we’ve asked you to note not only the things the current first lady has done that irk you, but stories from the past about former first ladies really rising to the occasion and doing things we can all be proud of.
Can you help us think of good “Class vs. Crass” entries for the future?
What are lessons former first ladies, specific to each woman, could teach Mrs. Utopia, so that her remaining three years in the White House can be more dignified, accomplished, and worthy of celebration than the year she’s already spent in the People’s House?
February 2, 2010 at 3:24 pm
She could love America with all her heart, be thankful she is in the WH, and actually see her role in terms of service, not in terms of being a Queen Bee.
She could learn manners and poise.
She could do something of substance instead of showing up for photo ops and telling everyone else what they should do.
She could knock that tremendous chip off her shoulder.
She could wear clothes that fit and adopt an understated style.
I actually think she’s a lost cause because her crassness goes to the bone.
February 2, 2010 at 3:31 pm
“I actually think she’s a lost cause because her crassness goes to the bone.”
Well said – I agree.
Susan
February 2, 2010 at 4:38 pm
I’d like her to learn how to wear something other than the tacky sleeveless numbers she’s been wearing for the past year.
February 3, 2010 at 11:58 am
You’ve covered it all, MichelleIndependent.
February 2, 2010 at 3:24 pm
hmm did any other FLOTUS, wish they could “scratch the eyes out” of formwer Presidents?
For the record, I don’t think Michelle wants to change anything, since i am pretty sure she thinks SHE is the first, FLOTUS Americans are proud of.
ps I know Scarlett Ohara wore drapes as a gown, but did any of the FLOTUS beside MO wear furniture upolstry as gowns?
February 2, 2010 at 4:32 pm
ok maybe Class is Dolley Madison saving former POTUS George Washington’s portrait from a burning WH
Crass is MO saying she wants to scratch the eyes out…
February 2, 2010 at 4:38 pm
already used the Dolley portrait….what about other First Ladies?
The First Ladies
18th Century
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington Abigail Smith Adams
19th Century
Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson Jane Means Appleton Pierce
Dolley Payne Todd Madison Harriet Lane
Elizabeth Kortright Monroe Mary Todd Lincoln
Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams Eliza McCardle Johnson
Rachel Donelson Jackson Julia Dent Grant
Hannah Hoes Van Buren Lucy Ware Webb Hayes
Anna Tuthill Symmes Harrison Lucretia Rudolph Garfield
Letitia Christian Tyler Ellen Lewis Herndon Arthur
Julia Gardiner Tyler Frances Folsom Cleveland
Sarah Childress Polk Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison
Margaret Mackall Smith Taylor Frances Folsom Cleveland
Abigail Powers Fillmore Ida Saxton McKinley
20th Century
Edith Kermit Cardow Roosevelt Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower
Helen Herron Taft Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy
Ellen Axson Wilson Claudia Taylor (Lady Bird) Johnson
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Patricia Ryan Nixon
Florence Kling Harding Elizabeth Bloomer Ford
Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge Rosalynn Smith Carter
Lou Henry Hoover Nancy Davis Reagan
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Barbara Pierce Bush
Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman Hillary Rodham Clinton
21st Century
Laura Welch Bush Michelle Obama
February 2, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I’ll work on that, I am sure there are first Ladies, that aren’t well known for something else we can use as class, that said something nice about a former POTUS.
February 2, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Here’s a good website that has short interesting bios of the the first ladies. I just read Frances Cleveland and found it interesting.
http://www.firstladies.org/default.aspx
February 2, 2010 at 3:26 pm
Considering that she and her husb are Progressives (they were called Communists when I was a kid) I see nothing that they will or can change. We’ll just have to live with them until voted out.
February 2, 2010 at 6:43 pm
I am in total agreement judy b. This is their core being. You can’t change it, you can only disguise it.
February 2, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Not that she’ll do it because she thinks that there is nothing wrong with her behavior, but she should call up Laeticia Balridge and ask for etiquette lessons and advice on how to run the White House a la Jackie Kennedy. If she’s too embarrassed to do so, Balridge has written a number of books on her years at the Kennedy White House.
However, sometimes you just can’t wash off stink and I think that’s the case with Mrs. O.
February 2, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Sorry, but it’s Letitia Baldrige. And at 84 I don’t think she would have the patience in dealing with lost causes.
February 3, 2010 at 11:10 am
Yeah, Robert C. I know, just didn’t have the patience to look up the correct spelling of her name. And,you’re correct, she is and always has been a firecracker and she most likely wouldn’t have the patience to deal with Mrs.O.
February 3, 2010 at 11:16 am
And, it doesn’t take away from the fact that MO could use the guidance of a seasoned and cultured woman like LB who has made style, culture and etiquette her life’s work.
February 2, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Lady Bird Johnson humored her husband (who could be kind of a jerk on occasion!), loved America, adored her girls….and worked hard to get lots of flowers planted across America just so people would have something pretty to look at. And she never acted like we should all bow down before her and fear her. I think Mrs. obama does want to be feared. I don’t think Michelle has a chance of ever being a lady of any kind (much less “First Lady”—she’s “the First Woman in my book–no way is she a lady of any kind)….Lady Bird Johnson was a lady.
February 2, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I match her with her 20th century soulmate, Krupskaya (Lenin’s wife).
February 2, 2010 at 4:45 pm
She needs to stop acting like Marie Antoinette. While 17+% of Americans are unemployed, unemployed, or “discouraged”, they are eating Kobe beef, taking expensive vacations at taxpayer expense (Christmas in Hawaii was the latest at $4,000+ per day), and the most recent article I’ve seen is this one:
“Obamas inviting celebrity chefs, award-winning cooks to White House”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hKh58kX3xmFQEg_zZqP-tMM3DCFw
They party while millions of Americans are on food stamps. “Let them eat cake”.
February 2, 2010 at 4:49 pm
sorry: I meant to say “unemployed, underemployed, …”
February 2, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Marie Antoinette had bearing and class. She acted no differently than other royalty of the era. MoZilla is a different story entirely.
February 2, 2010 at 4:49 pm
crassness goes to the bone
___
Yes, Mrs Obama is in an arranged marriage when she would rather be elsewhere.
She is a self-designated victim. This is the first time she has been outside the cocoon of affirmative action; its brutal.
She is a loser; she has accomplished nothing in her life. She is constantly reminded of how unattractive she is.
Martha Washington was an executive in a very large farming industry. When her husband was in service to this country, she ensured wagonloads of supplies were supplying his camps while administrating their properties.
She came into her marriage with Washington from her heart, she came into the marriage a landed woman; land that she owned outright.
Mrs Washington was a gracious presidential hostess during President Washington’s administration and afterwards at Mt Vernon.
Perhaps the difference between the 2 women is that Mrs Obama has never had to work, no responsibilites.
February 2, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Laura Bush advocated on behalf of Afghan women’s rights.
“Laura Bush says she has been waiting a long time to tell the women of Afghanistan that American women stand with them.
The first lady arrived in the country for a five-hour visit early Wednesday with plans to visit women who are training to be teachers and others who have made a business of selling handicrafts. She was also to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and have dinner with U.S. troops stationed at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul.” March 2005
This from a radio address, the first such speech by a First Lady:
“Life under the Taliban is so hard and repressive, even small displays of joy are outlawed. Children aren’t allowed to fly kites. Their mothers face beatings for laughing out loud. Women cannot work outside the home or even leave their homes by themselves. Only the terrorists and the Taliban forbid education to women. Only the terrorists and the Taliban threaten to pull out women’s fingernails for wearing nail polish. The plight of women and children in Afghanistan is a matter of deliberate human cruelty carried out by those who seek to intimidate and control.”
Laura went back to Afghanistan in 2008, little if any coverage was given to her efforts on behalf of a population oppressed by the taliban.
February 2, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Laura Bush is certainly someone that Michelle Obama should aspire to be like as a first lady; the only problem is I get the sense she would look down on Mrs. Bush if she even deigned to give her a second thought.
February 2, 2010 at 4:55 pm
How can someone learn when they cannot see?? Mechelle is trying to hard to be another Jackie O. She comes off as being desperate.
I’d feel sorry for her if she wasn’t such an a**.
February 2, 2010 at 4:56 pm
What about Barbara Bush? She and Bush 41 have been married for 65 years, which makes them the longest-married First Couple (so far).
Mrs. Bush’s cause has always been adult literacy; she started an adult literacy campaign when her husband was VP, kept it up during his presidency, and started a foundation for adult literacy called the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She inspired the wife of a former governor of Virginia to start an adult literacy program in that state. Mrs. Bush is credited with stirring up interest in grassroots adult literacy programs all over the United States.
Mrs. Bush was awarded an Elsie Award for her work in children’s radio and TV programming (she hosted a radio program for awhile called Mrs. Bush’s Story Time, which stressed the importance of reading aloud to children.)
Fun fact at the link: “The turning point for Barbara Bush came several years ago when she was voted Biker Babe of the Century by Outlaw Biker Magazine ‘because my old man kicked butt in the Gulf.’”
http://www.post-gazette.com/seen/20020225event0225p1.asp
I have always liked BB for her sense of humor as well as her obvious love of people.
February 2, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Yes, but their marriage is a farce. Plenty of Californians were aware of Bush indiscretions while he was president with a woman here in CA
February 2, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Proof?
February 2, 2010 at 5:24 pm
If you’re going to use “indiscretions” as the benchmark for a farcical marriage, I submit there are many unintentionally hilarious unions out there.
February 2, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Tsk, the liberals especially in the media have tried to spread this lie several times. Too bad for them its been publicly proven to be a lie every time its been tried.
February 2, 2010 at 7:42 pm
I find that one very hard to believe considering their relationship over the decades…and the fact that Biker Babs would kick some butt of her own if that were the case. LOL
February 2, 2010 at 11:13 pm
libertyTROLL must only have the old version of the “party’s talking points”….poor thing :(
February 2, 2010 at 5:10 pm
She is one classy lady.
February 2, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Her nickname in her family is The General, Barbara is in charge. I remember reading a story, just after 9/11 the Secret Service was driving her crazy. She made up some extravagant lie so she could go cut some flowers in her garden at Kennebunkport. She is a jewel.
February 2, 2010 at 7:44 pm
I loved her sense of humour, and her deep commitment to family and country. There was one point where I thought that SHE should have been POTUS. She would have taken Bill OUT….in her pearls. LMAO
February 2, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Abigail Adams ran their family farm while John Adams was in Europe arranging loans for our revolution.
Her mother and 1 child died while he was away and she kept on.
John Quincy Adams said he had a childhood memory of his mother and Sam Adams standing over a kettle that was over a fire melting her pewter household furnishings to make into bullets for the rebels.
She knew that if John and John Quincy were captured in Europe or on the high seas they both would be hanged for treason.
And she kept on.
February 2, 2010 at 7:26 pm
And she was intelligent and a fighter for women’s causes — she wrote the treatise “Remember the Ladies” to her husband so that women’s rights would be included in the Constitution.
February 2, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Ive been trying to find a letter Abigail sent to John. In it she told him that sewing needles could be found in Boston, and it was his job to send some. Kids had holes in their socks, and mom’s had to keep them happy. The families would not be happy if mom’s were not. They were missing their guys, and they could still help. Abigail was all about family and rights for women, and so was John.
February 2, 2010 at 5:09 pm
The First Lady loves America, it’s people and is servant… and is a lady.
Michelle isn’t nor can she be, any of these. She’s too self absorbed and mean.
February 2, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Michelle Obama, America’s Unhappiest Millionaire, likely believes that she can learn nothing from those who came before her. To MO they were out of step- not she.
February 3, 2010 at 1:46 am
Is it that she’s mean, or is this Michelle Obama just really ugly in the face? I know they give her plastic surgery and stuff, but she’s just plain ugly. I mean, really ugly.
February 3, 2010 at 8:29 am
alright I agree with ugly the best thing that she can do for this country is stay in a closet out of site. I myself can not stand to look at her.
February 2, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Posted this website in #2 for Lyn. It’s got short interesting bios.
http://www.firstladies.org/default.aspx
February 2, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Thank you. We’ve had some pretty amazing First Ladies. Its interesting reading about them again, something I hadn’t done since my mini class on Presidents in High School, (WAAY back when there were much fewer to learn about lol)
February 2, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Yes, I was amazed too and it was highlight of my reading today. Always learn something new at Hillbuzz and dig deeper.
February 2, 2010 at 5:22 pm
It’s a lost cause, but the best way she could *attempt* to correct her behavior would be to get behind a cause that 98% of the American public can agree with. Like adopting shelter animals or recycling. The problem is that there would probably be something in her past to make her a hypocrite on pretty much any cause you can come up with. (Let’s see some OUTFIT recycling…)
February 2, 2010 at 5:31 pm
They have mini-biographies of first ladies at whitehouse.gov; these were the ones that jumped out at me:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/lucyhayes
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/carolineharrison
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/idamckinley
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/edithroosevelt
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/first-ladies/ellenwilson
February 2, 2010 at 6:08 pm
I admire Laura Bush and Barbara Bush. Both are very intelligent and well spoken. Soft spoken and non-controversial. Classy women, classy appearance, but never over-the-top. Both obviously very much in love with their husbands.
February 2, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Very recently she cited her daughters’ pediatrician as saying that the girls were becoming overweight. Can you imagine how Malia Obama, a girl just entering puberty, felt when her own mother told the international press that she was “overweight”? Unreal and classless. Nevermind that Malia is not fat, and that it is completely normal for girls to put on a little weight right before their first pubescent growth spurt. Sick woman.
I also came across an item from late summer in which MO’s mother was reported to be a follower of “Santeria” or voodoo and had been engaging in voodoo rituals in the White House. I’m totally serious. You can’t make stuff like that up. Google “Robinson Santeria White House”. The Photoshop possibilities with that alone could keep Chrissy The Hyphenated busy for the rest of the year.
February 2, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I remember how devastated I was when, at age 15, we did a body fat percentage segement in health class and my percentage put me in the “obese” category. I was 5’1″ and 130 lbs. at the time. My (female) teacher was utterly unconcerned that the results had made me cry.
Over the next year and a half or so, I grew 2 inches. Moreover, I’ve since discovered that a healthy weight for me as always been a bit more than the doctors’ charts dictate. In fact, the one time that I was at a “healthy” weight of 112 lbs, I had just come back from a semester of college where I had had so little to eat that I was adding olive oil to my ramen noodles to give it more calories. (My parents had bought me some food for my apartment when I had moved in at the beginning of term; that’s where the olive oil came from. They were livid when they found out I had been going without enough food and hadn’t told them.) My body is healthiest, I’ve found, in the 120-130 lb range; the BMI charts can eat it.
So, rambling aside, my point is that weight charts can be wrong, Dagney is correct in that kids that age (and older) often put on weight in anticipation of a growth spurt, and that MO acted like a complete cow in telling the world that her beautiful, perfectly healthy-looking daughter is overweight. That’s the sort of crap that eating disorders are made of.
February 2, 2010 at 7:35 pm
Angela, you are so right about Meanchelle’s comments about her kids’ weight affecting them for the rest of their lives. I think the Obama’s do have eating disorders in their family…. Doesn’t it seem that Obama himself is not eating much? He looks very thin and wane.
February 2, 2010 at 7:41 pm
My boyfriend, age mid-twenties, is convinced he’s obese because of some BMI thing like that. He could stand to lose ten or fifteen pounds, but he’s not obese by a long shot. The whole BMI system should just get thrown out.
February 2, 2010 at 7:47 pm
The Ideal Body Weight (IBW) thing is worse….
at least with BMI you can be 135 pounds at 5 feet and have a BMI of 26. Heck, you can be 150 pounds and still be barely below the serious 30 BMI.
HOWEVER< the IBW will give you 100 as your goal with a range of 90 to 110 pounds.
Honestly, I think cardio fitness, lab values etc need to be included, though the BMI is far far FAR more generous.
February 2, 2010 at 9:35 pm
The other thing I forgot to mention was the response I got from my family when I came home and told them that I had learned that I was “obese” that day. They all told me that I looked just fine the way I was, and that the body fat chart could go pound sand.
My family is honest; if I was looking extra pudgy they would have (kindly) told me. I think that kind of support at home is really what kids need more of. Much to the chagrin of Progressives everywhere, it is utterly impossible to legislate. Though I have no doubt they’ll try.
February 2, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Malia’s eleven, right? In my experience, there are two types of healthy eleven-year-old girls: the ones who aren’t quite at puberty and still have that androgynous look, and the ones who are going to be rounder than ususal for a while until they have a growth spurt. If my mother told the entire country that I was getting overweight and was on a diet, I’d be appalled, I’d be embarrassed, and I’d feel betrayed.
February 2, 2010 at 7:52 pm
WTF?
Yes, it IS normal to put on some weight before a puberty growth spurt. Heck, it’s normal for toddlers to do that. They grow sideways, then up…sideways, then up.
And at that AGE it’s basically a massive maternal faux pas. That’s the kind of crap that sets a kid up for an eating disorder. And it’s one thing to mention that to a pediatrician because you’re ignorant, you do NOT mention the personal details of your tween daughter’s bodily processes in public, let alone in front of the media…and I do not give a shit if she is taking on childhood obesity as an issue.
It’s wrong. Keep the kids out of it, especially a girl dealing with the beginning of puberty. Before it’s done, she’s going to have a woman’s body, complete with normal fat pads in the appropriate places and has to learn to internally adjust to the changes. She doesn’t need her mother’s big mouth in this area. More respect is needed, here.
February 3, 2010 at 4:26 pm
So, I looked this up and am absolutely flabergasted at the insensitive treatment of her children. Didn’t Obama make fun of one of the children for getting a C or B on a test? I do not remember ANY First Lady or President ever using their children in this way. It’s cruel. I can’t imagine what my own children would have done if I’d said that to a close friend, let alone the entire nation, including the kids’ school chums. And forgive me, but I would never, ever comment on someone’s “looks” and I do think Mrs. Obama can be quite lovely. The problem is that we are always aware of her obsession with fashion and her looks…that is not an attribute of a well-dressed lady. And another thing. A lady is not defined by her clothes or elevation in society. Good manners are really nothing more than common sense and kindness and consideration for those around you. Which fork to use; how to introduce a guest etc. etc. has to do with protocol.
Can you imagine having someone as hyper-critical and controlling as Mrs. Obama as your mother? That’s simply awful. She so wants to be the 2nd Jackie Kennedy. Perhaps someone should mention to her that Jackie Kennedy was hyper-protective of her children. They were completely sheltered from public display and their privacy (weight-grades-whatever) was protected.
February 2, 2010 at 10:07 pm
Back in November Obama also said that Malia got a 73 on her science test. These people are clueless as parents – politicians, too. Way to build her self esteem.
February 2, 2010 at 10:17 pm
That poor Malia, her parents keep using her as bad examples, things that are wrong with this country, it is outrageous. I hope she comes out of this whole thing okay. Actually Obama’s kids are they only thing I like about him.
February 2, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Michelle Obama could stand to take many pointers from both the former FLOTUS but her “contemporary enemies (aka servants of the country and it’s citizens)” as well; Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin. These women are gracious, intelligent, passionate and above all dedicated to preserving and protecting this great nation.
PS-I also have special shout out to Mrs. Obama: “For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of The First Lady of the United States of America.”
February 2, 2010 at 11:38 pm
Shayk, I second that one!
Wardrobe aside, her demeanor
when in the company of Europe’s First Ladies showed her utter lack of class.
February 2, 2010 at 6:50 pm
I’d like to know if there is any precedent for a FLOTUS visiting federal agencies. MO started doing that early last year and has resumed recently. I think she went to Dept of Labor or Commerce within that past few weeks. For what reason? Allegedly to say thanks to the employees. LOL!! Here’s a thought. Stay over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and let the agencies stay focused on doing their jobs. Having a FLOTUS show up in the workplace is disruptive and costs tax dollars and is a no-value-added expense.
MYOB, MO!!!
February 2, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I too heard that she is going to make childhood obesity one of her issues. Weight is a personal issue that the government needs to stay out of completely. The way I see it is there’s no worse way to hurt a kid, or worse, lead them to an eating disorder than for a campaign out of the WH pointing its fingers at heavy kids. I understand the concern about weight and kids, but come on, this is going to cause major problems. Kids can be mean enough, but when word comes from the WH these kids are gonna get worse.
No offense, but MO has no room to talk about weight, she ain’t no Jillian Michaels if ya know what I mean.
February 2, 2010 at 7:33 pm
I feel that her efforts for this obesity cause will fail as much as her organic garden did. I just find it amazing that they hired an organic chef, who was supposed to be an expert at organic gardening, who had no idea about soil quality. Then when it was obvious it was failing did not seek additional help. They come from frickin Chicago which is a New Age mecca … didn’t Oprah know anyone who knew what they were doing?
February 2, 2010 at 7:51 pm
They should have hired a local Virgina farmer who knew what he was doing and let him take over.
But that would mean admitting they didn’t know what they were doing.
For two smart people, they do a lot of stupid things.
February 2, 2010 at 7:50 pm
It would be better for her to say that one of her issues is going to be exercising and eating healthful foods. Do that and whatever you look like is what you’re supposed to look like. Overweight kids have enough problems without Michelle Obama picking on them.
February 2, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Exactly! Encourage kids to drink more water and less sugary drinks….eat more fruits and veges…. get out and exercise more. Cook at home, eat dinner with their families.
But the minute you start throwing around labels like “Fat” or “Overweight” you’re doomed with that kid.
February 2, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Hey Boyz — I think we could do wonders with Michelle honestly believing that her spending thousands for her kids ballet lessons, etc. was showing empathy to the poor (and she made this assinine comment in Milwaukee when hundreds of thousands had just been laid off) or her attending a poverty event wearing those butt ugly Lanvin shoes VS. Eleanor Roosevelt and her showing REAL empathy to the poor, who was relentlessly criticized for her dowdy attire in the press.
February 2, 2010 at 9:17 pm
There is an amazing book titled, “Hidden Power”, written by Kati Marton. It details a few First Ladies and shows how they chose to deal with the duties and responsibility of a job that is thrust upon them by virtue of marriage. It’s one of my favorite reads, and I strongly encourage everyone to read it when they get a chance.
Several ladies highlighted in the book came to my mind when I saw this question.
1. Edith Wilson: she basically took over the responsibility of the presidency when her husband became too ill to continue doing the job. Since this was before much technology, she was able to pull it off, making it seem as though her husband was in charge, thus keeping the country calm and stable.
2. Eleanore Roosevelt: She was tireless in her efforts to help her fellow citizens. I believe she started giving radio addresses herself. She also helped her husband govern while ill at a deep cost to herself, knowing that it was for the good of the country.
3. Jackie Kennedy: I’m not a huge fan of the Kennedys, but Jackie was the one who brought a lot of art and history back to the White House, got it catalogued, and made sure it was preserved.
4. Barbara Bush: agree with those already posted above, but I would add that she is so confidant in herself that she doesn’t worry about fitting any certain look or physique. She is who she is, and the country was comfortable with her.
5. Laura Bush: To me, she is the epitomy of a classic FL. She is always graceful, cheerful, and she chooses a few very important issues to focus on. She makes everything look easy.
This was a great question; thanks for letting us share!
February 2, 2010 at 9:20 pm
I don’t know about 1,
but the rest also appeared to be kind people.
Amazing what a wonderful quality that can be in a person!
February 2, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Jackie Kennedy was amazing..
She HOUNDED people who had furnishings that actually belonged to the white house… the presious antiques that are part of history are there because of Jackie. She had true class.
And.. a good mom. The Kennedys did not deserve her.
February 3, 2010 at 10:56 am
And the more Jack cheated the more money she asked for clothes (money out of his pocket) And yeah, she was a great mom.
February 3, 2010 at 12:23 am
I have always liked Laura Bush. I don’t know what it is about her, she has a kind of serenity and calm grace that I find really appealing.
February 3, 2010 at 11:00 am
Laura Bush is a very nice woman,very humble. So unlike MO.
February 2, 2010 at 9:27 pm
She can be herself ? Whatever that is, I just know “herself” didn’t bring hope and change to Chicago /shrug
February 2, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Hi Boyz,
Am new here so maybe this has been covered, but during the campaign Big Mo made one of the cattiest, hurtful remarks about Hillary I have ever heard. Pacing the stage with her usual scowl she said that since “Hillary couldn’t take care of her own house, how could she run the White House?” Now that’s below the belt Chicago style politics..from another woman ! how could she?
No wonder she is muzzled by the West Wing and allowed to talk only of vegetables and make June Cleaver type appearances…She gets her revenge by buying ever more overpriced ‘rags’ I guess.. I have yet to hear one intelligent or original idea from her. I don’t think she has ever had any.
February 2, 2010 at 11:00 pm
ugh.. I remember that comment.
Truly a disgusting thing to say about another woman.
What a cow.
February 3, 2010 at 1:42 am
Yeah. She’s really nasty.
February 2, 2010 at 9:41 pm
hi Boyz, I agree with most of the commenters on this topic.
My $.02 is you cannot buy class. You usually only have it because you were raised by good parents (eg to care about others, respect people). Isn’t her mom into voodoo or something weird like that? Meanchelle is one toxic and ugly woman.
Meanchelle & Obumbles are not “smart” people either. They are simply a naked emporer and emporess living in our W.House at the taxpayers expense.
Thanks G.Soros and Saudi backers for nuttin’.
They can’t leave fast enough in my book.
Nope, no hope for any class for Meanchelle. Never gonna happen…
February 2, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Michelle could look at archival footage and photos to learn how beautiful and elegant First Lady Jackie Kennedy looked wearing her simple but elegant styles.
The first step in learning how to dress is get help if you can’t tell what fits your body correctly. It is obvious that First Lady Jackie knew how good a simple style would look if perfectly fitted.
Here are photos that Michelle should study: what’s wrong with hers and find everything that is right with Jackie’s dresses.
http://wp.me/pyxnI-1rQs.
February 2, 2010 at 10:14 pm
I vote we nominate MO for “What Not to Wear.”
I would totally watch that.
February 2, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Except she’d have the SS shoot Stacey and Clinton the first time they told her that her butt looked like 2 Volkswagons trying to pass on a dirt road.
February 3, 2010 at 1:41 am
Michelle Obama always wears that ugly belt just below her breasts. I think she thinks she’s hiding all that fat on her belly. The belt just shows it more, draws attention.
Michelle looks pregnant, and the stupid belt they wrap her in won’t hide it.
She looks stupid with the belt on just below her bra. Someone tell her it’s not pretty.
February 3, 2010 at 11:24 am
“Michelle Obama always wears that ugly belt just below her breasts. I think she thinks she’s hiding all that fat on her belly.”
LOL. Don’t they have girdles in Chicago?
February 2, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Yes, Michelle should not wear the Jackie O A-line dresses, simply because Michelle and Jackie O have absolutely different physiques. It’s just not gonna work. It looke ridiculous. She should find someone who will give it to her straight, and really tell her what looks good on her. It’s probably hard for her to find someone like that, folks are probably terrified of her, and just tell her what they think she wants to wear. She should call Tim Gunn maybe. Or Isaac Mizrahi. They could probably help her out. I do sort of sympathize with her. The First Lady suddenly has to be a fashion icon, which would be hard to do if you’re not so good at it. And most politicians (and yes, I do think the wives qualify as politicians) are not that great at it, because they’re thinking of other stuff. As much as I loathe Michelle Obama I do feel sorry for how ridiculous she looks. Everyone is always ragging on her about it.
There are plenty of other reasons to rag on Michelle Obama.
February 2, 2010 at 10:39 pm
I think that the reason why she looks the way that she does is because she’s a middle aged woman with two kids. If you want the figure at that point and age, you have to beat your body with a baseball bat. I empathize with her, but considering her position, she HAS to do better in this regard.
I also think that her style choice is because she brought that Chicago designer friend with her to the WH and probably wanted her to get successful by doing this job for her. A kindness to the woman, not kind to what the First Lady looks like.
She just can’t keep a designer that stinks. She needs one of the old houses to do the deed for her. Things with classic lines and style. Middle aged women just look moronic trying to do the young chick ecclectic thing.
As to her arms? She’s doing all of the sleeveless things because of all of the stupid gushing in the media about ‘having arms like Michele’. It’s called believing your own press.
February 3, 2010 at 12:26 am
Boy, I don’t know. I think telling MEchelle the truth about how she looks would be like running through Hell in gasoline-soaked underwear. You wouldn’t come out alive.
February 3, 2010 at 1:52 am
People get death threats if they say that Michelle Obama is fat and ugly. People get death threats if they tell the truth. She’s a really big woman. Does she weigh like 180 or 190? I mean, she’s bigger than her husband. Looks more masculine than him too.
February 2, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Sorry, that link should be
http://newsbird.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/the-role-of-first-ladys-spandex-jackie-no-is-no-fashion-role-model/
February 3, 2010 at 1:23 am
Newsbird, your blog is hilarious!
February 3, 2010 at 11:11 am
That was great newsbird…thanks.
February 2, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I don’t think an essay on this topic could fit in a combox! ;^D Send in Miss Manners and Emily Post.
February 3, 2010 at 12:01 am
Well, dignity requires a certain class, so far lacking. Maybe she is practicing for the future or just gathering courage:
WARNING
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens . . .
The ending of the poem pleases its readers when the woman says . . .
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Elizabeth Lucas
February 3, 2010 at 12:09 am
Can one actually learn to avoid hideous clothing? carbs? acid remarks with nothing substantial to back them up? unfortunate prints? If not, I fear she can’t learn a thing
February 3, 2010 at 12:23 am
A real Class VS. Crass as applied to Dr. Utopia is ‘wife’s’ decision that he shall not go to the 2010 winter Olympics:
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/Obama+visit+Vancouver+2010+Olympics/2514057/story.html
…it’s actually a raaaacist move on the part of Barry Sotero, because Shani Davis, an AUTHENTIC African-American speed skater from the municipal ice rink of the Chicago suburb of Evanston (AKA Soviet Evanistan) is poised to take a Gold medal….
http://www.shanidavis.org
February 3, 2010 at 12:27 am
I realize she’s not nor has been a first lady, but McCain’s wife does very admirable work. Too bad we lost out on her as first lady. A comparison of her with Michelle would be dramatic.
February 3, 2010 at 1:38 am
I agree, because Cindy McCain really cares about people and causes. Michelle Obama only cares about herself.
February 3, 2010 at 8:44 am
michelle has to care for herself because no one else care for her or even likes her
February 3, 2010 at 1:38 am
Michelle made those comments about her kids and their pediatrician’s concerns 2 years ago.
I think the younger one is gonna hate her momma. She is always by her father’s side, rarely is she next to mommy when daddy is there.
Is MO only concerned with childhood obesity. So, if you’re grown up and overweight, she doesn’t care. Would explain her rear view and strange use of belts.
February 3, 2010 at 1:57 am
Michelle Obama really needs a lot of training. Ever see that photo of her walking the dog from the side? It’s really nasty. Look at it.
http://www.the-two-malcontents.com/2010/01/31/the-first-frump-fatass-michelle-obama-puts-her-daughters-on-a-diet/
Big ass, big belly, big thighs. Check this out.
http://www.the-two-malcontents.com/2010/01/01/the-first-frump-michelle-hussein-obamas-amazing-thunder-thighs/
Thunder thighs.
What’s up with the underbite?
February 3, 2010 at 8:35 am
Barbara Bush was a large, mature woman and didn’t go the style route, but at least her clothes fit well and she looked professional and classy.
I really get fed up with Michelle Obama, with her clothes bunching up or creasing. Do you think Jackie O would have worn slacks too tight in the crotch?
Michelle O is a mess. I have no pity for her because she has lots of help and has access to anything she wants. There is no excuse to look like an unrefined slob.
February 3, 2010 at 8:58 am
From Michelle Malkin: “The SEIU Fatcats behind MO’s Obesity Campaign”:
http://tinyurl.com/yztk6of
February 3, 2010 at 9:00 am
Make that ANTI-Obesity (LOL)
But you see, as usual, the Obamas are up to something else and in campaign mode.
February 3, 2010 at 9:06 am
She could do something about her eyebrows. And her penchant for wearing sofa fabric crafted into outfits two sizes too small for her. That would help me feel less embarrassed of her.
She could also stop talking. That would help.
February 3, 2010 at 11:38 am
“She could also stop talking. That would help”
I totally agree.
February 3, 2010 at 11:03 am
Bess Truman is a fascinating figure. For an introduction, read the following from the Truman Library page, one writer’s description of Bess:
“She seldom thinks of the effect she is creating. She exists principally in her relationships with family and friends. To her, duty is a pleasant, everyday word.”*
February 3, 2010 at 11:32 am
Bert Croft:
You know, some jokes and comments really ARE Raaaacist.
That was one of them.
February 3, 2010 at 2:46 pm
I think a focus on childhood obesity is a good thing. I do think it is good for someone to bring attention to this problem. Have you ever seen the show honey we are killing our kids? There are people who do not know about fresh vegetables and fruit. I am far from a fan, but I have to give her credit for adopting an important issue.
If Michelle could learn to smile, that would be a good start. She always looks angry, and enough with the non-seasonally appropriate attire.
February 3, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Yes. I have. And I’ve often thought–like that Nanny show–that the kids featured are being opened for ridicule and judgment. Yes. There is a problem, but attacking someone in the public square isn’t the answer. Have you ever seen the show, Ruby? Obese people also have souls.
February 4, 2010 at 12:40 am
I do not think those shows ridicule the children so much as the parents. Parents of fat kids listen to Michelle, try a fresh vegetable or piece of fruit for a snack. Take a walk outside instead of watching TV. As a parent it is YOUR responsability to provide guidance for your children. That includes everything from manners, clothing and what to eat.
Also what is wrong with judgement. Americans worry to much about feelings. Do not sugar coat things. Tell a child when they mess up. I do not agree with announcements to the press though.
February 3, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Another amazing first lady (and I was very surprised by this), was Florence Harding, wife of Warren Harding. She had what, in those days, was a disreputable past–she was abandoned by her first husband. When she married Harding, she became the very successful business manager of his newspaper, The Marion Star.
In addition to being an important influence on Harding’s career, she was a superb First Lady, tireless in her work on behalf of World War I veterans. Whenever she attended a gala or other fancy party (or had one at the White House) she would insist on going back to the kitchen to chat with the mostly African-American staff–and shake each one by the hand. When the country entered a recession in 1921, she led by example–turning down an appropriation to redecorate the White House private quarters. She loved to meet with the public, and sometimes led White House tours herself. She had a loopy side–she put great faith in a quack physician and astrologers–but on the whole was a most impressive woman. Check the bio at firstladies.org.