Not so long ago, when Bill Clinton was campaigning for his wife in New Hampshire and beyond, some observers thought that he might have gone over the top a few times in some of his talks. If nothing else, Bill Clinton can be a very eloquent and passionate speaker. His remarks were widely reported by the media, and he took a lot of heat for some of them. Example: In a TV clip which you may have seen, he got right in the face of a TV journalist on camera, and heatedly accused him of floating a loaded question.
I wonder if Michelle Obama’s comments on Monday, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will get the same sort of media scrutiny. While addressing a group of supporters, she said, “Let me tell you something: For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country, and not just because Barack has done well…” (Emphasis is mine.)
If Barack Obama gets the Democrats’ nod for the nomination and subsequently gets elected President, I wonder if that will be only the second time that Michelle Obama is proud of the USA.
Politicians have always made gaffs and will continue to do so. And it would be easy to simply dismiss her statement as merely an unintended observation and to just move on. But Michelle Obama is very intelligent and articulate. She graduated cum laude from Princeton in 1985, and obtained a law degree from Harvard in 1988. She is known for saying what she intends and for intending what she says.
This country is not perfect, but it’s got plenty of things to be proud of. What about the Civil War to eliminate slavery and to keep this nation united? What about the Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe after WWII? What about the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Is there any need to go on?
Michelle Obama suffers from an affliction not uncommon to some bright and highly educated persons; namely, that history started on the day they were born, and that events of the past have no meaning for the present or the future.
Perhaps Michelle Obama could benefit from being reminded of what she either did not learn or that she forgot from her university training: There is so much to be proud of in this country, that only an ingrate would be so self-absorbed as to think that it takes 44 years of one’s lifetime to finally discover even one thing.
Note: For a brief bio of Michelle Obama and for some good family pictures, see http://www.squidoo.com/michelle-obama-pictures-biography For a video of her statements, go to YOU TUBE at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYY73RO_egw
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