Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Obama says his wife looks good doing it



OK, this one's for the Madame. I don't have any particular opinion about it:

On Monday afternoon, she comes in the house, slams the door and marches in here, insisting that I google for a video of Barack Obama's speech to a group of working women in New Mexico.

"Did he say what I think he said?" she fumes.

Apparently, he did. His wife, Michelle, he said, is a woman "who worked her way up from modest roots on the south side of Chicago, who has juggled jobs and parenting with more skill and grace than anybody I know." And he adds "and looks good doing it too. Heh-heh."

"Listen, Barack. What about those women who DON'T look good doing their jobs? Women who must clean fish in full-body aprons, beekeeper hats and inexplicably blue rubber gloves? Why couldn't he have added: "But not every woman can look like Michelle at work. Some of them have to scrub toilets, change dirty sheets in motel rooms, and lean over deep fryers all day. And these are just a few of the women for whom I am also a champion."

What jobs has Michelle Obama held? Lessee... She was an associate in a law firm. Then she went on to be assistant to the mayor of Chicago. After that, executive director of a non-profit organization, community affairs director at a hospital, associate dean at the University of Chicago, and so on. Vanity Fair placed her on their list of the world's Top 10 best-dressed women. In the WHOLE WORLD. And all because she doesn't have to don a hairnet while serving meatloaf in a cafeteria. To be fair, we don't know what kinds of jobs she did in high school. But it's a moot issue because Barack didn't know her then and so didn't have the opportunity to scrutinize her work attire.

"Why can't he just quit while he's ahead?, the Madame whined. "It's sort of like after that much-publicized 'fist bump'. What the reporters failed to make a kerfuffle about was the ass-pat he gave his wife as she walked away from the podium.

We don't doubt that Barack Obama is a friend to American women and women around the world. His behavior falls way short of lechery. Still, it's offputting. Ever since Sweetie-Gate, his subtle sexist comments and gestures have become more annoying. I guess now that she's made her case, I have to agree a little bit with our feather-ruffled Madame.

After her rant, the Madame asked me to surf on over to YouTube and see if I could find a 1970s Revlon ad for its perfume "Enjoli", in which a woman bragged about how she could bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and still have the time and energy to give her husband a treat beneath the sheets. I bet Barack would like the ad. Because in her business suit, it's pretty clear that the bacon this super-wife is bringing home wasn't earned while working a double-shift processing hogs in a slaughterhouse.

For all you children of the '70s, here's a trip down memory lane:
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)