Is America ready for a first lady with kinky hair?

Parent Cafe
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<p>“No, swatparent. I said “her salary dropped by $50,000.” Don’t get cute with me!”</p>

<p>Sorry I misread it. I thought the idealistic wife of a community organizer would want to have a $50,000 salary to put her money where their mouths are. Guess they can talk a good line, but want the good life like the other fat cats. </p>

<p>“Good question. Large companies/corporations seem loaded with job titles that the layman can’t decipher.”</p>

<p>This is health care. The money is supposed to go to patients, not fat cats! Where’s the good ol’ Princeton idealism?</p>

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<p>I have to agree with swatparent. I like Michelle Obama, but lets be fair. Ive worked in a hospital for 30 years,and it has always been a complaint that the top is very heavy with large salried individuals, while the professional employees get a mere 3% raise and that is for a very outstanding employee. They also take away some of the benefits when they can. But the administrators never are reduced, they hire more people to help the large salaried people perform their jobs and patient services are less than par. YES, it is very politically motivated and not equitable.</p>

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<p>Gee, I didn’t realize that community organizing required one to take a vow of poverty. … I don’t blame the Obamas one bit for wanting to live a good life. Michele herself came from very little. She didn’t have the good fortune to be born into the family of a wealthy beer distributer and to inherit mega-millions. So, no. I don’t see the Obamas as the hypocrites you seem intent on portraying them as. … Furthermore, if I had Michele Obama’s executive experience and education, I’d hope to be making a comfortable income.
By the way, according to the Associated Press, Michelle Obama’s 2007 salary from UC was $103,000–so it looks like she DID take a significant cut in pay.</p>

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<p>Their overall income was $4.2-million, the vast majority of which were proceeds from Barak’s two best-selling books. Do you think they were undeserving of this additional money?</p>

<p>Also AP:

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<p>Swatparent, why should Michele Obama be required to live on the cheap, while Cindy McCain lives like King Midas? She didn’t even earn her wealth–she inherited it.</p>

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<p>"Sorry I misread it. I thought the idealistic wife of a community organizer would want to have a $50,000 salary to put her money where their mouths are. Guess they can talk a good line, but want the good life like the other fat cats. "</p>

<p>Why would you think that? Why shouldn’t Michelle Obama earn what she’s worth in the marketplace?</p>

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<p>“Swatparent, why should Michele Obama be required to live on the cheap, while Cindy McCain lives like King Midas? She didn’t even earn her wealth–she inherited it.”</p>

<p>Because her husband is a bleeding heart liberal who bills himself as a man of the people. Does he give away his millions to the people? (I actually don’t know, and would exclude Rev Wright’s church as a true nonprofit church because they preach politics and should lose their nonprofit status.) </p>

<p>And his wife is the same. She is taking money that should go to patients in hospitals, or towards raises or better benefits for the lower-paid hospital employees. Instead it goes on clothes, PR people and hair salons.</p>

<p>I realize that this may be a generation gap, but I feel that if someone wants to be a liberal community organizer, man- or woman-of-the-people, he or she should live as one. I realize popular opinion may be that let them be rich and preach down to the masses.</p>

<p>Cindy McCain has never masqueraded as a community organizer liberal, but the Obamas do try to put out this image.</p>

<p>This is just my opinion. I realize that others have the opinion that you can make the money and still act like you feel the pain of the common people to get their votes.</p>

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<p>He’s not nearly liberal enough, as far as I’m concerned. :)</p>

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<p>I entirely disagree with you on this, swatparent. FDR and Kennedy were fabulously wealthy, yet they were able to understand that there were others who weren’t so fortunate–and they cared enough to do things to help them. I imagine you probably have no love for either of those men, but my father grew up in poverty during the Depression, raised by a widowed mother of six. He saw first hand what a genuinely caring leader could do to help people in troubled times, and until the day he died at age 78 a few years back, FDR occupied a special place in his heart. … I’m not saying that Obama is another FDR, but that your theory that one must be poor to work with the poor or to care about the poor, just doesn’t work for me.</p>

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<p>I think swatparent might be confusing community organizing and liberals with vows of poverty and nuns. ;)</p>

<p>Anyway, I don’t see the Obamas flaunting their money at all. Before he gained national attention, they seemed to live the normal upper-middle class urban lifestyle that any two parents with multiple degrees would live.</p>

88

<p>The issue I have w/ Michelle’s position at University of Chicago Hospital is not so much her salary as it is the huge $1 MILLION earmark Obama requested for the institution, and the timing of it coincided with her promotion and raise.</p>

<p>One million dollars.</p>

<p>Earmarks = Political Favors = corruption.</p>

<p>John McCain has NEVER requested an earmark.</p>

<p>That’s not the way he rolls. :)</p>

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<p>“I entirely disagree with you on this, swatparent. FDR and Kennedy were fabulously wealthy, yet they were able to understand that there were others who weren’t so fortunate–and they cared enough to do things to help them. I imagine you probably have no love for either of those men,”</p>

<p>FDR and JFK, RFK, Teddy Kennedy, etc, were from a totally different tradition of wealthy philanthropists. Obama uses his “up from nowhere” gig to get votes. I see that in the state where I live, he runs incessant ads depicting himself as a poor guy from a single parent household (he actually says this with sappy music running!), and then has the nerve to show himself with his grandmother, the one who is a “typical white woman.” He shows pictures of himself as a “poor” baby and then a community orgainizer.</p>

<p>He wants to be seen as “poor folk” but yet acts like “rich folk.” Just another contradiction of Obama for me and others.</p>

<p>By the way, are these ads running in many states, or just in the important “swing states”? They are pretty nauseating. They certainly don’t mention his $4 million last year, or his wife’s affiliation with U-Chicago and her earmark deal.</p>

<p>These people, the Obamas, make the Clintons look clear and clean!</p>

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<p>I’ve never noticed him “using” this, other than the fact that it’s part of his life story. He and Michele did, in fact, come up from very little, and have worked hard to earn their piece of the American Dream. So, how is that bad??? … McCain uses his years as a POW to gain votes. It’s part of his history, just as Obama’s story is part of his. Why would you try to make something evil out of this? I just don’t get it. Why is it that you hate these people so much? It almost seems personal.</p>

<p>How, exactly, do the Obamas act like “rich folk?” I’ve driven past their home in Hyde Park, Chicago, and it’s nothing special. An attractive, good-sized two-story brick in a charming, old neighborhood. I was expecting something much grander. My fixed income mother-in-law, a retired school teacher/principal (who had Michele Obama years ago at the Whitney Young magnet school for gifted students–a PUBLIC school) lives two blocks away and I assure you, this retired public servant is not wealthy! … The Obamas have a lovely home, not ostentatious in any way from looking at the exterior. It is large but not huge, and has a low wrought-iron fence surrounding the yard rather than a high security fence. Would you have them living in a trailer park instead? On a bench in the park? At the local Salvation Army? </p>

<p>As for the “nauseating” Obama ads, sappy music and all, they’re telling his life story. One knock against Obama has been that many people feel they don’t “know who he is.” He’s been trying to tell them through these ads, but you don’t like that. You clearly despise him and there isn’t a thing in the world he could do to change your impression of him. </p>

<p>Swatparent, I so enjoy having lively arguments with my cherished CC pals, and some of my favorites have turned out to be ardent, articulate, conservative Republicans. What I enjoy about them is that even while they disagree with me (often), their sense of humor comes through during our lively “discussions,” and (horrors!) they have even managed to poke holes in my arguments on occasion. :slight_smile: I pay attention to these smart, reasonable people and try to learn from their points of view. … But most of what you say about the Obamas has been venomous and simply untrue. Lighten up a little. They’re no more evil than you or I are. You don’t have to love them, and you certainly don’t have to vote for Obama, but he’s not the horned, pitchfork-carrying devil you seem to see him as!</p>

<p>I’m ready to get back to the hair discussion.</p>

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<p>If you can honestly say that with a straight face, it shows just how blinded you are by your hatred of the Obamas. Even cursory research of the Clinton’s scandals, questionable associations, and investments over the years, will produce reams of paper. The Obamas don’t even come close. And how is it that richer-than-God McCain is just fine, despite his wife’s suspicious investment in a Keating mall venture? How is it less eye-brow raising than the earmark/pay raise conincidence? Just a l-i-i-i-ttle bit of objectivity would go a long way toward increasing the credibility of your political posts, swatparent.</p>

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<p>So, poetsheart. I’m having a bad hair day already this morning. How about you? I don’t envy Michele Obama; though her hair always looks great, it probably takes some serious work. Cindy McCain’s hair is more my style. Stick straight, yank it back in a ponytail, forget about it.</p>

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<p>Cindy McCain’s hair isn’t that easy. It’s colored beautifully, and that takes a lot of time and $.</p>

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<p>"Sorry I misread it. I thought the idealistic wife of a community organizer would want to have a $50,000 salary to put her money where their mouths are. Guess they can talk a good line, but want the good life like the other fat cats. "</p>

<p>? Just because people are idealistic and are working to make the world a better place doesn’t mean that they have to live on nothing. One can be idealistic and doing lots of community service while making a high income for well paying organization.</p>

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<p>Oh, well I wouldn’t worry about coloring. I kind of like my mousey-brown, sprinkled with gray. What I don’t like is the fact that it always looks like I just stuck my finger in a light socket. Thus, my fascination with sleek, straight hair!</p>

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<p>Most of my days are bad hair days, but I’ve made my peace with it…Mostly. It helps that the older you get (not to mention, the grayer), the less people judge you by your hair, anyway.:rolleyes:</p>

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<p>“Swatparent, I so enjoy having lively arguments with my cherished CC pals, and some of my favorites have turned out to be ardent, articulate, conservative Republicans. What I enjoy about them is that even while they disagree with me (often), their sense of humor comes through during our lively “discussions,” and (horrors!) they have even managed to poke holes in my arguments on occasion. I pay attention to these smart, reasonable people and try to learn from their points of view. … But most of what you say about the Obamas has been venomous and simply untrue. Lighten up a little. They’re no more evil than you or I are. You don’t have to love them, and you certainly don’t have to vote for Obama, but he’s not the horned, pitchfork-carrying devil you seem to see him as!”</p>

<p>I am not a republican or a McCain suppoorter. I do think that the Obamas are hypocritical. I think that their association with Rev Wright was beyond contempt, because Wright is a hate-monger, and a rascist, and they sat there for 20+ years soaking it up, even with their daughters present. I also think his attitude towards his grandmother, whom he categorizes as a “typical white woman” was uncalled for. </p>

<p>I am not comparing these people, the Obamas, to McCain or his wife, on a point-by-point basis, such as hair color. Obama’s character (or lack of it) is far more important to me. I also think that my opinion of Obama, whom I think is another weak Democrat contender, is not uncommon. </p>

<p>I realize that some people greatly admire Obama. I just think he is not the right man for the job, and hope he loses the election. Not that McCain is that great, but at least I can respect him.</p>

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<p>I both respect and admire Obama, though I have the occasional issue with him. And I certainly do not see the Obamas as any more hypocritical than the McCains, or any less worthy of my respect. One could take ANY political candidate and demonize the heck out of them, if one was so inclined. … </p>

<p>As for Rev. Wright, I won’t defend his Gd America comment, but I’ve heard and read from a variety of sources that this was not something he served up on a regular basis. In fact, others who attended that church for years–and far more regularly than the Obamas did–indicated that they had never heard anything remotely like that before. (Of course, they could all have been lying!!) It was something Rev. Wright stupidly said in the heat of an impassioned sermon/rant, but the sound-bite was eagerly pounced upon by the so-called “left-wing media” and blown up like the Goodyear Blimp. They played it over and over and over and over again, yet not at any time did they counter by broadcasting something positive he might have said. To think that the Obamas–or ANY large congregation of decent folks–would eagerly listen to a preacher spew hate week after week is absurd to a ludicrous degree! And an insult as well. … </p>

<p>As for Obama’s grandmother, the phrase “typical white woman” was not well chosen in my opinion, but I’m certain he did not mean to insult this good woman who he clearly loves–and who has since come to his defense. That’s good enough for me. Let me ask you. Why don’t you hold the same contempt for McCain, who called his own wife a “c***” some years back? Or who made fun of Chelsea Clinton when she was a self-conscious teenager? How much character (or lack of it) did THAT show? McCain has made mistakes, some of them bad ones, but I’m willing to look beyond that at the whole person. Overall, he’s a decent man, AS IS OBAMA!</p>

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<p>Hindy - I think one of the reasons that people (not necessarly McCain supporters) get so riled up when talking about Obama’s candidacy is that they/we are amazed and frustrated by the support for Obama when he is clearly such an inadequate potential POTUS.</p>

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<li><p>He isn’t really the “great orator” that his reputation suggests (too many stammers & "uh"s and w/out the teleprompter, forget it!).</p></li>
<li><p>He isn’t really the “non-racial” candidate as he projected initially given that he was a long-standing member of an extremely racially charged organization & clearly a devout follower of one of the most racially-oriented leaders in America!</p></li>
<li><p>Not as “squeaky clean” as he’d like us to believe (given his associations with such shady characters as Rezco & Ayers, and all those earmarks he’s requested - and did you ever read the story about how he got elected in Chicago in the first place? Very stange how he ended up being the only candidate).</p></li>
<li><p>His policies would be just horrific for America (increase of taxes - if you tax Capital, that Capital will go elsewhere/cease to exist & America NEEDS Capital - and that’s just one example).</p></li>
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<p>I could go on here w/ more point-by-point analysis of how he just isn’t that great of a candidate, yet he has this mass-hysteric following. It’s very frustrating for those of us who can SEE the emperor parading around in all his naked glory!</p>

<p>Yes, he’s inspiring, but ONLY because he seems to represent the fact that yes, maybe America has gotten over many of its racial issues - but that’s not enough to elect him as our Commander-in-Chief! I refuse to vote for a candidate out of guilt over what other Americans did generations ago.</p>

<p>And BTW - while I am obviously a strong supporter of McCain, that is not out of partisanship or ideology alone (altho’ I am staunchly conservative b/c I believe in less taxes, smaller government bureauocracy, less governmental intervention into my life, and self-determination, among other things). I never cmpaigned for GWB or even sported a bumper sticker. I’m avidly campaigning for McCain b/c he is the far far superior candidate who DESERVES our votes & support.</p>

<p>And just WHY are you supporting such an inexperienced, naive (questionable even) newbie for a candidate again??</p>

<p>I know I’ve asked it before, but heep telling me - I bet your reasons will get flimsier & flimsier as time goes on.</p>

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<p>This Charles Krauthammer column perfectly sums up why many of us dislike Obama. That’s not to say we love McCain, either. Looks like another year where we have to hold our nose as we cast our vote.</p>

<p>[RealClearPolitics</a> - Articles - The Audacity of Vanity](<a href=“http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/07/obamas_egoaccomplishment_gap.html]RealClearPolitics”>The Audacity of Vanity | RealClearPolitics)</p>

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