Obamas Employ Hillary Makeover Tactic
In 1992, Hillary said something that could’ve derailed her husband’s presidential ambitions. Here’s Hillary’s now-famous quote:
“You know, I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life.”
What happened after that was the Clinton campaign stuck a proverbial sock in Hillary’s mouth. The next time we heard from her, she was talking about cookie recipes and talking every bit like the stay-at-home-mom she talked down earlier.
Let’s fastforward to this campaign and shift our focus to Michelle Obama. She’s said that “For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country.” She’s told New Yorker Magazine that America is “downright mean”, that we’re “guided by fear.”
The Clinton campaign realized immediately that they had a problem and hid Hillary so she didn’t derail his presidential ambitions. The Obama campaign let Michelle shoot her mouth off. Now she’s attempting a Hillaryesque makeover and the NY Times is assisting:
Michelle Obama’s eyes flicker tentatively even as she offers a trained smile. As her campaign plane arcs over the Flathead Range in Montana, she is asked to consider her complicated public image.
Conservative columnists accuse her of being unpatriotic and say she simmers with undigested racial anger. A blogger who supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton circulates unfounded claims that Mrs. Obama gave an accusatory speech in her church about the sins of “whitey.” Mrs. Obama shakes her head.
“You are amazed sometimes at how deep the lies can be,” she says in an interview. Referring to a character in a 1970s sitcom, she adds: “I mean, ‘whitey’? That’s something that George Jefferson would say. Anyone who says that doesn’t know me. They don’t know the life I’ve lived. They don’t know anything about me.”
Now her husband’s presidential campaign is giving her image a subtle makeover, with a new speech in the works to emphasize her humble roots and a tough new chief of staff. On Wednesday, Mrs. Obama will do a guest turn on “The View,” the daytime talk show on ABC, with an eye toward softening her reputation.
Mrs. Obama is asked to explain her “complicated public image”? What’s complicated about it? She’s an elitist snob with alot of submerged hate that she hasn’t dealt with. Not to worry, though. That’s in the past as far as the NY Times is concerned. The makeover that she’s undergoing is “subtle”, the NY Times says. My question for the spinmeisters at the NY Times is simple: what is their definition of substantial?
Yes, Michelle Obama came from humble beginnings but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t an America-hating elitist. Her attendance at TUCC says as much about Michelle’s beliefs as it does about Barack’s.
This makeover likely won’t work with blue collar workers. This will draw rave reviews from the people who already plan on voting for Sen. Obama but that’s about it. The McCain campaign won’t touch this stuff. They’re best off focusing on the biggest issues of the day.
This is where the blogosphere and the 527’s will be important. The blogosphere will remind people of Michelle Obama’s statements. The 527’s will run advertisements of her statements, too, thereby reinforcing the elitist image of the Obamas.
For all their spin, a NY Times makeover can’t erase Michelle Obama’s elitist statements.
Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Elitism, Anti-AmericanismHillary, Blogosphere, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
June 19th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Michelle Obama’s right: Americans are “downright mean.” For proof, just read what left-wing liberals post of blogs. Listen to their chants about McSame, McBush, McEtcetera. Try posting someting about Obush or Osama, and they’ll take their vitriolic rhetoric to whole new level. I used to think right-wing conservaties were mean. Thanks to Obama, the American left has been stirred to betray its own mean, intolerant nature.