She Thinks It’s About Push-Ups

by Ruth A. Sheets

NPR, like other news services, has been interviewing voters throughout the election season.  Voters are asked who they support, rarely why.  A while back, at a Romney rally in Indiana, a woman said she “couldn’t stand the sight of Obama” and that Michele Obama “doesn’t even look like a first lady.”  Her tone conveyed disgust.  This comment stirred a lot of controversy on FaceBook, Twitter, etc.      

On Friday morning, this interviewer reported that he had met up with the same controversial voter again at another Romney event.  He asked the woman about the comments she had made.  She said “They weren’t racist.”  She then proceeded to explain that Ms. Obama does things other First Ladies don’t do, like “doing push-ups down there on the floor and she goes around in shorts.”  The interviewer prompted, “you mean casual,” and she agreed.

Laura Bush, casual

The woman’s comments made me start thinking about previous First Ladies and what made them different from Ms. Obama.  Laura Bush was mostly out of the limelight and didn’t have much to say when she was in it.  Hillary Clinton was out there in the thick of things, even sometimes accused of being “Manish.”  Barbara Bush was the grandmotherly-looking tyrannical matriarch of the Bush family.  Nancy Reagan was often unpleasant with the people she worked with, but always looked great.  Roselyn Carter was genteel but spoke her mind  often.  Betty Ford went public with her drug and alcohol problems.  Pat Nixon didn’t really stand out in any particular way, but was appreciated as a mother.   

That takes care of the First Ladies of the past forty years.  What do they have in common?  They were all involved in “causes” which they talked about and tried to get support for.  There isn’t much else they share.   Some were active, some not.  They were not the same political party.  Some were extremely careful about their appearance and others much less so.  Some were outgoing, others more retiring.

Barbara Bush as a typical Red Sox fan

OK, Yes, I didn’t mention the one big thing these previous First Ladies had in common: they were all White, of European descent.  Clearly Michele Obama is not.

The voter whose comments I discuss here thinks her problems with the Obamas in the White House has something to do with push-ups and casual dress.  That is because if she believes that, she doesn’t have to confront something that runs as deep and is as complex as racism.