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Is Michelle Obama your kind of mom?
As I’ve been feeling particularly mom-ly lately (having given birth for the second time at the end of August), I enjoy reading about the parenting philosophies of others. Besides the fact that she keeps talking about her daughters’ weight in public, Michelle Obama is my kind of mom. Not 100 percent, but pretty close.
A few days ago she chatted with some women at the White House about her Let’s Move initiative, but according to Yahoo! Shine, other topics were also discussed.
She had me at, “Like any mother, I am just hoping that I don’t mess [my daughters] up.”
While I'm sure it's fun being the First Daughters and all, how much fun would it be for your mom to discuss your weight issues in an interview?
I’m sure all politicians would say that the decision to seek public office was agreed upon by their family — their spouses had to offer consent, and if their kids were old enough, they had some buy-in, too. But the reality is that the kids of politicians aren’t the ones meant to be making news unless they get pregnant, arrested, or make it to age 18 without having done either.
Which is why I can only imagine how little Malia and Sasha Obama feel every time their mom brings up the subject of their weight in public. I mean, these kids have enough on their plate with being 12 and 10 years old respectively, and living at the most famous address in the country. Do they really need their mom, First Lady Michelle, discussing their Body Mass Index (BMI) in an interview? I mean, really?
First Lady Michelle Obama talking to Matt Lauer.
“I don’t think there’s an issue that my husband deals with that isn’t tough. It’s hard being the President of the United States. But I think he’s doing a great job.”
That’s First Lady Michelle Obama on her husband’s leadership skills. Mrs. Obama sat down with TODAY host Matt Lauer this morning and talked about raising kids in the White House and how proud she is of her husband’s accomplishments and demeanor.
The First Lady didn’t shy away from sharing intimate details about the Obama family’s private life, confirming that President Obama successfully quit smoking about a year ago. When asked how he was able to do it in spite of all the stress he faces, Michelle replied, “I don’t know. Once he made the commitment to quit, I left him alone because it’s a very personal thing. I don’t think that there’s one right way to do it. I just know that once a person makes the decision, they have to find the best path. So I said when a person is doing the right thing, you leave ‘em alone.”
The First Lady is confident that despite having to grow up in the spotlight, her daughters Sasha and Malia are doing just fine. ”There are a lot of great kids who have come out of the White House,” she said. ”The Bush girls are magnificent. Chelsea Clinton, she’s a solid young woman. Caroline Kennedy – I mean, we’ve got a pretty good track record. So the Obama girls hopefully will be in that group.” Continue reading »
OK. I love Michelle Obama. Really, I do. I admire her achievements, I appreciate her candor, I think her husband is terrific. Still, it confounds me that Forbes has named her the most powerful woman in the world.
Granted, Forbes puts out these lists to provoke discussion (Lady Gaga is 7). It’s a magazine about the power of money and the first lady has commercial power in fashion. She has the ear of the president. She can make things happen. She’s doing amazing work to fight childhood obesity. But, can I say this? She has her job because of the guy she married.
Forbes’ Meghan Casserly writes about the list:
Now this! This is what I was talking about. The missing piece in the First Lady’s — and, really, anyone’s — attempts to do something about children’s health and obesity in the U.S.
Michelle Obama, speaking at a meeting of the Grocery Manufacturers Association yesterday, that food makers need a complete and total overhaul of their business.
Here’s what she said: Continue reading »
A seemingly ever-increasing population, hooked on iPods, cellphones, and GPS systems, with big-screen televisions in every room, along with the requisite complement of DVD players, DVR’s, and video game systems, uses a lot of power — and that demand is only going to grow. The three R’s — reduce, reuse, and recycle — can only go so far in assuaging the need for energy. Clearly, we are going to continue to need to develop new ways of generating power. What those ways will be are anyone’s guess, but where the ideas will come from is clear — from the scientists of the future. That’s why Michelle Obama wants states to improve science and mathematics education.
Continue reading »
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