Who would you prefer to see as First Lady ?

Jolie Rouge · 06-11-2008, 02:22 PM

Who would you prefer to see as First Lady ?

Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain are study in contrast
By Caren Bohan
Tue Jun 10, 2:25 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain share a dislike of rough-edged U.S. politics. Each tried to talk her spouse out of running for the White House.

Obama, wife of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, and McCain, who is married to Republican John McCain, are both known for an elegant sense of style, lending glamour to their husbands' campaigns.

McCain posed in size zero jeans for the latest issue of Vogue. Obama, who has also appeared in the fashion magazine, was praised by style writers for the violet sheath dress she wore to her husband's Democratic nomination victory rally and has been compared to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

But the aspiring first ladies have plenty of differences.

Obama, 44, is a Princeton- and Harvard-educated lawyer raised by blue-collar parents on the working-class South Side of Chicago. She would be the first African American U.S. first lady.

Obama talks often on the campaign trail about being a working mother. Until recently, she juggled a job as a hospital executive with raising two young daughters and lending support to her 46-year-old husband's political aspirations.

The strong-minded Obama exudes confidence and is an accomplished public speaker. But her penchant for outspokenness has also drawn some criticism.

McCain, 54, the Arizona senator's second wife, is reserved and seems far less comfortable in the limelight when she campaigns with her husband, who is 18 years her senior.

RODEO QUEEN

The blond, blue-eyed McCain is a former rodeo queen and cheerleader who holds a master's degree in special education from the University of Southern California. She grew up in a wealthy family in Phoenix and is heiress to Hensley & Co, one of the largest U.S. distributors for brewing giant Anheuser-Busch.

Last month, she released a tax return showing she made about $6 million in 2006.

McCain has raised four children, including a daughter Bridget, 16, whom she adopted from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. McCain has traveled the globe as part of her charitable work.

McCain's deferential manner puts her in the company of more traditional first ladies such as Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush.

"She is more in the classic mold of the candidate's wife on the campaign trail," said Calvin Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

He said McCain has her own version of the "Nancy Reagan stare," the adoring gaze that the former first lady perfected.

"If you look at Michelle Obama, it appears that throughout their married life, she and her husband have been very much equals," Jillson said. Her image as an equal partner was on display with the celebratory fist-bump the Obamas shared on the night he clinched the nomination last week.

America has had nontraditional first ladies before. They included Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter who sat in on Cabinet meetings, and Hillary Clinton, who was named by her husband to lead a health-care task force.

Obama met her husband through her work as a corporate lawyer and is his closest adviser, although associates have described her role as less of a policy-oriented one than that of a confidante who provides a reality check.

She has acquired an image as a tough-minded task-master.

In a favorite line on the campaign trail, the Illinois senator says his wife often reminds him that he's "not a perfect man."

When asked about his flaws during one campaign stop, Obama advised the questioner to "talk to my wife."

"She will have a pretty long list," he said, starting with his failure to hang up his clothes properly.

CRITICISM

But some pundits have put some of Obama's criticism of her husband -- that he snores and leaves socks on the floor -- in the category of "too much information."

In one comment seized upon by conservative Internet bloggers, Michelle Obama remarked, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."

That led critics to accuse her of being unpatriotic, saying that her comment made it appear she had not been proud of her country before her husband ran for president.

A day later, Cindy McCain told a campaign rally, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country."

But she too has drawn criticism. When she refused to release her tax returns critics said her lack of transparency was at odds with her husband's message of openness in government. McCain eventually relented.

She has also talked openly about her addiction in the early 1990s to painkillers, originally prescribed for back pain, which she at first kept secret from her husband and family.

McCain has also made a full recovery from a stroke that nearly killed her four years ago.

Both women serve a crucial role of giving emotional support to their spouses amid the grueling slog of the campaign. Barack Obama's mood brightens visibly when his wife joins him on the campaign trail. McCain has a similar effect on her husband.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080610/...nXAnnxC s0NUE

Looking for more information on other potential First Ladies ....

Jolie Rouge · 06-11-2008, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatever

I got this in a email and it is a little bit of an eye opener. OF course i do NOT like obama's anyway. but this pushes my vote a little more MCcains way, JUST a little.

This is an interesting article as not much was known about her. She was on Leno the other night and it was an interesting interview. It turns out that she is a character, as she is or has been a race car driver . She is also a pilot and flies John around the country to his rallies. After hearing that about her and reading this I now have a lot of respect for her.

Election 2008: Cindy Hensley McCain has been disparaged as a trophy wife, a Barbie, an heiress with fancy purses. But there's more to the picture than meets the eye.

Yes, Mrs. McCain is the perfectly coifed blonde standing dutifully behind the senator during his speeches. And yes, she wears stylish clothing and carries a Prada purse. And it's true she doesn't say much. But feminist critics who write her off as a "stand-by-your-man" shrinking violet are selling her short.

In many ways, Cindy McCain stacks up sturdier than Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. And she'd make a more impressive first lady.

Mrs McCain: More than meets the eye.

While Obama's wife has been hating America, complaining about the war and undermining our troops serving in Afghanistan, McCain's wife has been worrying about her sons who actually are fighting or planning to fight in the war on terror. One, in fact, was until a few months ago deployed in Iraq during some of the worst violence. {I actually met their son Jack here in Newport a few years ago!!!)

You don't hear the McCains talk about it, but their 19-year-old Marine, Jimmy, is preparing for his second tour of duty. Their 21-year-old son, Jack, is poised to graduate from Annapolis and also could join the Marines as a Second Lieutenant. The couple made the decision not to draw attention to their sons out of respect for other families with sons and daughters in harm's way.

Cindy also says she doesn't want to risk falling apart on the campaign trail talking about Jimmy who was so young when he enlisted she had to sign consent forms for his medical tests before he could report for duty and potentially upsetting parents of soldiers who are serving or have been killed.

The McCains want to make sure their boys get no special treatment. Same goes for their five other children, including a daughter they adopted from Bangladesh. During a visit to Mother Teresa's orphanage there, Cindy noticed a dying baby. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life. So she brought the child home to America for the surgery she desperately needed. The baby is now their healthy, 16-year-old daughter, Bridget.

Though all seven McCain children including two Sen. McCain adopted from his first marriage are supportive of their father, they prefer their privacy to the glare of the campaign trail. Another daughter, Meghan, 23, helps him behind the scenes.

Cindy McCain not only cherishes her children, but also her country, which in an election year filled with America-bashing, is a refreshing novelty. She seethed when she heard Michelle Obama's unpatriotic remarks that she only recently grew proud of America. "I am very proud of my country," Mrs. McCain asserted.

She also may be tougher than the other women in the race. While Hillary thinks she's come under sniper fire on mission trips abroad, Cindy has actually seen violence. She witnessed a boy get blown up by a mine in Kuwait during a trip with an international group that removes land mines from war-torn countries.

Mrs. McCain also is a hands-on philanthropist. She sits on the board of Operation Smile, which arranges for plastic surgeons to fix cleft palates and other birth defects. She also has helped organize relief missions to Micronesia.

During a scuba-diving vacation to the islands, Mrs. McCain took a friend to a local hospital to have a cut treated. She was shocked, and saddened, by what she saw. "They opened the door to the OR, where the supplies were, and there were two cats and a whole bunch of rats climbing out of the sterile supplies," she recalled. "They had no X-ray machine, no beds. To me, it was devastating because it was a U.S. trust territory."

As soon as she returned home, she arranged for medical equipment and teams of doctors to be sent to treat the island children.

Michelle Obama may contribute to CARE, which fights global poverty and works to empower poor women. Cindy sits on its board. While the Democrat women talk about helping the poor and needy, Cindy McCain actually rolls up her sleeves and does it.

Who's the out-of-touch elitist?

Thanks whatever !

hotwheelstx · 06-12-2008, 12:05 AM

Voted-Obama

freebielover · 06-12-2008, 07:01 PM

Cindy McCain, very classy lady. I agree with Patchouli.

candygirl · 06-12-2008, 07:04 PM

Michelle Obama--

nightrider127 · 06-12-2008, 07:55 PM

Neither.

I know this parakeet named Baby and she will be the official hostess when Spud takes the White House.

jerseybarb · 06-12-2008, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nightrider127

Neither.

I know this parakeet named Baby and she will be the official hostess when Spud takes the White House.

YES! Baby Parakeet for First Lady (Hostess)

cSoReNSoN · 06-12-2008, 08:45 PM

Michelle Obama's got my support!

tsquared · 06-12-2008, 08:54 PM

I think i would like Wonder Woman............. or at the least mob rule

atprm · 06-12-2008, 08:57 PM

I'd prefer Daisy Duck or Mini Mouse, but since those candidates wives aren't "running", Cindy McCain it is.

Shann · 06-12-2008, 10:53 PM

we're so screwed either way

View Poll Results: Who would prefer to see as First Lady ?
Michelle Obama	13	27.66%
Cindy McCain	24	51.06%
other ( please name )	10	21.28%
Voters: 47. You may not vote on this poll

06-11-2008, 02:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jolie Rouge C & P Queen Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: A Free BBS ! Posts: 32,592 iTrader: (2) Thanks: 210 Thanked 398 Times in 272 Posts	Who would you prefer to see as First Lady ? Who would you prefer to see as First Lady ? Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain are study in contrast By Caren Bohan Tue Jun 10, 2:25 AM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain share a dislike of rough-edged U.S. politics. Each tried to talk her spouse out of running for the White House. Obama, wife of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, and McCain, who is married to Republican John McCain, are both known for an elegant sense of style, lending glamour to their husbands' campaigns. McCain posed in size zero jeans for the latest issue of Vogue. Obama, who has also appeared in the fashion magazine, was praised by style writers for the violet sheath dress she wore to her husband's Democratic nomination victory rally and has been compared to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. But the aspiring first ladies have plenty of differences. Obama, 44, is a Princeton- and Harvard-educated lawyer raised by blue-collar parents on the working-class South Side of Chicago. She would be the first African American U.S. first lady. Obama talks often on the campaign trail about being a working mother. Until recently, she juggled a job as a hospital executive with raising two young daughters and lending support to her 46-year-old husband's political aspirations. The strong-minded Obama exudes confidence and is an accomplished public speaker. But her penchant for outspokenness has also drawn some criticism. McCain, 54, the Arizona senator's second wife, is reserved and seems far less comfortable in the limelight when she campaigns with her husband, who is 18 years her senior. RODEO QUEEN The blond, blue-eyed McCain is a former rodeo queen and cheerleader who holds a master's degree in special education from the University of Southern California. She grew up in a wealthy family in Phoenix and is heiress to Hensley & Co, one of the largest U.S. distributors for brewing giant Anheuser-Busch. Last month, she released a tax return showing she made about $6 million in 2006. McCain has raised four children, including a daughter Bridget, 16, whom she adopted from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. McCain has traveled the globe as part of her charitable work. McCain's deferential manner puts her in the company of more traditional first ladies such as Nancy Reagan and Laura Bush. "She is more in the classic mold of the candidate's wife on the campaign trail," said Calvin Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He said McCain has her own version of the "Nancy Reagan stare," the adoring gaze that the former first lady perfected. "If you look at Michelle Obama, it appears that throughout their married life, she and her husband have been very much equals," Jillson said. Her image as an equal partner was on display with the celebratory fist-bump the Obamas shared on the night he clinched the nomination last week. America has had nontraditional first ladies before. They included Rosalynn Carter, wife of Jimmy Carter who sat in on Cabinet meetings, and Hillary Clinton, who was named by her husband to lead a health-care task force. Obama met her husband through her work as a corporate lawyer and is his closest adviser, although associates have described her role as less of a policy-oriented one than that of a confidante who provides a reality check. She has acquired an image as a tough-minded task-master. In a favorite line on the campaign trail, the Illinois senator says his wife often reminds him that he's "not a perfect man." When asked about his flaws during one campaign stop, Obama advised the questioner to "talk to my wife." "She will have a pretty long list," he said, starting with his failure to hang up his clothes properly. CRITICISM But some pundits have put some of Obama's criticism of her husband -- that he snores and leaves socks on the floor -- in the category of "too much information." In one comment seized upon by conservative Internet bloggers, Michelle Obama remarked, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country." That led critics to accuse her of being unpatriotic, saying that her comment made it appear she had not been proud of her country before her husband ran for president. A day later, Cindy McCain told a campaign rally, "I am proud of my country. I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier -- I am very proud of my country." But she too has drawn criticism. When she refused to release her tax returns critics said her lack of transparency was at odds with her husband's message of openness in government. McCain eventually relented. She has also talked openly about her addiction in the early 1990s to painkillers, originally prescribed for back pain, which she at first kept secret from her husband and family. McCain has also made a full recovery from a stroke that nearly killed her four years ago. Both women serve a crucial role of giving emotional support to their spouses amid the grueling slog of the campaign. Barack Obama's mood brightens visibly when his wife joins him on the campaign trail. McCain has a similar effect on her husband. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080610/...nXAnnxC s0NUE Looking for more information on other potential First Ladies .... __________________ Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT!** Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

06-12-2008, 12:05 AM	#3 (permalink)
hotwheelstx Registered User Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 8,167 iTrader: (10) Thanks: 253 Thanked 65 Times in 53 Posts	Voted-Obama __________________ I hope you've had the time of your life. In Memory of my mother JKR 12-06-42 11-29-06

06-12-2008, 07:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
freebielover Loving my Red Sox! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Ma Posts: 1,855 iTrader: (1) Thanks: 14 Thanked 10 Times in 8 Posts	Cindy McCain, very classy lady. I agree with Patchouli. __________________ It takes 46 muscles to frown but only 4 to flip 'em the bird.

06-12-2008, 07:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
nightrider127 RandysMom Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Ohio Posts: 2,628 iTrader: (0) Thanks: 232 Thanked 113 Times in 72 Posts	Neither. I know this parakeet named Baby and she will be the official hostess when Spud takes the White House. __________________ Mommy and Daddy, together forever. Love and miss you. Missing my Lady,Dingo, Mitzi and Spud.

06-12-2008, 07:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
candygirl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Near the Atlantic Ocean Posts: 484 iTrader: (0) Thanks: 341 Thanked 99 Times in 21 Posts	Michelle Obama--

06-12-2008, 08:45 PM	#8 (permalink)
cSoReNSoN BigBig Liberal Atheist Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Detroit, Michigan (Go Tigers!) Posts: 1,185 iTrader: (0) Thanks: 118 Thanked 37 Times in 16 Posts	Michelle Obama's got my support! __________________ Go HOME, Bandwagoners........

06-12-2008, 08:54 PM	#9 (permalink)
tsquared IS IT WHISKY SOUR TIME??? Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly...and for the same reason. Posts: 23,146 iTrader: (11) Thanks: 42 Thanked 2,557 Times in 497 Posts	I think i would like Wonder Woman............. or at the least mob rule __________________ What we could really use is the separation of Bush and state.

06-12-2008, 08:57 PM	#10 (permalink)
atprm Bright Morningstar~ Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: very close to Toledo, Michigan Posts: 2,746 iTrader: (13) Thanks: 57 Thanked 421 Times in 222 Posts	*I'd prefer Daisy Duck or Mini Mouse, but since those candidates wives aren't "running", Cindy McCain it is.*

06-12-2008, 10:53 PM	#11 (permalink)
Shann you amuse me Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 8,686 iTrader: (5) Thanks: 234 Thanked 410 Times in 248 Posts	we're so screwed either way __________________

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode