This is my first diary, so please be gentle with your criticism. All are welcome though.
Most of you have probably heard that the British press is spinning Prime Minister Gordon Brown's visit to the White House this week as a snub by the Obama administration because he did not hold a traditional press conference with the 2 leaders standing side-by-side. You may have also heard that a decision by White House staffers that was made before Obama took office to send a bust of Winston Churchill back to the British embassy was also portrayed as a snub by Obama in the British Press. Now a blogger for the Daily Telegraph has woven all of this into a grand conspiracy led by Michelle Obama (or "Lady MacBeth", as he refers to her) and inspired by her college thesis and statements about being proud of her country. You know, the same crap they tried to use to define her during the election, and the same crap they tried to use against Hillary Clinton when she was First Lady.
The Hillarification Of Michelle Obama has begun.
I can understand why conservatives feel threatened by Michelle Obama: she's tall, attractive, intelligent, and assertive, and she balances all of that with being an outstanding mother and wife. This is the kind of woman conservatives fear the most: a progressive with family values. Michelle Obama was probably a key factor in helping Obama win over disaffected Hillary voters, and she is seen as a huge threat to the Palin wing of the conservative movement.
In order to make a comeback, conservatives are going to try destroy Michelle Obama the same way they tried to destroy Hillary Clinton in the 90's.
My favourite theory so far - suggested by presenter Greg Garrison - was that it was a move calculated to please his Lady Macbeth. At the moment in Britain, we're still in the "Doesn't she look fabulous in a designer frock" stage of understanding of Michelle Obama. Gradually, though, we'll begin to realise that she is every bit the terrifying executive's wife that Hillary Clinton was. Or, shudder, Cherie Blair.
The blogger who wrote the story, James Delingpole, includes no evidence to link Mrs. Obama to the handling of Brown's visit, nor any evidence that she has had any input into the operation of the west wing (Mrs. Obama has repeatedly stated that she will not be involved in White House policy, instead focusing on her children). Delingpole instead makes a feeble attempt to portray the first lady as a racist who is so wrapped up in "victimhood" and "greivances" about America and Britain's history of slavery and poor race relations that she is pushing her husband to show disrespect to whites at every opportunity.
We may just LURVE Michelle's fashion sense. But Michelle doesn't reciprocate our affection, one bit. Her broad-brush view of history associates Brits with the wicked white global hegemony responsible for the slave trade. Never mind that a white, Tory Englishman - William Wilberforce - brought the slave trade to an end. Judging by her record, Michelle does not make room for such subtle nuance.
What these folks don't seem to realize is that the smear tactics didn't work during the campaign, and they're not likely to work now. Michelle Obama's approval numbers are higher than every other first lady in the last 30 years, and her disapproval rating is only 5%. Even crusty old Jack Cafferty at CNN admits that he has a crush on her.
I think the first comment on that blog page sums up just how lame this tactic is:
Your quarter launched similar attacks against another presidential spouse years ago.
Now she is Secretary of State. Looks like a bright future for Mrs. Obama.