You’ve all seen the cover (which I posted here), now it’s time for The Feature.
Interviewed by the legendary Andre Leon Talley, Mrs Obama opens up about parenting in such overwhelming circumstances (‘Getting her bearings, checking out churches to join, helping her kids adjust to unfamiliar surroundings’); creating a more ‘open’ White House (‘She speaks of her future there as almost a collective experience. It’s never “me” and “mine” and “some,” but “we” and “our” and “all.”‘) and being a working mom (‘She is a lawyer turned hospital administrator turned political right hand. It is a unique résumé.’).
With her new job as First Lady, she’ll be as busy as ever, but she’s still going to be a hands-on mom: ‘I’m going to try to take them to school every morning—as much as I can. But there’s also a measure of independence. And obviously there will be times I won’t be able to drop them off at all. I like to be a presence in my kids’ school. I want to know the teachers; I want to know the other parents.’
Jill Biden – vice-president Joe Biden’s wife – vouches for what a great mom Michelle is:
‘During the convention, my grandchildren and her children had a sleepover, watching movies, eating pizza and popcorn, just having fun hanging out,’ she said. ‘And I think that’s what’s special about Michelle—she maintains a normal life in an extraordinary time. You only need to be around her girls for a few seconds to know what an incredible mom she is.’
And, as one would expect of the composed Mrs Obama, she’s very nonchalant about her Fashion Icon status, saying: ‘I love clothes. First and foremost, I wear what I love. That’s what women have to focus on: what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact, I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion.’
It’s this pragmatism and down-to-earth attitude that has won her so many fans. Like Miss Oprah Winfrey, who says of her First Lady:
‘Michelle Obama is a full-blown, grown-up woman. An authentically empowered real woman who looks and feels like a modern woman in the twenty-first century, allowing us to see the best of ourselves in her. [She's] bringing a sense of connection and accessibility to that position that no nation has ever witnessed.’
And, obviously, there’s some interesting observations on the Obamas’ love story:
Remember that when the Obamas first met, she was his boss and mentor at Sidley, Austin, the Chicago law firm where they both began their careers. This is a new dynamic in the history of First Families. It’s doubtful the president of the United States of America wields executive authority within his primary relationship. You can tell from the way Michelle teases Barack in interviews, the way she’s not afraid to disagree publicly, that although she loves her husband, she isn’t in awe of him. (When he helped paint a room at a homeless shelter on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, she said, “Now that I know he can do this, it’s another thing he can do at home.”) They have maintained their autonomy and mutual respect yet clearly delight in each other’s company. When I saw them dance at the Legends Ball, rocking the party with their moves until a slow number came on, their genuine affection for each other was palpable. The woman he so publicly declared “my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family, the love of my life” on Election Night has been a true partner in every sense of the word.
This quote from Andre Leon Talley best sums up what the Obamas have come to represent:
How many among the crowds gathered to watch us pass were like me—an African-American who grew up in the Jim Crow South, whose father drove a taxi, whose uncle Lewis was a barber, whose grandmother was a maid her entire life—and turned their eyes to the Obamas not just with hope but with recognition?
Pic via.
Say what?