Laura Vitale’s blog

Much of the media attention regarding the next First Lady Michelle Obama has focused on frivolous critiques of her clothing choices. In fact, my friend showed me a picture of her wearing a red and black dress that was apparently controversial and asked me what I thought. I said who cares? My friend looked incredulous and said that it was “too flattering”….

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is a well-educated, intelligent, and motivated woman. According to the campaign website, Obama graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, worked for the law firm Sidley Austin, was the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, and since 1996 has worked for the University of Chicago. In fact, she met Barack while working at Sidley Austin…where she was an associate assigned to be Barack’s adviser during his summer employment there.

Enter current First Lady, Laura Bush. A former second- grade teacher and librarian (professions that should be admired and encouraged, but are also “typical female” jobs), she represents the ceremonial First Lady role perfectly. Seldom in the spotlight, always behind the scenes wearing skirt suits and silently supporting her much-resented husband, her approval rating has remained high despite the vast disapproval of President Bush. According to a Gallup Poll in 2006, Laura Bush’s approval rating was 82%, while President Bush’s approval was only 43%.

First Lady Laura Bush

Typically, Gallup has found that First Ladies do have a higher approval rating then their husbands, mostly because their role is less controversial and more behind-the-scenes. But Laura Bush has had unusually high approval ratings, at least compared with Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter. Usually, Gallup has found that the approval rating for First Ladies is in the 50% range.

There is nothing in the Constitution about the First Lady and her role; the position is shaped by the actions of previous First Ladies. Historically, Presidents have been required by convention to have a First Lady. James Buchanan, the fifteenth president was never married, and so it was speculated that he was a homosexual. He asked his adopted niece Harriet Lane to serve as his First Lady.

The First Lady has a highly feminized role, which some describe as demeaning to women. She is typically expected to act as a hostess, a supportive wife and mother, and must be a fashion icon that proudly stands next to her husband looking pretty. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the First Lady’s contributions must be confined to a political charitable role. As Michelle Obama prepares to fulfill the ceremonial First Lady role, she will probably choose to follow in the steps of Laura Bush, who advocated literacy and women’s health. Obama should avoid the mistakes of Hillary Clinton, a First Lady who tried to take on substantive policy like health care.

Understandably, voters expect that the man they have voted into office is the one and only president. Bill Clinton referred to Hillary during his presidential campaign in 1992 when he said voters would get “two for the price of one,” an idea that the American people ultimately did not approve of.

In an article she wrote shortly before the election, Obama said that her number one job is going to be First Mom, taking care of Malia and Sasha. She has also said that she will help working women and families, particularly military families. It will be interesting to see how Obama, an Ivy League-educated lawyer, will take on the First Lady role.

I can’t help but feel sorry for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Not only did she lose a tough race for the democratic nomination to Barack Obama, but she faced unique scrutiny as a female candidate. However, Obama is now considering Hillary Clinton for the Secretary of State position.

The Secretary of State is the highest position within the president’s cabinet. The Secretary of State is basically responsible for the country’s foreign policy, and engages in diplomacy around the world. The Secretary is the fourth person to succeed the presidency, after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House, and the President pro Tempore of the Senate. Since Obama lacks foreign policy credentials, it is imperative that he chooses someone with vast foreign policy experience and knowledge.

But what foreign policy experience does Hillary Clinton have? As First Lady, she was criticized for pursuing activities that went beyond political charities. It is unknown exactly how much influence she had over President Clinton, but it is fair to say that her health care initiative was not well-received.

Factcheck.org found that Clinton exaggerated her foreign policy experience during the campaign. They summarize the exaggerations as follows:

• “Clinton claims to have “negotiated open borders” in Macedonia to fleeing Kosovar refugees. But the Macedonian border opened a full day before she arrived, and her meetings with Macedonian officials were too brief to allow for much serious negotiating.

• Clinton’s activities “helped bring peace to Northern Ireland.” Irish officials are divided as to how helpful Clinton’s actions were, and key players agree that she was not directly involved in any actual negotiations.

• Clinton has repeatedly referenced her “dangerous” trip to Bosnia. She fails to mention, however, that the Bosnian war had officially ended three months before her visit – or that she made the trip with her 16-year-old daughter and two entertainers.

• Both Bill and Hillary Clinton claim that Hillary privately championed the use of U.S. troops to stop the genocide in Rwanda. That conversation left no public record, however, as U.S. policy was explicitly to stay out of Rwanda, and officials say that the use of U.S. troops was never considered.” (Factcheck.org)

Obviously, Clinton’s lack of foreign policy credentials would not prevent her from being president. But the Secretary of State position deserves an expert on foreign policy. I believe she did not divorce her husband after the Monica Lewinsky scandal because she had higher political aspirations in mind, a decision I did not respect her for. She should be able to rise in political rank on her own, without her husband. But now, it may be that Bill Clinton’s current foreign affairs could actually hurt her chances to even be Secretary of State. I do feel sorry for Hillary Clinton.

According to an article on MSNBC, Gov. Sarah Palin said that a woman would be good for the Republican presidential ticket in four years. I was initially excited when Palin was nominated. Because I knew nothing about her, I gave her a (long) chance to prove herself. The nomination of a conservative woman who is strong, independent-minded and pro-life was exciting.

I hope that in four years there is a woman on the Republican presidential ticket. But this time, I hope this woman is articulate. I hope she is a tough, skillful politician. I hope she has a broad worldview and can discuss her positions on all issues affecting our country. I hope that she answers questions directly, and I hope that she does not become overly defensive and bitter when media reports aren’t, well, nice. I hope that she can be a true role model for all women, not just conservatives.

I also hope that in four years, this country focuses less on her hair and clothing. I hope that men don’t vote for her just because she is attractive, and I hope women don’t censure her for not championing what they call “pro-woman” abortion rights.

Sarah Palin, I suppose you did the best you could under the circumstances. But I for one am slightly bitter about the whole campaign. If you are really showing your true colors in interviews now, well, what took you so long?

I for one will be keeping my eye out for other more qualified female senators and governors.

While President-Elect Barack Obama has naturally commanded the most media attention, stories about Gov. Sarah Palin remain relatively prominent on the CNN, FOX, ABC and MSNBC news websites.

Except this time, she seems to want the media’s attention. What happened to the “liberal media bias,” crusades against “gotcha journalism” and her “us against them” attitude? She has adopted new stances that place blame on the Republican party for failing to sufficiently separate itself from the unpopular President Bush, and actually says that she regrets not talking to the media more.

According to an article on CNN, Palin told a local reporter in Alaska that “the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years.” She even went as far to say “it’s amazing that we did as well as we did.”

According to ABC, Palin told Greta Van Susteren of FOX News, “I would have preferred more opportunity to speak to the media more often, because there were a lot of things that I think I could have, should have said that could have, would have helped John McCain.”

And for some reason, FOX believes that Palin’s wardrobe is newsworthy. She apparently was going through her family’s clothing on Saturday to figure out which items needed to be returned to the Republican National Convention.

So what does this mean exactly? It is not surprising that the media would want to let go of the woman they were so furiously dissecting the last two months. But it also shows that Palin is reluctant to leave the spotlight she had so vehemently declared unfair.

Willing to be a little hypocritical, Palin is now trying to open doors for the future and stay in the American consciousness as long as possible. She doesn’t seem to understand that it is imperative to shed her current, unpopular image, and only time will tell if Americans will allow her a fresh start.

There has been recent speculation surrounding Sarah Palin’s ambitions, with some suggesting that she hopes to become the first female president. I’m willing to bet this is just speculation, unless some of McCain’s aides led her to wrongly believe that she has a shot in four or eight years.

But she would have to be really naive (and I don’t think she is) to believe that the conservative base, undoubtedly bitter about McCain’s loss, would support her presidential bid. Perhaps she would have a chance in several election cycles after she has gained experience talking about national and foreign issues, and if people have forgotten about this election and she can start over with a fresh image.

Interestingly, an article on CNN reported that Randy Scheunemann, a senior foreign policy adviser to John McCain, was fired from the McCain campaign last week for “trashing” the campaign staff.

According to the article, “one of the aides tells CNN that campaign manager Rick Davis fired Scheunemann after determining that he had been in direct contact with journalists spreading “disinformation” about campaign aides, including Nicolle Wallace and other officials.”

“‘He was positioning himself with Palin at the expense of John McCain’s campaign message,’ said one of the aides.” CNN also reported that Scheunemann had grown close with Palin during her debate preparation.

UPDATE: The New York Times now reports that “two senior members of the McCain campaign said on Wednesday that Mr. Scheunemann had been fired from the campaign in its final days. But Rick Davis, the McCain campaign manager, and Mr. Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest advisers, said Wednesday that Mr. Scheunemann had in fact not been dismissed. Mr. Scheunemann, who picked up the phone in his office at McCain campaign headquarters on Wednesday afternoon, responded that ‘anybody who says I was fired is either lying or delusional or a whack job.”

Randy Scheunemann helped Sarah Palin prepare for the vice presidential debate

Perhaps Scheunemann encouraged Palin to consider running for president. But now that the election is over, Palin should come to terms with her situation and concentrate on governing Alaska for the next two years. I will be surprised if she maintains a strong presence within the Republican party.

Even those who voted for McCain yesterday should be happy for our country on some level. While conservatives may have disagreed with Obama on the issues, his historic victory makes him our first African-American president, which is something our entire country should be proud of.

Watch Barack Obama’s speech in Chicago:

During his concession speech, McCain acknowledged this historic victory.  “This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight,” McCain told supporters.

Watch John McCain’s concession speech in Phoenix:

For the first time in the last two months, the election coverage did not feature talk that dissected Sarah Palin. She was essentially an unmentionable, out of the picture. But naturally, while McCain gave his concession speech, I was wondering what he would say about Palin.

Not too surprisingly, McCain said she was “one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform, and the principles that have always been our greatest strength.” Palin stood off to the side.

But should McCain be lavishing her with such praise?

Palin is obviously a very conservative person. She originally excited the base, but then alienated conservative supporters as she became increasingly inarticulate, politically unsure of herself, and obviously inexperienced. While I am positive that most conservative voters voted for McCain regardless of their feelings about Palin, I have a feeling that many independents were turned off by her. For a country that is ready for change, the Republican Palin seemed to represent the notoriously inarticulate George W. Bush.

Palin’s nomination launched a negative McCain campaign, which I am certain turned off independent voters already feeling cynical about the political process. The McCain campaign felt compelled to attack the media for what they said was “gotcha journalism,” and while the coverage of Palin and her family was initially unfair, the campaign’s obvious disdain for the media detracted from the real issues. Instead of uniting conservatives and appealing to independents, Palin was ultimately a divisive and controversial running mate.

As a result of his campaign’s defensive and negative tone, McCain was perceived as a bitter 72-year-old man instead of the humble, intelligent and experienced candidate who voters supported during the primaries. While I was watching the election returns, exit polls suggested that McCain did very well among late-deciders. In the days before the election, McCain returned to his original persona during the primaries, the experienced voice of reason. If McCain had kept his cool, things may have been different.

Sarah Palin believed she was speaking with French president Nicolas Sarkozy on the phone Saturday, only to discover at the end of the call that she had been pranked by two members of the Canadian radio station CKOI. Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, a duo known as “The Masked Avengers,” are notorious for prank calling heads of state and celebrities.

While the Masked Avengers made outrageous comments indicating the call was a prank, Palin continued to make polite, diplomatic conversation with the person she believed was Sarkozy.

You can listen to the call below:

or read a transcript here.

According to an article on Fox News, Palin’s spokesperson issued a statement. “Governor Palin received a phone call on Saturday from a French Canadian talk show host claiming to be French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy, and other celebrities in being targeted by these pranksters. C’est la vie.”

The Masked Avengers

If the Masked Avengers aimed to make Palin look bad, they did not succeed. Instead, Palin demonstrated that she is a skillful politician. Since she has never spoken with Sarkozy, she would not recognize that the French accent was outrageously fake and that his words were uncharacteristic. Even though “Sarkozy” made outlandish and inappropriate remarks, Palin responded to them exceptionally well on the spot. Since Palin lacks foreign policy and diplomatic experience, even if the call raised red flags of suspicion it would be understandable that she would hesitate to end the conversation in case her intuition was wrong.

Furthermore, when the Avengers revealed it was a prank call, Palin kept her cool and was gracious. I don’t think she could have handled the situation any better – although I wonder why it was so easy for the Avengers to speak with Palin directly. Audette told The Canadian Press, “we had to go through the Secret Service, the people in her entourage. It’s the biggest coup so far. We’re proud to add (this prank) to our top hits.”

I feel bad for Palin this time. She should be able to trust the Secret Service and “the people in her entourage” and know that when someone says they are the French president, they really are the French president. Naturally, when the Avengers made factually inaccurate remarks during the conversation, as when Audette refers to French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday as his special adviser to the U.S., singer Stef Carse as Canada’s prime minister, and comedian and radio host Richard Z. Sirois as the provincial premier, someone with more experience and factual knowledge than Palin may have caught on to the prank.

Many news outlets and bloggers are capitalizing on the fact that when the Avengers mentioned that they would like to see her as president, Palin answered “maybe in eight years.” But when you listen to the recording of the conversation, it is obvious that Palin laughed and answered somewhat jokingly. It’s just too bad that it took a prank phone call to show that Palin has a sense of humor, and not the more traditional Saturday Night Live appearance.