Just last week I noted that Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards’ wife, had become surprisingly aggressive in going after other Democratic candidates in ways the candidate probably wouldn’t.
With that in mind, it’s certainly possible that Michelle Obama would be willing to criticize other Democratic candidates, but after reading a bit about this, I think the media should probably settle down a bit.
Did she or didn’t she? That’s the question some political observers are asking about recent comments from Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, that could be interpreted as a swipe against her husband’s chief presidential rival Hillary Clinton.
In Atlantic, Iowa last Thursday, Michelle Obama pointed to the strength of her own family and said the next president must be “somebody that shares our values.”
“Is he somebody that respects family? Is he a good and decent person?” Michelle Obama asked the crowd about the next president. “Our view is that if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House.”
No one cared about the comment until the Chicago Sun-Times suggested Mrs. Obama might have been leveling a veiled attack against the Clintons and their personal life.
Predictably, Drudge picked it up, with a blaring top-of-the-page headline: “Obama Wife Slams Hillary?”
The political press* certainly can get worked up over the strangest things, can’t it?
For what it’s worth, Sen. Obama emphatically denied the interpretation, telling reporters, “There was no reference beyond her point that we have had an administration that talks a lot about family values but doesn’t follow through.”
What’s more, the campaign issued a brief transcript of Michelle Obama’s comments, so people could see the context.
“One of the most important things that we need to know about the next president of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House. So, so we’ve adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first, so while he’s traveling around, I do day trips. That means I get up in the morning, I get the girls ready, I get them off, I go and do trips, I’m home before bedtime. So the girls know that I was gone somewhere, but they don’t care. They just know that I was at home to tuck them in at night, and it keeps them grounded, and, and children, the children in our country have to know that they come first. And our girls do and that’s why we’re doing this. We’re in this race for not just our children, but all of our children.”
Harmless. This is one of those no-there-there stories.
* OK, so if I’m questioning why the political press is getting worked up over nothing, why am I writing about it? Because the political press is getting worked up over it.
Once in a while, as part of my general approach to covering politics on the blog, I like to let readers know what reporters are buzzing about. That doesn’t mean I agree with the buzz, or care the same way they do, but I’m passing info along anyway.