May 7, 2008
His Bitter Half
By Michelle Malkin
Are you ready for hope and change? Barack Obama better hope his bitter
half has a change of attitude if she expects to assume the title of
first lady in November. She=92s been likened to John F. Kennedy=92s wife,
what with her chic suits and pearls and perfectly coiffed helmet hair.
But when she opens her mouth, Michelle O. is less Jackie O. and more
Wendy W. =97 as in Wendy Whiner, the constantly kvetching Saturday Night
Live character from the early 1980s.
When last our worldviews collided, back in February, the other
Michelle was expounding on her lack of pride in America. I gave her
myriad reasons to cheer up =97 from America=92s role in the fall of
communism and our unparalleled generosity to our nation=92s superior
economic system, cultural resilience, entrepreneurial spirit, and
ingenuity. But since then, Mrs. Obama has dug in her $500 Jimmy Choo
heels and solidified her role in the 2008 presidential campaign as
Queen of the Grievance-Mongers.
In one of her few (unintentionally) funny moments during a recent sit-
down with comedian Stephen Colbert, Mrs. Obama claimed, =93Barack and I
tend to look at the positives.=94 That=92s a side-splitter. As Yuval Levin
put it, Michelle Obama is =93America=92s unhappiest millionaire.=94 And
she
has the audacity to extrapolate her misery and her husband=92s alleged
victimization to the =93vast majority of Americans.=94
In South Carolina, she called America =93just downright mean=94 and
bemoaned =93a nation of struggling folks who are barely making it every
day.=94 And in case you hadn=92t heard enough of her carping about how
hard it is for a seven-figure-earning family to pay for ballet lessons
and piano lessons and pay off college loans, Mrs. Oh-Woe-Is-Me was at
it again on the campaign trail in Indiana and North Carolina before
Tuesday=92s primary.
On the stump, she warmed up (or rather, berated) sup****ters by
complaining about how her husband is an underdog even after he keeps
winning primary and caucus after primary and caucus. With a scowl
etched on her face, she bellyached that =93the bar is constantly
changing for this man.=94 Call the waambulance, stat.
Barack Obama, the missus explains, is Everyman who has ever been put
down by The Man. And =93understand this=94 (a condescending verbal tic
shared by both Obamas): Mrs. Obama is here to make sure you feel their
pain. Which is really your pain. Because the hard****ps of a privileged
Ivy League couple are =93exactly=94 the same as the travails of miners or
service workers or small-business owners: =93So the bar has been
****fting and moving in this race,=94 she grumbles, =93but the irony is,
the sad irony is, that=92s exactly what is happening to most Americans
in this country.=94
Don=92t tell Michelle about the Great Depression or the Carter Malaise.
=93Folks are struggling like never before,=94 she seethes.
Well, yes, gas prices are up. Some food prices are rising. And
borrowers who bought more housing than they could afford are
underwater. But =93struggling like never before=94? Didn=92t they teach
her
about Hoovervilles and stagflation?
In Mrs. Obama, the fear-mongering pot meets the angst-stirring kettle:
=93Fear,=94 she froths, =93creates this veil of impossibility and it is
hanging over all of our heads.=94
But what Mrs. Obama lacks in pride for her country and its promise she
more than makes up for with bottomless pride for her husband. Her
standard campaign speeches include at least a dozen references to how
=93proud=94 she is of him. And of herself. And of everyone who has
overcome The Man and pierced the =93veil of impossibility=94 to get to the
polls and vote Obama. An online MSNBC re****t on a joint appearance by
the Obamas on The Today Show in the wake of the Jeremiah Wright
debacle included this tellingly narcissistic passage:
[Mrs. Obama]: =93=91I=92m so proud of how he has maintained his dignity,
his=
cool, his honor.=92
=93Obama gently tried to interrupt, admitting to being embarrassed by
the praise.
=93=91But I am proud of you,=94 she said.
=93I know,=94 he replied.
We all know. So get over yourself already, haughty spirit. Pride
doesn=92t photograph well. And bitterness leaves frown lines. Which
means Botox bills. Which =93struggling folks=94 like you and your husband
simply cannot afford.
Try smiling for once. It=92s cheaper.
------------------
-C-
|
