Did Michelle Obama say something to those girls in London along the lines of 'You too can be like me if you work hard' because if she did is she not saying that......

[moondog]

they too can marry a very important man?

I mean she's not there in her capacity as a lawyer, rather as a First Leady and surely that is not really a valid role to aspire to in itself????

I heard someone saying this on the radio yesterday - think it was jeremy Vine's show.

It was pointed out that she went to Princeton University then Harvard Law and she and hubby went back to Chicago and got involved in public works rather than take up highly paid city posts.

I was quite choked by it all - made me wish I'd bloody well studied and ignored the mean girls! (Not in order to have married Barrack O, but to have the satisfaction of knowing I hadn't wasted my ability.)

I don't think there's any question she isn't an achiever in her own right.

No I don't dney that she is great, as is her dh. Noble people and so gratifying to see someone apart from WASP mafiosi in charge for a change.

But.... she wasn't there as a lawyer or community leader, she was there as the wife of the President so I can only presume she is alluding to that role.

That wasn't my impression moondog, I think she was talking about her life in general. It's the whole package isn't it, she worked hard enough to get to college, where she found the career she wanted and met someone with similar values/aspirations. So her life is very different to how it would be had she not done any work at school.

Oh ok.
I didn't hear it hence looking for clarification.
Thanks
(But even so, is that something that is relevant to her visit to UK as First Lady? Is it not like me going to work and bursting into diatribe about how good I am at say.......knitting? )

Suppose it depends how important a role you think she had to play in his election.

It also depends on whether she thinks that being an intelligent, educated woman helped her to marry that Mr O. I don't think DP would love me if I weren't educated, he gets very annoyed when DMum says something ignorant even if it is because she hasn't got the education to know otherwise.

I think it's rather that being first lady gives her the opportunity to address young women across the world, and demonstrate her own very impressive eloquence and ability - it's a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. A bit like (but better than, in some ways) Princess Diana using her identity and celebrity to highlight important issues - MO's credentials are, I think, well known, and she can use her current status to support women's education. Didn't Hillary do lots of healthcare work as FL?

Moondog, the point she was making is that she didn't come from a privileged background, and she made it by sheer hard work. She met Barack when she was already a lawyer.

I really don't understand why people are so eager to pick Michelle Obama apart and undermine her sincerity.

As I said on another thread, all the black people I know are in awe of her and Barack Obama because of what they represent - possibility of what people of colour like ourselves can achieve in a world that has for so long treated us as second class citizens and prevented us from achieving higher status jobs simply because of the colour of our skin.

Asa

She was there in her official capacity as First Lady - but she also represents everything that she's achieved in her own right too. I'm sure nobody at that school though she was just a housewife with a few nice frocks.

The role of the American First Lady carries much more weight than the PM's wife would here.

You cannot compare Princess Diana and Michelle Obama! Diana married her heriditary prince because of her own blue blood; the Obama couple both made it through their own sheer hard work.

It is very wrong to forget all that Michelle Obama has achieved in her own right and all the years of support that she has given her husband in his political career.

I suppose you could look at it that way. But I just think those girls were obviously inspired and thats a good thing. She is a high achiever in her own right.

There is a really great article by Mariella Frostrup here.

My favourite quote is:

"The spouses included grandmothers and mothers, career women and career wives - all engaging with the complicated challenges of taking a back seat while in most cases being qualified to ride upfront."

And yet there are only two women leaders present at the G20 meeting...

How many strong, high-profile black female role models do these young girls have?

I admire her, behind every great man is a great woman.
he would most likely not be president if it wasn't for her.

I think she assumes that we think of hers as a high-powered woman, and that one of the marks of her high-poweredness is that she is married to the Prez.

Barack, not Elvis.

Anna, I know that, fgs. I simply meant that their husband's status gave both access to wider world-wide media coverage for their own particular projects. I wasn't a Diana fan - think MO is great - but was picking an analogy, ok?

She absolutely is an inspiration- she inspired me and I'm 37!

I wonder what impact she will have on the lives of the girls at that school. What an amazing role model. Made me feel so sad about our shabby celebrity culture.

What I loved about her speech was that she talked about bettering yourself through education and then 'reaching back' to help others from your community.

That is exactly what she and Barack Obama did do with their community work in Chicago.

Thing is, as someone already said, the First Lady in America is a valid role. If she had been a dunderhead who cut class and never aspired to anything she would not be married to Obama, or if she were then perhaps their campaign would not have been so successful. Obama is the president, but they campaigned and were elected as a couple.