Of the many reasons why I will be voting for Barack Obama come Election Day, this is one of the big ones.
It’s something that has not been talked about at all, but that doesn’t make it less important. After eight years of watching George and Laura Bush, who are rarely seen together and appear to show little affection for each other in public; and before that, the Clintons, who have a strained marriage that seems more political than personal–it would be nice to have a strong marriage of two equally capable and loving partners in the White House.
I noticed that way back in the early primaries when I watched a few speeches by Michelle Obama and read about their home life–how grounded and normal they were. It was refreshing to see a potential First Lady be willing to chip away at the facade of the “inspirational politician” in order to be real.
Plus–and I know this sounds superficial–but I just really want to see the Obama family in the White House. Barack and Michelle’s obvious loving relationship plus their two girls just looks a little more appealing than seeing Grandpa McCain and his wife Cindy for four more years. In many ways it would be like the Kennedys, albeit without the serial philandering.
Anyway… I’ve been thinking about that for a while. With the GOP’s obsession with “family values,” I find it disappointing how the Obamas don’t get credit for being a great family (as far as we can tell). For their sake, I hope Barack wins so they can become the example of what an American family can look like.
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