Michelle Obama, Best First Lady Ever?

[a kennedy]

Just as President Obama's approval ratings have begun to turn around, the first lady is reportedly receiving some new support of her own -- among military veterans.

Alongside vice president Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, Michelle Obama has organized and attended more events for and with military veterans and their families than any previous first lady, according to veterans groups.

"Certainly other first ladies and presidents have taken an interest, but to make supporting military families [a priority], and not just to make it one of the things you do, this is a game-changer," Joyce Raezer, executive director of the National Military Family Association, told U.S. News & World Report.

In addition to the 50 events Obama is said to have participated in this year alone, she and Biden are also leading the charge to encourage businesses to hire veterans through an initiative called Joining Forces, which she announced earlier this year, encouraging the rest of the country to get in on the act. This year's White House Christmas tree was even dedicated to supporting veterans.

"There is this sense that this is genuine," Raezer said. "We haven't had this kind of visibility from the White House -- ever."

According to the Associated Press:

Mrs. Obama said she first got to know about the special challenges facing military families during the 2008 presidential campaign, as she met with military spouses while participating in roundtable discussions with women.

"I was so shocked by the fact that I didn't recognize those voices, that those stories were so new to me," she said. "I thought, I can't be alone, and these voices need to be lifted up."

Mrs. Obama said she decided then that it was appropriate to use the White House "megaphone" to lift the "cloak of invisibility" that too often leaves families struggling on their own.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/michelle-obama-best-first-lady-ever_n_1176942.html?ref=black-voices#s582133

And you have to look at the pictures......just awesome.....Love her.

[totodeinhere]

1. I like Michelle, but for best ever I vote for Eleanor Roosevelt. n/t

[William769]

2. Sorry mine will always be Eleanor Roosevelt

[southernyankeebelle]

3. You can see anytime the Obamas are around military families they are happy to have them. As a

military wive of a retired service man I see how the First Lady and Mrs Biden are so involved in the military families and they are greatly appreciated. You see that is the thing. Republicans talk of support and democrats follow through with the support. It has always been that way.

[Wait Wut]

7. Exactly.

Republicans don't give a damn about the man or woman behind the weapon. They sure as hell see no reason to care about the family left behind. My son, a soon to be retired Marine said, "Support isn't a fucking yellow ribbon."

[southernyankeebelle]

30. Your son is right. Is your son a democrat? Is he enlisted? I just want to see if my observation

is right.

[Wait Wut]

43. "Independent"

I put it in quotes because he's gone through some things that have clouded his judgment. When I talk to him one on one, he's still a Democrat. A fairly liberal one.

Yes, he's enlisted, but will be getting out late February. He's been in for 8 years. I'm terrified. He's always been successful at everything he's done, but things are different now.

[southernyankeebelle]

44. My heart goes out to you. I know it isn't easy for our soldiers today. I thought your son was

either a democrat or a independent and also enlisted. My dad,husband and father-in-law all retired as senior enlisted men. They know what war was like. I tell you anyone who says people don't change when they come back are lying. The sad thing is he needs to talk with someone who has been through what he has even if it is a VN vet or a WWII vet anyone who he can vent to. Sometimes people who have never been in that situation would be shocked of some of the things they might have done themselves and are very embrassed to express. Just be there and let him vent when he is ready. Just listen. That is the best thing anybody can do is listen and do not judge. I wish your son the best of life. He deserves all the good things. Tell him to use anything the military provided him. Oh one more important thing. Tell him to make copies of his medical file. Also make sure he keeps his DD214. It has his history of military duty on it. You make sure you keep a copy of it in case he loses it. What I did on my medical files was to go to the main hospital and tell them you have to go to another appointment and you need to borrow your medical files. Then take them to the office and make copies. That way in case something happens you have your copies.

[Wait Wut]

50. Thank you for the advice.

With all the worrying we're doing about starting over, those "little" things will definitely be forgotten.

He has a huge support group out here. More importantly, he has an amazing wife that keeps him grounded, happy and healthy. She's very nervous about their upcoming move to Phoenix, but it's just the first step to a new and hopefully successful career. He has an appointment on base to discuss school/housing. He's already filled out the application forms. Now, it's just a matter of getting out, getting an apartment and finding part time jobs for both of them. It'll be more difficult for my DIL. Her English is "good" but not good enough for any customer service position (she's Japanese/Okinawan), so we're just going to remain hopeful. One of my ex-bfs lives down there and is still very close to my son. He's already started looking for jobs/apartments for them. I did have to poke at him a little for "brainwashing" my son into moving there and going to MMI (Motorcycle Mechanics Inst.). He just wants to ride with my kid.

It's really hard for me to admit, but I wasn't as worried about him having a "job" with the Marines as I am about him making a new start as a civilian.

Again, thank you for your advice. I bet family gatherings are fascinating! It's good that all those men in your life have each other!

Have a very Happy New Year!!

[southernyankeebelle]

52. Don't worry about your daughter-in-law. My mother came from another country she had

4 little kids close in age. My twin sister and I have a brother 2 yrs older than us and a sister 2 yrs younger than us. Picture this back in the day where military families didn't fly much. My dad had gone to the Philippines and he was waiting for us to come over. We were living with my dad's family and my mother couldn't speak english well yet. My 6 yr old brother at the time would interpret for her. We travelled back then by train from PA all the way to CA then we had to board a ship that took us to the Philippines. We made it. Your daughter-in-law will make it also. Yes it use to be very interesting at our dinner tables. In fact when my parents retired we moved where there were retired military families. My goodness the fun we would have during the holidays. We could always depend on the neighbors coming over because my mother was an excellent Italian cook. You know many people love Italian food. In my house it wasn't any different. You son will remember the good times when he gets out. He is already ahead having that support system.

[southernyankeebelle]

53. Oh I forgot to wish you a Happy New Year.

[Wait Wut]

4. Ah. The pics put tears in my eyes.

Thank you.

And, thank you to our wonderful First Lady, 2nd lady and their husbands for finally recognizing that the military is more than guns and bombs. It's people and families.

[Stratetalker]

5. Absolutely spectacular

The FLOTUS is a shiny example of a great cause personified ala Eleanor Roosevelt. Too many righty mental cretins drown out her good works with snippets from the sewer likes of Limbaugh and Coulter. There need to be more public airing of what she does on behalf of military families instead of fucking reports of being booed at NASCAR events

[lamp_shade]

6. I looked. Great photos. She IS so very awesome. I love her too.

[etherealtruth]

8. She is a magnificent first lady

I shall leave it at that.

[MichiganVote]

9. Really? Garden work as opposed to E. Roosevelt lifting up the poor?

Or how about Dolly Madison, she is an interesting read and without her, DC would have never come together.

Say what you will about her marriage, but Jackie Kennedy watched her husband's head get blown off and led the entire country to grieve appropriately and responsibly during a very difficult time.

So no, Michelle Obama seems a nice woman but hardly a powerhorse.

[nobodyspecial]

33. You may not agree, but why dismissively belittle what Michelle Obama has done?

Most of the posters and the article posted emphasizes support and programs for military vets.

And her national program to emphasize organic gardening, exercising and eating right among families amounts to much more than "garden work."

Your opinion is fine, but why do you have to slam her in the process?
What have you done to help your country?

[MichiganVote]

38. I disagree that I "slammed" her. She wants to role model organic gardening. Good. Great.

But let's face it, in a US with kids at 50% and above in the poverty range, a steep rise in homeless families and all benefits to kids greatly reduced in states and cities--well, guess I just don't think those are the priorities that Eleanor Roosevelt would put at the top of the list.

You know, poor families don't have access to the fresh fruits and vege's that she espouses. They usually lack access to stores that have them and they often can't afford them. They don't have the tools to work a garden and or they don't have land on which to grow. So its a nice message for those who can afford it. For others, not so much.

So while Mrs. Obama and team may choose this as a first lady project, I don't think it rises to the same level.

[magical thyme]

51. as an organic gardener, I admire Michelle Obama's 'garden work'

I do wish, however, that her husband had not put a Monsanto exec as head of the USDA. And it really troubles me that he made his appointment the same day she was having her organic garden press announcement. It seriously bothers me. I don't doubt her sincerity. But the situation does come across as 'healthy food for some of us; frankenfood for the rest."

[southernyankeebelle]

45. Well I tell you as a wife of a retired soldier Mrs Obama and Mrs Biden have brought issues of

military families to the front page as far as am concerned. No one loved JFK more than I did but Mrs Kennedy brought class and beauty to the white house and put it on the map. Yes even loss her husband and this country gave him the respect he was entitled to. But Mrs Obama and Mrs Biden bring the issues to the front that effect everyday military families. No other wife has done so much for the military family. I will give her credit for that. As far as am concerned having a beauitful white house or taking care of our soldiers and their families I think I'll go for the latter.

[MichiganVote]

49. To my knowledge all women in the role of first lady

have attempted to aid soldiers and their families. Different times for different women. I only raise two as possibilities but there are certainly more. But for the two I mention,

The role of first lady as hostess largely began with Dolley Madison. It was in her role as first lady that the Congress in the WH space began to take shape and become civilized. Dolley Madison invented the role of first lady as a hostess, establishing certain ceremonies, just as she had created public spaces. She did this during a time of extreme partisanship, much like today. She was elegant (like Mrs. Obama and others). Her supporters called her "queenly" but her enemies smeared her. She was derided as an innkeeper's daughter. Nevertheless she reached out to people and made them feel comfortable. In later life, poor and in ill health, she was supported economically by republicans and democrats until her death.

Dolly Madison faced the British invasion of Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1814 with bravery and dignity. By the third week of August invasion was imminent and the city was in a state of chaos as the British approached. Mrs. Madison remained in the city. As the British troops moved forward on August 23 Mrs. Madison packed government papers into trunks. The next day, with James Madison still off with the army, Dolley Madison found herself guarding the gates of the executive mansion. And so we know of her determination to save the painting of George Washington as the WH would burn.

During WWII, Eleanor Roosevelt ER worked refugees from Hitler's Germany to enter the country, despite stiff resistance to changing America's strict immigration laws. She served as in both an official and unofficial role to groups trying to aid refugees from the Spanish Civil War. She worked with the Emergency Rescue Committee, the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children, and the Children's Crusade for Children. She also offered key support to Varian Fry's rescue operations. She lobbied for the Child Refugee Bill which would have allowed 10,000 Jewish children a year for two years to enter the United States above the usual German quota, but Congress refused to pass the bill.

When the United States entered the war in December 1941, she continued to advocate a more open policy and to assist individual refugees to gain admittance to the country. She spoke out forcefully against the restrictive visa policies.

ER strongly supported women working outside the home. She urged their employment in defense industries during WWII. When women workers had trouble finding child care and adequate pay, ER lobbied to have day care centers and take-out kitchens within various factories, and spoke out strongly in favor of equal pay for equal work. She convinced FDR to establish the Fair Employment Practices Commission, which outlawed racial discrimination in industries that received federal contracts, urged equal treatment for blacks in the military, and helped to ensure that black units, such as the Tuskegee Airmen, had the opportunity to engage in combat. She also urged citizens to accept volunteer assignments and tried to make those assignments useful.

ER used the radio to boost American morale and to urge her listeners to remember that Americans must take strength from each other and rededicate themselves to democracy. In fact, ER addressed the nation the day Pearl Harbor was attacked. While the nations often refers to the speech of FDR, many women listened to ER address them.

ER interceded on behalf of many soldiers, their families. She traveled worldwide to military bases at home, in England, and in the South Pacific. She often aided the Red Cross, evaluating all the facilities she visited.

[ThatsMyBarack]

10. Best First Lady....

This country has had in a while!

[applegrove]

11. Michelle is certainly the most authentic first lady I can think of.

[Tx4obama]

12. K & R n/t

[HopeHoops]

13. She's definately up there with Eleanor Roosevelt, but it's a tough call.

She's easily the best in the past four decades.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dolly Madison, Abigail Adams.

[William769]

16. Your batting a thousand.

[Beacool]

42. Three excellent choices.

Add Hillary and you have my top four favorites.

[enough]

15. She is performing the role and responsiblilies of First Lady

magnificently! Such grace, energy, good humor, and dignity.

[Skinner]

17. Best first lady: Hillary!

But I love Michelle Obama, too.

[Bluenorthwest]

18. Eleanor Roosevelt

The current First Lady is doing good things, yet the standard is higher than that.

[southernyankeebelle]

46. Who sets that standard? Mrs Reagan when her little thing was trying to be Mrs JFK, and

Just say no. Remember that? Now I think MrsRoosevelt is number one for sure. But in the last 40 yrs I think she has topped most of the first ladies. She set her own bar and even managed to jump over the bar. Excellent.

[RZM]

19. No point assessing this until Obama's no longer in office

This is one reason you can't yet compare her to people like Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor was first lady for over 12 years. Michelle has been first lady for less than three.

She could do a lot more good or she could make mistakes. We'll see how it shakes out when/if Obama gets a second term. If she continues what she's been doing, I'll say she had been a pretty good first lady. But that being said, a lot of first ladies have done good things.

[southernyankeebelle]

47. She has already done alot of good. Healthy eating. Growning gardens, supporting military families.

She will had to that list.

[Whisp]

20. She is the best wonderful. I love her.

I like how Barack looks at her like a boy in love, he adores her and he should!

[BOHICA12]

21. Rosalynn Carter & Betty Ford

stood pretty tall as independent examples for all.

[BlueIris]

22. She's great. Really, really like Michelle. I've posted before that

this country would be a lot better off if Michelle Obama and her husband just swapped jobs.

[emilyg]

23. Eleanor Roosevelt by far.

[cherokeeprogressive]

24. Isn't she just?

[MoonRiver]

25. Nope. That would be Eleanor Roosevelt. n/t

[Scurrilous]

26. Nice.

[Raine]

27. Love her BUT "best ever" ... absolutely NO

Eleanor Roosevelt is the "BEST EVER" there is absolutely no comparison!

[Lyric]

36. Agreed there.

[grantcart]

28. One of the best. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the best mother to live in the WH.

[DeathToTheOil]

29. Rosalyn Carter

[TBF]

31. Definitely Eleanor Roosevelt - but I do like Michelle Obama as well. nt

[Gman]

32. She's very good but

there were others that were outstanding. First Ladies like Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy and even Hillary Clinton come to mind. There were others in decades past that were superb. Even Nancy Reagan was good, IMHO.

[Nye Bevan]

34. Read this about Abigail Adams:

Along with her husband, Adams believed that slavery was evil and a threat to the American democratic experiment. A letter written by her on 31 March 1776, explained that she doubted most of the Virginians had such "passion for Liberty" as they claimed they did, since they "deprive[d] their fellow Creatures" of freedom.[2]

A notable incident regarding this happened in Philadelphia in 1791, where a free black youth came to her house asking to be taught how to write. Subsequently, she placed the boy in a local evening school, though not without objections from a neighbor. Adams responded that he was "a Freeman as much as any of the young Men and merely because his Face is Black, is he to be denied instruction? How is he to be qualified to procure a livelihood? … I have not thought it any disgrace to my self to take him into my parlor and teach him both to read and write."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_Adams

She was ahead of her time.

[dionysus]

35. maybe in the end. hard to top Eleanor.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

37. I'd say best first lady of the past decade.

[City Lights]

39. My favorite has always been Eleanor Roosevelt.

I do like Michelle Obama a whole lot though.

[dflprincess]

40. Eleanor Roosevelt

No contest.

[Beacool]

41. She's doing a fine job, but for me the best first ladies are Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton.

Hillary once again was chosen the most admired woman in the country.

[kiva]

48. No, but only because of the fierce competition!

Several of those mentioned in this thread are brilliant, especially Eleanor Roosevelt and Abigail Adams and Hillary Clinton...so not "the best", but in great company.

[Carolina]

54. Eleanor Roosevelt

and Jacqueline Kennedy. She may be historically trivialized as a fashion maven... but for those of us who lived through that time, her grace and dignity during those awful 4 days in November 1963 held this nation together. She was remarkable and only 34 years old!