Why Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain matter
Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain both used appearances on ABC
What happened
Michelle Obama, the wife of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, was a guest host on ABC’s morning show The View, in part of a public relations makeover. (The New York Times, free registration) Cindy McCain, the wife of GOP rival John McCain, appeared on The View in April and is now touting her charity work with children. A new poll shows voters had favorable opinion of Obama more than McCain, but more voters also view Obama unfavorably. (ABC News)
What the commentators said
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Both women used their appearances on The View to smooth over a “campaign kerfuffle,” said Alessandra Stanley in the International Herald Tribune. For Obama it was a comment about being proud of her country for the first time, and for McCain it was because purported family recipes on her husband’s campaign site were “copied word-for-word from ones by Rachael Ray.” Obama, like Hillary Clinton in 1992, had to show she isn’t “a little too authentic to be a first lady,” while McCain, like Nancy Reagan in 1980, needed to show she isn’t “too fake.”
Can we “stop treating the candidates’ spouses as embarrassing stereotypes”? said Michelle Cottle in The New Republic’s The Plank blog. So Cindy McCain, and Bill Clinton for that matter, “borrowed” a few recipes. “Surely we can come up with, if not a less ridiculous, at least a more honest or relevant way for these spouses to prostrate themselves for our amusement.”
Like it or not, “political wives matter a lot these days,” said Joe Gandelman in the blog The Moderate Voice. This is likely to be a “bitter election,” and “partisans on both sides” will use—and repeat incessantly—all "negative imagery” they have. Attacking the candidate’s wife is a way to say, “Just remember: if you vote for HIM you get HER!!” So expect “some highly quotable comments” from Cindy and Michelle as election day draws closer.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Magazine solutions - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
Magazine printables - August 2, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - August 2, 2024
By The Week Staff Published
-
'In a normal country, their activities wouldn't even be crimes'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published