WEAR PEARLS TO SUPPORT  FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA ON HER BIRTHDAY, JANUARY 17

By: Lois-Ann Clark, Publisher, AABoomers.com

Last week, I, like many other supporters of President Omama’s first campaign, received an email from the President, asking that we send birthday wishes to Mrs. Obama in recognition of her birthday on Wednesday, January 17^th.  I did ,and was pleased to do so,  but wondered what else I could do to show  my support of this  “phenomenal woman”, in light of all the  negative publicity she has received  in the mainstream media from the beginning of the President’s run for office.  The remarks have been so ridiculous; they would almost be laughable, if they weren’t so blatantly mean-spirited.

Who among us can forget the caricature of Mrs. Obama as an angry oouzi toting Black woman on the cover of a national magazine at the beginning of the 2008 campaign?  Or, the questioning of her patriotism when she said that she had never been more proud of her country than when her husband won an early primary.  What African American, or other thinking person, could not relate to her sentiments.  After all, didn’t her Princeton roommate’s mother have her room changed when she found out that Mrs. Obama was African American?  Somehow, the question, “How do you like me now”, seems appropriate here.

As we can all recall, the negative comments did not end once President Obama took office.  First, in some kind of “arm-envy,” there were the remarks about her sleeveless dresses.  Being able to wear sleeveless dresses is, in itself, a feat worth celebrating for any Baby Boomer woman!  Of course, the taunts did not stop there.  There were the recent remarks made by the resident president of the Haters Club, let’s all say it together, Rush Limbaugh, that she was behaving “uppity” by appearing at  a race car event to support the troops with Dr. Jill Biden.  Excuse me Mr. Limbaugh, but she has earned the right to be “uppity”, she is the First Lady of the United States, and, in case you hadn’t heard, she has two, count them, two Ivy League degrees.

There were, of course, the ridiculous comments about her posterior, by a Congressional representative who also referred to her as” Mrs. YoMama”.  You have to wonder about the mindset of an elected official who would refer to the wife of the Commander –in-Chief in such a derogatory way.  Shouldn’t he be doing something constructive such as, I don’t know, legislating?  Then, there is the recent book which refers to the First Lady as some sort of, behind the scenes insecure shrew.  As a wife and mother, she is no-doubt concerned about her family’s well-being, her husband’s image, and how the recommendations made by aides would affect his presidency.  Doesn’t it strike you as a little odd that none of these pundits had much to say about former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s involvement in her husband’s White House?  She was far less qualified to make such recommendations than Mrs. Obama who, in case the Hater’s Club rank and file hadn’t heard, is a Harvard trained lawyer.

As First Lady, Mrs. Obama has led the fight against childhood obesity by encouraging us all to ‘get moving” and make wise diet and exercise choices for our children and ourselves.  Together, she and Dr. Jill Biden have fought for the rights of military families, and recently partnered with medical schools to develop programs which address the needs of veterans.

Frankly, I am sick of the politics of negativity surrounding the President and First Lady and I am determined to do my part to support the President’s re-election.   Michelle Obama is an excellent role model not only for young African American women, but women everywhere.  She is a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, well-educated, well-spoken, and chic.  So, AABoomer ladies, let’s wear pearls on Tuesday, the 17^th to show our support for our AABoomer sister, our Michelle. (Brothers encourage the ladies in your life to wear pearls, too)

Lois-Ann Clark is the Publisher of AABoomers.com, and host of “What’s Goin’ On”on blogtalkradio.