the Bitch in the house

The proletariat love affair with the Obama’s is beginning to crack. Joy and adoration could not last forever. The eloquence and dignity that inspired the nation during the election process is a tough sell from a president who has asked for lots of sacrifices from everyone but the corporate elite. Those $10 donations that ratcheted up the election seem to have bought us all that much hope and it is long gone in the economic meltdown whose effects are being felt all over the country despite the great news reports.

Those frustrated feelings are being expressed by those most disenfranchised in the whole electoral process. A “death to Michelle Obama and her two stupid kids” sign holder was detained by the Secret Service a few weeks ago and has been identified as an angry white working class male. Then upon the hearing that M.Obama would be vacationing at a prominent African-American locale on Martha’s Vineyard this summer, a longtime African-American resident told a New York Times reporter that our first lady was just a “ghetto girl” thereby announcing her unwelcomed status into the money’d set who regularly lodge there.

These are but a few of the challenges facing the first family. How M.Obama weathers the gathering storms is surely going to be the key to her success. The baring arms and leggy commentary that swirls about the fashionista first lady seem to underly the those challenges and her determiniation to address what is important. While the most recent former first ladies chose to engage in linen and silk suits to uphold some sense of place in the power dynamics of the beltway, M.Obama has chosen to stick with what works for her. She has not adapted her motherly wardrobe for a White House Soft Power suit like those who came before her. It is the idea that she is “just like us” that works well for M.Obama and her demeanor as well as dress adhere to that proletarian sensibility.

Unfortunately, the date nights out to New York City, the pre-vacation to the Grand Canyon before the official vacation to Martha’s Vineyard in conjunction with the true falling economic stability of the real “just like us” folks is uncomfortable. While most of the country is taking M.Obama’s advice on planting vegetables and saving some pennies, they are also forced to enjoy “staycations” rather than vacations. They are shopping for generic toilet paper instead of at The Gap. In truth, the Obama’s have missed the mark on what effects real people. And the policies that help corporations rather than those real folks throw a dark cloud over the “just like us” mentality. While the Obama children have had the privilege to travel the world this summer, the rest of our children have not been so fortunate. While the anger expressed at M.Obama and her girls is disgusting and ill-placed violence, it is a real swell of pain that possessed that idiot to make the sign, carry it to the rally, and boldly share it with the world.

The trash talking that is bubbling up from the people is genuine frustration being expressed. I’m not sure if there is anything different M.Obama can do, but I’m pretty sure that the Congressional and White House movers and shakers of this country better start taking note. M.Obama is somewhat detached from the lines of power and therefore easier to target. I think it is a misguided aim that shoots in her direction, but if the sources of pain for real people are not directly addressed, M.Obama will continue to feel the jarring frustrations of all the people who believed in her husband and are losing their grip on that little piece of Hope he spoke of not so long ago.