Michelle Obama: Should she work or take care of the kids?

[Taz Tagore]

I just wrote a piece after a gut-wrenching realization that I want Michelle Obama to focus on being a great mother rather than trying to be a great First Lady by leading policy change or making her stamp on the White House. Thoughts? Do you agree? Or disagree?

I'd love to hear other thoughts on this...
Taz Tagore
http://www.intent.com/blog/2009/01/19/inaugural-mama-how-michelle-o...
www.laboroflove.typepad.com

[K]

The only thing that bothers me is that the situation was reversed and a woman was the president no one would put the same expectancies on the guy. I agree with the person who wrote she still has to be first lady and today I think it is completely possible for a woman to be both a great mother and first lady.

[Zicea Becks]

I look at this the same way i look at any other woman. if SHE wants to stay home, then fine. if she wants to get out and do something, then that's fine too.


i'm assuming she's a great mom, but she doesn't strike me as the type to wait on her kids hand and foot, and smile and be the pretty wife.

whatever she does, is fine with me. not my household.

[cleo]

I definitely agree with the first response by Aderet. Being a First lady is also a job; an important job. If Sarah Palin can go back to work a couple days after giving birth, then certainly the First Lady can handle being a mother and a good First Lady. Besides, just because a woman exclusively stays at home with her kids doesn't mean she will be a responsib;e parent...

[The Peveteaux-Goldmans]

I think the larger issues are 1) motherhood is not valued in our country, and 2) when someone in a partnership wants/needs to be a superstar, the other partner has to sacrifice. There was a great article about this on Salon - http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/11/12/michelle_obama/index.html

What strikes me about both of these things is the notion that motherhood is still a less important job and not as hard as being in the workplace - which is total crap. Regarding part 2 - historically men have been the ones to go out in the world and get the accolades while women stay home making sure his kids and his personal needs are taken care of so he is free to work long hours, travel and do whatever it takes to succeed. Women are left holding the bag, no credit given to their role and people saying they're "sitting around and eating bon-bons." Or if they dare to go into the world they're abandoning their children.

Until there is a seismic shift in attitudes about the work required to take care of children and the home (and more men take on that role, thus starting the conversation) we'll continue to have mommy wars and negative attitudes towards women who are damned if they do (stay home or go to work) and damned if they don't.

Anyway, it will be exciting to see what Michelle Obama does in the next four years as First Lady and as Malia and Sasha's mom.

[The Griscom Volkman Family]

After getting settled in, I am sure that Michelle she will want to provide her daughters with an example of a woman engaged in the glorious battle to make the world a better place, as Barack put it in his open letter his daughters.