Monday, March 16, 2009

Am I the only one who saw this odd commentary?

I must be mis-reading this because I think it says Michelle Obama lacks ambition and has stayed away from intellectual heavy-lifting:
http://nymag.com/news/politics/55366/

Anyone out there see it differently? Maybe it's some kind of personality typology and I'm missing it?

1 comment:

Lisa R. Pruitt said...

Thanks for calling this to our attention. I guess the most benign spin on it is that Michelle Obama is different to her husband (with his "wilder dreams")--not quite as hard charging, not quite as willing to sacrifice family for career, etc. Of course, the latter is typical of women--for a variety of reasons.

I agree with you, though, that it seems odd to characterize someone who went to Princeton and HLS as "stay[ing] away from too much intellectual heavy lifting"--even if she got "decent grades" (whatever that means?) It also seems odd to call her position at the U of Chicago "practical" or "modestly salaried." It is these things only in comparison to being a partner at a top national law firm or the solicitor general or attorney general or an entrepreneur or some such. I am sure her rightfully proud "middle class" family --like more than 99% of Americans-- would not use such descriptors for her career and accomplishments.