Current Article

The Shoe and Missed Chances

By Pat Racimora on January 4, 2010 at 4:00 PM in Current Affairs

Behold this particular shoe. A simple little thing—basically a low back-walled sole with a “nude” plastic strap so it can’t fall off your feet. So, why does it symbolize an easily preventable and major failure of the Obama presidency?

I personally didn’t expect much from an Obama presidency simply because he did not have any business running in the first place. As a “Resume Democrat” (translation: What has a candidate done and how well has he/she done it?), I had to sadly admit that in the end it was the voters who ignored the signs that things would not go smoothly.

But I did think that the Obamas could easily brighten our nation’s mood and solidify our commitment to our basic values if they wanted to. They knew of the struggles that so many of our countrymen are facing—they talked about it all the time, the excesses of lobbyists and big government, the need to hope for change, the caring they had for the people and the “lost soul” of America. Then they told us we would even have to sacrifice more so that all could have a fair share of the pie.

See Obama recently saying exactly that in this recent short clip:

But government has gotten even bigger, the corporate lobbyists appear to be stronger than ever, and the Obamas have soaked themselves in conspicuous and extravagant excess. When it comes to sharing the pain, they are not among us.

So, back to the shoe—which is but one example of so many. It is a Maison Martin Margiela leather open toe flat. It retails for $630 a pair, but you can get them on sale for $316. See Michele strolling in Hawaii (in a house that rents for $4,000 a night) wearing them.

Imagine how different we might feel had the Obamas practiced what they had all-along preached. Getting a rescue dog instead of a fancy purebred, serving simple foods at parties instead of Waygu beef at $100 a pound (and you don’t want to know how cruelly Waygu beef producing cows are raised), dressing somewhat more like the rest of us do, and so on. They could have done it, and with creative flare that would have ignited our national spirit. They could have been admirable role models for coping with the problems that a new presidency inherited instead of a pair of king and queen wannabes.

I hate to admit it, but the Obamas make George W. Bush, who vacationed back to his own ranch to cut brush, look good!

(h/t to “anonymous” for the story information.)

somebody

Excellent point Pat!

Man Michelle sure does like expensive shoes, remember the sneakers??
sarainitaly

the true crime is how fugly those are. she should be arrested by the fashion police! those are UGLEEEEEEEEEE shoes.

(hi all, i am baaack!)
somebody

So were the expensive sneakers, expensive does not automatically equal tasteful!
sowsear

Go here to see picture of the real crimes…
http://www.michellesmirror.com/
Tuppence 411

Not only are they ugly, but those shoes give her “claw toes”
Peggy Sue

I agree, AGI! Ugly, ugly, ugly. And $630 a pair. Michelle needs to go to Payless. They have cheap, ugly shoes.

But the Queen needs the make sure everyone knows she’s wearing the best [for those in the know, that is]. I’d suggest wearing the price tag as an ankle bracelet for the rest of us.

I want the First Lady to look her best. But there is a point when the pony show becomes distasteful, particularly when a lot of people are hurting.

Yes, there are a number of things the Obamas could do to instill faith throughout the country that they truly understand the harsh reality alot of folks are dealing with right now.

So far, I haven’t seen it. Doesn’t look likely either. Michelle is no Eleanor Roosevelt. But then, Obama is no FDR.
sowsear

the last pic in the red dress, blue sweater, wide belt, and red boots?/shoes?/socks?
sowsear

Speaking of parties (and security)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6033VS20100104

Third individual gets into Indian State Dinner. And you’re worried about the airports….
timmy

You can moved the gal out of the ‘hood but you can make a lady out of the gal. The story of MicHelle Obama….
timmy

You can move the gal out of the ‘hood but you can make a lady out of the gal. The story of MicHelle Obama…
Obamasucks

Forget the shoes, Michelle is ugly.
Will

This really is ridiculous. If someone had written an identical column replacing Michelle Obama’s name with Hillary Clinton’s, you would be calling it sexist. Going after the woman over her shoes? Puh-leeze, Pat.
thromnewton

She needs a couple of sizes larger….those are some bigass flappers on that woman.
Animal Control

Those shoes might look good on petite feet buuuuuuuuuuuutttt…
Animal Control

It’s what they represent, out of touch with the rest of America, idiot!
She did say she couldn’t by earrings with the 600 dollar government gi giveback in 2008 so she bought some shoes.
Oh boy how the Obama’s relate to the little people that put them in power.
sowsear

No shoes are worth 600 dollars.
Tricia

Will–You have missed my point entirely. See the word “symbolize” and then go from there. We are all hurting. My best friends have lost their home. Our local food bank is almost empty and there are lines.

My point is about role modeling, not shoes, and the Obama’s missed such a great opportunity to unit us in our struggles.
Pat Racimora

Will–You have missed my point entirely. See the word “symbolize” and then go from there. We are all hurting. My best friends have lost their home. Our local food bank is almost empty and there are lines.

My primary point is about role modeling, not shoes, and the Obama’s missed such a great opportunity to unit us in our struggles
Anonymous

I might wear the shoes with a pant suit, LOL, but the dress would not even hang in my home as a curtain!!! It just shows more of the same, high fashion at a HIGH price for the taxpayers! I am disgusted by everything they do and say at the expense of the American people and at this point, I don’t think the American people are even on their radar. They laugh at us, mock us and even throw it in our face everyday how little they care. I clip coupons to pay for my kids to go to college, I limit the use of my heat even when it snows so I can buy my children Amazon gift cards for their birthdays for college books, I buy my clothes from thrift shops so my children can have whatever needs they have bc their college books each semester are more than $600, even Sarah Palin admitted to wearing consignment clothes, that is an American value I can stand behind seriously, and then the very people who claim who KNOW US, SHARE OUR VIEWS wear $600 shoes are the most pitiful, selfish people on the planet! I feel sorry for them bc they know nothing about American values and family first, its all about greed and getting as much as you can while you can. Basically, they are stealing our future and NO ONE is doing a damn thing to stop them!! May God Bless our children for this is their future to repair, DEBT, DEBT and more DEBT! My children pay their own bills, work two jobs each and only ask of us what they need and always pay us back. Whatever happen to the generation of kids learning to live on a budget? This lifestyle in the Whitehouse is only teaching a new generation to buy now and pay later, and that is why we are so angry, broke and disgusted! My youngest daughter is 18 yrs. old and the only thing she ask for at Christmas was rotors and brake pads! That is how we should be raising our children, not buying their love with Xbox or cars! Teach them when they are young to work and you will have great responsible children, but when they are given everything like ManChild N Chief, they will expect everything for NOTHING!! I am just DISGUSTED and can’t wait for the day I no longer turn on the TV and see his face telling more lies!! >:o
annie

I was pissed today when I read what she said to the reporters we should plan a coup so they could stay on vacation wow 13 days wasn’t enough and I would think that living in the White House is just as good. What a bloody ingrate people have lost jobs loosing their homes and starving and she makes a statement like that. All they wanted was to get to the WH they could care less about the people they must lie in bed at night and laugh at the people that voted for them. What happened to him going line by line to make sure that there was no more pork in the bills what a joke they both are.
Animal Control

Did I say they were worth the money? Spend a little time reading.
sowsear

Hey, I’m agreeing with you. Don’t get your butt in an uproar. I do read pretty well.
IndieDogg

Uh…. you couldn’t write an identical column about Hillary Clinton….

Even Wal-Mart sells pantsuits.

You’ve made the very point the post is making. But, I’m not sure you understand it.
Animal Control

He said that because Muslims do not eat pork.
Jackie

You ALL need to watch Glen Beck this week. He has made some excellent points wether or not you agree with him. He does make good arguements and does use facts.
Animal Control

Well then, you don’t write very well because it reads like criticism. Let’s not start with the ad hominems.
stodghie

how can this woman michelle and her team of people with the worst taste i have ever seen come up with so many awful gitups. geez how tacky they look on her. she is a thin carla bruni in her mind but the reality isn’t that at all.
Obamasucks

It’s not the clothes. Michelle’s just ugly. Why beat around the bush? Hillary Clinton is ugly, too. Sarah Palin is beautiful. Sarah could walk around in sweats (like she did in Hawaii) and she’s still beautiful.
Guest

instead of Waygu beef at $100 a pound (and you don’t want to know how cruelly Waygu beef producing cows are raised),

_________________________________________________________________
That’s new to me. Legend has it being raised like princesses in a country club they’re so pampered, raised so properly and humanely, with the best possible care and feeding. You’re talking about American breeders, and Wagyu are for the most part US raised, not allowing grazing or exercise after 12 mos (or so) to promote soft, tender muscles as cruel ?

If happy cows produce better meat, we aren’t even in the same universe as conventional commodity cattle.
Mitch Dworkin

The corporate lobbyists do appear to be stronger than ever:

http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/17784#comment-354011

Joe Johns and David Gergen gave this alarming health care report

Submitted by Mitch Dworkin on December 20, 2009 – 11:14am.

I am VERY concerned about Obama’s health care legislation!
Anonymous

Not only that, Will. Michelle O makes herself out to be Jackie O, but unattractive $630-shoe-moments like this only makes her look foolish — and insensitive to what other Americans are going through. Sacrifice should begin with the first couple.
I’m a Linda too

Amazing Pat. You may hate to say it, but it’s still the truth. And that is shocking that we are saying that.

These Obama’s are shallow empty selfish ignorant losers. It all is just about them.

They have lied about everything including their intentions. Their hypocrisies extend to everything, as you pointed out, from policy to personal choices. Dogs, imported beef, to full of crap preaching on wasted energy and mocking people for saying it was cold in DC (“they should expereince Chcago winters”) and we find out these folks are cranking the heat in the WH up to 72. Every part of them is full of crap.

And while I’m on it, I’m so happy to see MEchelle has the chance to jump back in her old style with bright and ORANGE colored clothes, having to shed them at least 3 to 4 makeovers ago that the media has not reported on.
Tricia

They are fed well. of course. But their lives are confined well before 12 months. The “old way” you describe is rare now.

http://www.luciesfarm.com/artman/publish/article_39.shtml
clairtx

I would comment on the excesses of the Obama’s, but I really think the more they display their vulgarity, the sooner we will be rid of them. Only those who think they can get away with whatever they want to do, will have a rude awakening come time to vote. No matter their color, everyone wants to be proud of who they are, and the Obamas are slowly making their own race ashamed of them.
Who I really blame for this mess are the people who should have known better. If it were only possible they should be the only ones to suffer because of their stupidity, but the innocent have to pay as well.
I am well out of politics these days after having my heart cut out over the way Hillary was treated. It’s a terrible thing to lose respect for so many.
Solara 9

I hate to admit it, but the Obamas make George W. Bush, who vacationed back to his own ranch to cut brush, look good!

LOL–good one! I actually agree.
Anonymous

Obama did nothing less than bribe the msm with this paid 13-day vacation. I understand he took more than a dozen reporters with him. Why does he need so many if he’s on vacation? Most likely so that they can continue giving him good press for the upcoming State of the Union address, health care, cap and trade, etc.

http://www.thepostemail.com/2009/12/11/obamas-holiday-bribes/

“According to Haim, the entire corps of White House correspondents, domestic and international has been invited (with a guest of their choice), to follow the Obamas under the sun
at the American taxpayer expense.”
Will

Will–You have missed my point entirely.

Not at all. And if Michelle Obama dressed in more inexpensive clothing, you’d have commenters and posts at NQ talking about how cheap she looked. In last year’s election campaign, NQ published a post placing an unflattering picture of Michelle Obama next to Cindy McCain in all of her multi-thousand dollar finery. The title? “This is what a REAL First Lady looks like”, praising Cindy McCain’s style. The post was eventually retracted and an apology was offered, but the attitude here stands.

Just look at the comments in your own post, Pat! How many people here IMMEDIATELY took your queue and began attacking Michelle for her LOOKS!

“the true crime is how fugly those are. she should be arrested by the fashion police! those are UGLEEEEEEEEEE shoes.”

and

“Not only are they ugly, but those shoes give her “claw toes”"

and

“I agree, AGI! Ugly, ugly, ugly.”

and a sprinkle of racism

“You can move the gal out of the ‘hood but you can make a lady out of the gal. ”

and

“Forget the shoes, Michelle is ugly.”

and this winner

“It’s not the clothes. Michelle’s just ugly. Why beat around the bush? Hillary Clinton is ugly, too. Sarah Palin is beautiful. Sarah could walk around in sweats (like she did in Hawaii) and she’s still beautiful.”

No, but please go on pretending that this piece had ANYTHING AT ALL to do with criticizing the Obamas “symbolic” behavior regarding our devastated economy.
Animal Control

”…and we find out these folks are cranking the heat in the WH up to 72.”
Good point!

While a few blocks away, homeless people are sleeping on the steam grates from heat emanating from the Agriculture Department boilers.

Obama’s America–NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER
Senneth

Pat,
Thanks for your cartoon. The symbolism says it all. However, I don’t understand how anyone could have held out any hope that this couple would actually do the right thing once they achieved their goal. He lied, cheated, defrauded members of his own Party to seal the deal. He demanded that his acceptance speech in Denver should be huge, ditto his “victory” celebration. Then the oversized inauguration, all at our expense…and the list continues. Neither one has shown any regard for We, the People. How anyone could have actually voted for this individual still escapes me. And how anyone could have expectations that he’d change once he actually managed to move into the WH is also beyond me. They only care about themselves. That’s it. And everything they do underlines that fact.
KR

BO said we all have to have skin in the game. Apparently he wasn’t including himself and his family. That’s the problem.
We don’t need an elitist authoritarian for a leader.
Animal Control

You really are STUPID! Because you have a comprehension issue and missed the issue she wrote of. You can change the subject to your pleasure but it doesn’t make you right.

Furthermore, Pat has no control of the commenter’s.
At least No Quarter still respects the First Amendment.
Guest

I understand the situation in Japan due primarily to exorbinant land and grain prices. But most Wagyu ranches are run in the American West where they don’t have to be on feed all of their lives because grazing land is easily available in East Texas and California. Call it “American Wagyu” or “American Kobe” instead of “Kobe beef,” Japanese production houses have been contracting out to other ranches to raise the cattle for them for years.
Animal Control

Administrator,

It appears that when replying to a comment it does not register (look like) one is responding to a particular comment. Making it difficult to follow.
It does work sometimes but not constantly.
Thanks
Breeze

And ALL recent Presidents spent Christmas Day in DC or Camp David, so that
the SS people could celebrate with their families in the area.

They then left the next day for wherever.

NOT THIS PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL & MATE, they couldn’t get out fast enough!

————————————————————————————————–

BTW, it is a well-known fact that the thermostat in the Oval Office is 80 deg.
in winter, not 72. TheOne was raised in Hawaii, don’t you know, and he
really needs it warm in there….
I’m a Linda too

Oh, there’s some change, but not for the better.
Portia Elizabeth

Pat — thanks for this post with its symbolic reminder of the excesses of BO and family. I thought it was really ironic when I saw those designer shoes because they reminded me of a story Cher once told about being so poor that in high school she once wore rubber bands around her shoes to keep the soles in place. Those expensive shoes look like they’re just soles held in place with rubber bands.

I guess it takes alot of money to look that cheap.
Portia Elizabeth

Will– my Granny used to say, “Ugly is as ugly does.”
In that sense Michelle Obama is about as ugly as they come.
don x

The Obanas could buy their clothes at Ross for Less and their produce at Family Dollar or the 99 cents store like so many ordinary citizens do. They could showcase frugality if they really felt in tune with the average American who is struggling to make ends meet. Rather than vacationing in Hawaii, they could have rented a place in Palm Springs for 200 a night. He could have played golf and the girls gone swimming or played in the park. They could have had a nice vacation and saved the taqxpayers tons of money. And the public would have LOVED them. Now they are just seen as big reckless spenders and Michele as playing “Queen for a Day.” They just don’t get it or don’t care about the images they are projecting. Perhaps they feel it’s going to be a one-term presidency, so why not just have a ball with the public’s money?
AnnieCarmel

Well, well, well. This posted (Facebook?) by Marianne Williamson the oh so enlightened Democrat and contemporary of Deepak, et. al. The light finally peeks through the cracks in their heads.
And I give you, ahem, Marianne:
“It’s hard to own the disappointment I feel over our moderate corporate Democratic President. The whole Obama phenomenon brings up memories from my distant past: the good-looking guy who talks real good, whose line you don’t buy immediately but whose charm is so dazzling that he gradually convinces you that this time it will be different.
Yeah. Right. Really different.
What the current administration is giving us is minimal change. And not because the President hasn’t had the time to do better; if he had truly wanted to make fundamental change, he would have gone in there fast and done his own version of shock and awe in the first hundred days. And not because he didn’t realize how mean all those Republicans can be, either; Obama knew what he was getting into, and if he didn’t, then he was as unprepared for the job as his opponents said he was. I see so many people now — many of them men, interestingly enough — tangled up in an almost school-girlish, co-dependent, apologetic relationship with this President. As though “poor baby” should be tacked onto the end of every description of his failures.

<img style=”border-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-type: none;” src=”http://sz0010.ev.mail.comcast.net/service/home/%7E/?auth=co&id=122220&part=2.9″ border=”0″/>
AnnieCarmel

and the rest of the post:
I see all things political in light of the immense unnecessary suffering in the world. Republicans see it and say, “Wow, it’s sad about all that suffering, but the government has no proper role in assuaging it. Hopefully the private sector will do something. That would be nice.” The Democrats — not all of them but enough of them, and definitely this President — see all that suffering and say, “Wow, it’s sad about all that pain people are going through. Let’s try to assuage it.”
And yet they’re refusing to do anything to challenge the underlying forces that make all that suffering inevitable.
I remember Bobby and I remember Martin. I remember when there was a moral force at the center of the Democratic Party. I see it sometimes still, in a Sherrod Brown, a Dennis Kucinich, an Anthony Weiner. But they’re not reflective of the general tenor of the Democratic Party anymore, and I think we would all do well to wake up to that fact. We elected Obama and then he sort of became someone else. He’s doing a lot of good things in various areas, but he’s certainly not changing the new bottom line: that corporations get to run the world.
He bailed out the banks, but he didn’t stipulate that they had to start lending again. He got us health care, but he wouldn’t say a word about single payer and he wouldn’t raise a finger for the public option. He won the Nobel Peace Prize, but accepted it with a speech that was an apologia for war.
Democrats seem to have no idea what dark wave is rushing towards them in the form of the 2010 mid-terms. They have no idea how many people will be too depressed to go vote, who’ll be thinking, “We tried so hard last time, and what did it get us?” They have no idea how many people are thinking, as I am, that it’s time to face the facts, no matter how painful they are. If Obama doesn’t retrieve his spine and retrieve it soon, then his Presidency will go down in the history books as one of the biggest disappointments in American history.
In the meantime, we should be looking at our options. In “Healing the Soul of America”, I wrote about Ghandi’s notion of soul force in politics and why it matters to stand on your truth. Should we re-brand the Green Party perhaps, or draft another Democrat to challenge Obama in the primaries in 2012? I don’t know what we should do, but I know one thing that we shouldn’t do: pretend to ourselves that this man is delivering on what he promised when he first won our hearts.”
AnnieCarmel

I have to agree with all of her complaints about “President My A$$” but she presumes that the soul of America is sick or broken. Nothing that getting rid of political correctness wouldn’t fix, Marianne.

Yeah, yeah, Marianne. Rebrand the Green Party…whatever and by all means, do stop pretending. Next time try voting with your head, not your heart…save that for your personal relationships. If you thought he was offering you a “personal” relationship the joke’s on you.
Anonymous

I agree with you that Obama promised to be a different kind of president, a president of the people who knew all about the struggles of the poor and middle-class and he turned out to be anything but. The truth is he never was what he said he was or what people wanted him to be. Any more than volunteering at a soup kitchen a couple of times a year or volunteering at a homeless shelter a few times a year means you know what the people are going through. Obama and Michelle are ivy league school-trained lawyers, not people who own a small business. They helped their friend legally steal money from the government and the poor. They probably thought making $250,000 to $500,000 a year means they were just your average people.

So although it would have been nice if they set a new standard in government by setting examples for us all by adopting a dog from the pound and buying products and goods to support the American worker, they instead followed the old slogan when in “Rome do as the Romans do.” In other words act as if the world is your oyster and money is no object. Nancy Pelosi is the one who influences Obama, and she says spend, spend, spend. Nothing is too good for her or the president.

In the banking corporate world it is no different for those in charge even when bankrupting a company still get to spend, spend, spend, and receive bonuses for doing so.

Rich
Rich

Even if the shoes were wonderful the story of how wrong it is and the missed opportunities is still the same

Rich
jiminycricket

The first day when he entertained and had that $100 a pound beef on the table, I knew where all of this was going. I remember commenting on it in the Wesley Clark Yahoo group of which I was a member at the time. You are so entirely accurate in pointing out what a statement they could have made to the country and to the rest of the world about leadership in a time of crisis and pain. Lip service for the purpose of political expediency, selfishness and classlessness are the reality. I agree. I was never a George W. Bush fan, but this is so unseemly. At least the man had a heart and didn’t flaunt his wealth and power and his wife had a sense of morality and decency….something sorely lacking this time around. These people are so “in your face”. In the end, it will be as we suspected in the nasty campaign he ran…..cold, mocking, and all about him/them. He’s gonna lose a lot of support in 2010…let’s hope it lasts until 2012 and that he doesn’t rally support for his next run. I don’t think the country could take much more of this. I know that I can’t.
Peggy Sue

Will, since you decided to take my triple set of uglies as an example, I was talking about the damn shoes. Open your eyes: they’re ugly and ridiculously overpriced.

Michelle Obama is strutting the high-end fashion beat. Is she the first? Hell no! But the country is in an economic tailspin, the second Great Depression [unless you're buying the BS on the "Great Recovery"]. That was the point of Pat’s article, not your hysterical spin on the piece.

And frankly, any Obama supporter who pulls out the “sexist” charge is guilty of gross hypocrisy. Or did you have your fingers in your ears when Hillary Clinton was routinely savaged by Obama’s people? Even by the damn press. And then, Sarah Palin got a taste of the same garbage. Again and again and again. And when women complained? We were called whiny bitches, poor losers, deadenders.

Are some of the responses here mean-spirited? Frankly, yes. But you know what? You get back what you put out. Call it karma coming to bite bite you in the ass.

And if you’re so offended? Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Osellingbullshit

After what George W. Bush did to our country, I never thought that any moron would ever make Bush looked good. But Obama is just doing exactly that everday.. Unbelievable… What a jackass.
ColbertURDead2Me

Exactly!
Obama’s wife is definitely Imeldic!!!!
Nauseating!
Pat Racimora

Yes, Will, I know. That’s where some commenters wanted to go with it. But my point is that my post is not about fashion. Not at all. It’s about something else far more important.

You can’t compare other Predsidents or First Ladies because they did not run on a platform of hope and MAJOR changes that would bring us all together. And many presidents did not come in when the nation was in such dire trouble on ALL fronts.

It was an opportunity to be truly wonderful and empathic–and it was squandered.
Animal Control

Nice one!
Will

You can’t compare other Predsidents or First Ladies because they did not run on a platform of hope and MAJOR changes that would bring us all together

I have never in my not-short lifetime NOT seen a presidential candidate run on “a platform of hope and major changes that would bring us all together.” Never. This is what presidential candidates do.

Did Bill Clinton run on a platform of pessimism and incremental, barely noticeable change? Did Jimmy Carter? Did Ronald Reagan? Did George W. Bush? Of course not. No one gets elected without inspiring people to join a large movement of, literally, hope and major change.

Pat, I appreciate your civil response to my admittedly harsh criticism of your piece. You’re a lot nicer than the people who read you.
felizarte

Totally agree with you Senneth. Commenting on anything the Obamas personally do, or the policies team Obama put out seems a futile exercise now. I confine myself mostly to reading the NQ posts and the comments AND pray for Divine Intervention.
Breeze

One more thing:

All this talk about being JFK and Jackie reincarnated……

JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY NEVER TOOK A PENNY OF HIS SALARY!!!
Docelder

$600 and they look like they could have just as easily come from WalMart. Sam Walton was billionaire and drove an old pickup to work. Stuff doesn’t make you what you are, unless you are nothing without your stuff.
Breeze

I feel the same.

Nobody can say that either George or Laura spent money like water during all
those eight years, either. Theirs or the taxpayers. Laura was always very
much dressed like became her status, with way less personal help than the
current Flotus (24).

In all my long life I have never seen anything so disgusting – demeaning the
Office of the President or the White House itself. Did you see the Mao or-
nament in one of the WH Christmas trees?
Deelee

As the old addage goes: “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig”. I guess that was a waste of $600.

But i agree with the gist of your article Pat. This is the woman that had another presidential fleet aircraft flown over to France (while he was at the G8 conference) so that she could take a side trip over to London for a “Fish-n-Chip” dinner.
WestVirginia304

You must remember, do
A shoe is just a shoe
A thigh is just a thigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by

This is just for fun. It’s a Wonderful World.
TorchWood

Peggy Sue, Hon (we say that in Philly a lot) you forgot something in that comment to Will:

SNAP!!!! Take that, Biatch!!

There. That’s better. You tell it, Grrrl!
stodghie

jiminy, i liked wesley clark very much. he was smart to get out of the way of the obama bus. or maybe under it is better than riding on it. he has his self respect intact. he isn’t going to lose support. he has already lost it.

thanks
bobo

The fundamental PR problem with the Obamas is their very loud statements of wealth and priviledge. Michelle has been living her Sex and the City fashion fantasy ever since her husband started running for president. The Obamas flaunt their wealth rather than masking it and they have no idea how it is damaging their reputations on a symbolic level during a disastrous economic time period for our country.

That being said, I don’t think Michelle is the first FLOTUS with this problem. However, she currently lives in the White House during an unprecedented time when millions of Americans are unemployed, living on the edge, and losing their homes.

I’m fairly sure that some of Hillary’s outfits, purses, and shoes are expensive but at least they aren’t noticeable for their designer labels. Michelle knowingly wears expensive designers to land herself in the fashion magazines and whoever her PR person is has decided this is more important than trying to downplay her look in order for her to relate more to the average American woman. I personally think Michelle’s fashion sense is awful but it’s obvious that her clothes and shoes are expensive designers mixed in with a few high end J.Crew pieces.

There are ways to dress high end without it screaming expensive designer. If I were Michelle I would avoid wearing high end designers. There are ways for her to get things custom made that wouldn’t be as noticeable expensive to the public. I don’t expect Michelle to wear clothes from KMart and Target but in this economy she shouldn’t vacation in million dollar rentals or parade around in flashy outfits and designer ball gowns. It’s just a PR disaster and it’s no surprise that her popularity number have also been in decline.
beachnan

Pat, I agree with the premise of your story. The Obama’s are living it up on our dime and they could care less. The lavish dinners, the trips, the number of people it takes to keep Michelle looking good, are a slap in our face. Another great example of their hubris, is that they had to clear out an entire theater, so that his family could watch a movie while they were in Hawaii. Don’t you think that as the President, he could have gotten a copy of the movie and had a private showing at his fancy $4,000 dollar a night rental? I think they thought it would be more impressive to have an entire theater cleared for their enjoyment. Sick.
socalannie

they’re revolting. I like nice clothes as much as the next woman, but I don’t get Mechelda’s taste at all.
j.b.

I can’t stand ManChelle, but I think those shoes are CUTE!
Uppity Woman

Imelda Marcos appears to be Michelle’s model. Imelda believed that the poor and downtrodden loved to live their lives vicariously through her excess. She believed they actually enjoyed watching her live royally while they starved. Shoes were very important to Imelda as well, if you recall. Imelda and Ferdinand are living in the White House even as we speak.
mursky

One must wonder why her best buddy Oprah doesn’t step up & give Michelle a little fashion advice.
Anonymous

if she dressed in inexpensive clothing and looked good then we would compliment her. Instead she wears expensive clothing and still looks bad. The problem is that contrary to image of Michelle as a fashion icon that the MSN has been trying in vain to shove our throats, the reality is that this woman has no sense of style and yes she hits some of the time but she misses way more than she hits, yet she and her handlers embrace the notion that she is some fashion leader. That is precisely why she must be called on these disastrous outfits, we would not want our daughters thinking that they should aspire towards looking so tacky and dowdy and downright unfashionable - regardless of the cost.
BBF

“They knew of the struggles that so many of our countrymen are facing”

AND THEY DON’T CARE!!!!!!
Solara 9

Maybe Hillary is not as pretty as Sarah, but she is attractive and wears sensible clothes at more sensible prices and she wears them again and again. I saw her oft-worn yellow suit at Macy’s for $210.
Pat Racimora

I have to totally agree with you Senneth. I knew Obama was not qualified to lead us and even had many startling negatives in his history. In additon there was so much we did not know (state senate records “disappeared” and so on and on).

But I confess to holding out a little hope at first that at least he would be empathic and behave in that way. I was wrong, of course. Very wrong.
Pat Racimora

I reported this tier problem–we will be trying to fix it soon along with a few other technological issues. In the meantime, it may be best to use the name of the person your are responding to and maybe even a clip from (or some reference to) their comment. Thanks for the heads up, Animal Control.
Tricia

OMG PE–I now remember that also. Ha! You are right, A giant rubber band.
Animal Control

Let them eat suzzy q’s.
Animal Control

You gotta be kidding, right?
HC123

I really dont love blaming the wife, its her husband who is the problem, but she reminds me of Marie Antoinette.

She shops at her little fake farmers market in DC, blocking traffic and costing 50k a trip. All so she can take out her $500 a pair shoes and tell us little people how to eat organic arugula, and brag how the farmers market takes food stamps (for $19 packages of organic bison). Shes completely out of touch.

I am no great FDR fan, but the Roosevelts observed some austerity during the depression. Not so for these Obamas. I wonder if Americans will ever wake up and notice.
abbie

Similarly, when the mortgage crisis hit Obama lectured Americans to save first for houses they could truly afford yet he got involved in a shady deal with Rezko to buy a house he could not afford. Another example of do as I say, not as I do.
Tricia

Right! Good one abbie!
Portia Elizabeth

Annie– thank you sooo much for posting that message from Marianne W. She’s someone with influence who can make a real difference. Now if only more of the Kool-aid drinkers will wake up and speak out, we just may save our nation yet.
Portia Elizabeth

And the ornament of Mt. Rushmore with BO added to the mountain?
Yuck!!
FrenchNail

Taste? What taste?
Chicago Joe

Will,
Consider this. In all of recent history, the POTUS and his family spent Christmas in DC or at Camp David, or possibly at their family homes (without a $4000/night overhead). Obama, the carpetbagger, claims to hail from Chicago. But all he did in Chi-town was gerrymander his district to get more of the wealthy into it, cherry pick all those bleeding heart liberals, and buy a house with the support of felon Tony Rezko. So he could have toned it down a bit and come to Chicago. (But he is not of Chicago, he only used this city and the state for his personal gain.)

Most of us, myself included, don’t see any possibility of ever realizing my dream of a trip to Hawaii any time in the near future. I work, so my kids can’t get any grants for college, and my two mortgages loom large. My spouse lost a company and our income has dropped precipitously. My shoes are from Payless or Famous Footwear.

Just because you “can” spend the money doesn’t mean you should. Michelle Obama’s insecurity and inflated sense of importance require her ego to demand that she dress as some kind of fashion plate. (And I mean the “some kind” quite literally.)
Tasteful and elegant she’s not. Her clothes scream for her to be the center of attention, a posture unbefitting of a first lady.

My point is that while we are all suffering, these two are living the high life. Barry and Marie Antoinette Obama “deserve” all of these fabulous things, in their own minds. IF they had any class, they would be ratcheting down what they do as a matter of respect. We are in a huge recession, we are at war, we are facing massive unemployment, and people are losing homes and businesses, so a more appropriate demeanor would be appreciated by the American people. But they are all about themselves, not us.

As a final word, I detested George Bush, and made fun of his brush clearing endeavors as lame. But I never felt a smidgen of hate or even dislike toward Laura Bush. I thought she was lovely, and frankly, couldn’t understand how she married him. But her demeanor toward the country was always appropriate and reflected the mood of the country at the time. Elegant, classy, and polite—even toward the nasty Obamas after Bush left office.

Michelle should take a lesson or two from Laura Bush. She has a ton to learn about how those in power should behave.
AnnieCarmel

Ditto, Osellingbullshit. And here’s the reminder that many more feel the same way…GWB…looking better all the time. Especially in light of stopping the Islamofaschists from more homeland attacks.
candymarl

This is beyond strange. Jimmy Carter had his faults but at least when he asked us to sacrifice he turned down the thermostat in the WH and wore a sweater. He was ridiculed at the time. Rosalyn Carter dressed simply as well. You can’t ask us to sacrifice then live high and spend taxpayer money like water.
Thanks Pat for pointing out this simple truth.
Obama has to go

Are you upset that you got ripped off for a set of Obama knee pads and a six pack of race cards? Or are you just mad because everyone is not dumb enough to join a cult and be a drone?

And yes, micHELLe Obama is ugly. And if you don’t like it – tough.
SeriouslySickOfObama

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it..Its the REAL MEchelle, LOL!
beachnan

As an older woman myself, I think Hillary is beautiful. Let’s stick with the attacks on character and not on looks.
beachnan

Deelee-where did you hear that one? I would like to add that one to list of why no one should be supporting the dynamic duo of Barry and Michelle.
Lee

I am a regular here. I read and post sometimes. I can’t stand Obama, but honestly, I was reading these posts and thought exactly what Will thought. It’s true. Sorry, have to be honest. And I’m not stupid and neither is Will. We see what we see.

I dont like Michele and think her and her husband are crooks from the beginning. But let’s not put down her looks. It’s sexism and I’m fed up since the primaries over this subject. Hillary and Sarah have been insulted way too many times. Let’s not do it to Michele…not over her looks.
Lee

Good grief, what has happened to this site. sowsear did not mean to criticize. Why get so upset and insulting, animal control. Sheesh. This is one terrible blog section. On to the next
conner

It is vulgar and gauche in the extreme to flaunt wealth in front of the poor people who elected you. If he was just a wealthy lawyer somewhere, it would still be classless, but it wouldn’t matter.
The bigger problem is that it signifies the utter deafness these two have to the problems of the country.
As FL Michelle has failed to find a program with which to identify herself, such as literacy, drugs etc. Telling people to eat vegetables is not exactly brilliant. any fool already knows that, so either they can’t currently afford organic produce or they don’t like it, duh…
Since she has no program or issue, why does she need so much staff? And since the “droolers” still think she breathes rareified air, why doesn’t she get a bunch of volunteers from her fan club and save the taxpayers some money ? They both coasted for so long on cronyism and race, they have now reached the fulfillment of the Peter Principal..
conner

ps. oops, Peter Principle….
Obama has to go

“I am a regular here. ”

Thanks for clearing that up. Now we know you have the authority to tell everyone what to think and say. Now you are acting like Obama and the libs.

“And I’m not stupid and neither is Will.”

You are not very convincing.

“Let’s not do it to Michele…not over her looks.”

I never heard you complain when the lamestream media fawned all over micHELLe’s looks. I suppose that is fine when they try to make her into something she is not just like they did with Obama.
Anonymous

“I never heard you complain when the lamestream media fawned all over micHELLe’s looks. I suppose that is fine when they try to make her into something she is not just like they did with Obama.”

How would you know if I complained or not? I can’t stand the Obamas, but talking about her looks in a negative manner is hurtful to women. What comes out of her mouth and heart is what I am concerned with..not how she dresses.

I am an original PUMA. And what they did to Hillary still breaks my heart. But sexism is sexism. And that goes for Michele too. Or any of us. Women are more than their looks and the clothes they wear.

“You are not very convincing.”

Not trying to convince you. Just stating what I see happening here in this thread. Take it or leave it.
Modern Woman

OMG!!!!!

Michelle wears shoes??????!!!!!!

Expensive ones to boot??????!!!!

Where’s the guillotine!!!!!

She should be wearing $0.99 flip flops and serving Top Raman to whitehouse guests!!!!!

Gawd, you folks are pathetic!

Talk about bitter clingers!

Instead of clinging to guns and religion though you’re just sore losers still clinging to your rage that Hillary lost.

Get a life clingers.
bobo

I absolutely agree HC123. Michelle is a Stepford wife and Barack likes it that way. Obama and his handlers don’t want Michelle doing or saying anything that will rock the boat like Hillary did as FLOTUS. Because she does nothig of importance, the only thing to focus on is Michelle’s designer wardrobe. She acts like a girl on a 4-year shopping spree. She’s the first African-American FLOTUS and instead of focusing on issues of importance like domestic violence, unemployment, and AIDS in the African-American community, she focuses on gardening, playing dress up, and buying food that most Americans can’t afford to buy. It’s such huge missed opportunity for the Obamas and for the country.
Tricia

Read the article itself, Modern Woman. It’s not about shoes. Most of my friends who were in the can for Obama have serious regrets now. They believed those words…and they sadly realize that is all they were.