What's Wrong With American Society That Forces Michelle Obama to Tone Down?

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

First lady Michelle Obama could be making history. She could take giant steps to give women and women of color more power in society and in the workplace. Instead, she self-selected the title of Mom-in-Chief and told Time Magazine, she stays out of public policy. From ABC News:

Mrs. Obama says like any spouse, she talks with the President about his work, but she does not try influence policy.

"I don't want to have a say. Really, there are a lot of times when I'm like, don't tell me what happened today at work. I just don't want to hear it, because I want the home space to really be free of that," she said.

This attitude of hers is sad, very sad. I know it's constructed by the Obama public relations types—who want to tone down this brilliant, eminently qualified career woman. This new quote in particular reminds me of an all-time clunker from Barbara Bush who told the media when her husband was president she just, "went her own dumb way" and stayed out of politics.

What is it with these women? Or more importantly, what is with American society that it cannot accept a working spouse first lady? Is that so threatening it causes immediate public fear and dislike? If the answer is yes, and I fear it is, it reconfirms my belief during the last election attitudes toward race moved markedly forward, but gender-bias was allowed to remain politically correct.

Become a political insider: Subscribe to U.S. News Weekly, our new digital magazine.

Check out our political cartoons.

On Facebook? You can keep up with Thomas Jefferson Street blog postings through Facebook's Networked Blogs.