Yesterday, Michelle Obama stirred up a storm when she declared that “...for the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country. And it’s not just because Barack has done well, but because people are hungry for change.” (That last sentence of hers was an obvious non sequitur—an unsuccessful attempt at covering the self-centeredness of the first.)
Now, various critics have pointed out that Mrs. Obama must not have been keeping up on current events, historical documents or on her own charmed life during her 26-year sojourn as an adult (she’s 44). Perhaps.
However there’s one particular event that should be standing out in her mind right now and that event's resolution should make her very proud of our country. And the fact that the resolution did not stick out in her mind says a lot about her. What am I talking about? I’m talking about this country’s peaceful reaction to the contested 2000 presidential election.
Contrast that reaction to the violence resulting from Kenya’s contested 2007 presidential election.
For two obvious reasons, the comparison should have been foremost in her mind when it came to deciding whether to be proud or really proud of our country. Curious that it did not.
UPDATE: At Protein Wisdom, Darleen Click masterfully breaks down the speaking performance of the Better Half of the Obama Union--the hair, the dress, the jewelry, the body language, the rhetorical choices and flourishes. Wow!
