Recently on the website overheadinny.com, I came across a funny conversation that went something like this:
man #1: Are you still gonna watch Tiger Woods play golf after this sex scandal?
man #2: Of course! He’s a golfer, not a politician.
It made me chuckle a bit, and then wonder: why is it that the personal lives of politicians concern the general public so much? Countless government officials have lost their jobs and credibility when some sordid details of their personal lives are exposed to the public, even though, nine times out of ten, their offense has nothing to do with the respectability of their work. Meanwhile, entertainment celebrities and athletes keep their jobs, end up with giant amounts of publicity, and stage highly anticipated comebacks post scandal. In many cases, their ‘scandal’ is the best thing that’s ever happened to their careers.
Currently, the latest political figure under fire is Michelle Obama. According to the …
… Daily News, Mrs. Obama’s popularity ratings have plummeted in recent weeks. Lower, they say, than Laura Bush’s rock bottom rating during her husband’s presidency. They are attributing this drop in popularity to … drum roll … the expensive vacation she recently took to Spain with her daughter Sasha.
The First Lady is now being slammed with the title of “modern day Marie Antoinette,” all because she is “taking expensive vacations” while the rest of the country is “pinching pennies.”
Oh, please. [Ed. Note: My thoughts? If you can? Do. No matter who you are.]
Honestly, I could not give less of a shit about whether or not the Obama’s take pricey vacations. Celebrities such as Angelina and Brad Pitt have multiplemulti-million dollar residences around the world and spend extensive amounts of money on travel. No one seems to criticize that. And before you say, “Oh but they also donate so much to charity,” and “Oh they have adopted children from third world countries,” take a look at Michelle Obama’s credentials: she is an advocate for poverty awareness and women’s rights. She heads initiatives that tackle childhood obesity and also works to support the consumption of sustainable and organic foods. She uses her ‘celebrity’ as first lady to garner support of President Obama’s bills and initiatives. She has been so involved in Washington politics to the point that she has been criticized by some for being “too involved.”
So who are we to say that she shouldn’t spend money on travel? Why should we care how much she spent, or what hotel she stayed at? Unless she’s illegally taking money from government funds, then how is her vacation at all relevant to what the public thinks of her? Yes, the United States is not doing well economically right now, but do we really have to criticize the Michelle Obama for going to Europe with her daughter? Please. Just because we can see a hotel and travel expenditures are sometimes expensive doesn’t mean that she’s being extravagant — she might have saved money for this certain trip. She might have gotten a discount. Who knows. Who cares?
I respect Michelle Obama and think she is an intellectual, powerful, and beautiful role model — and woman. And in my opinion, the fact that she is working hard to promote social change and can take time off to vacation with her children is just more reason to love her.
Get over yourselves.