Solicited or not, Cherie Blair, has some tough advice for soon-to-be first lady Michelle Obama. The wife of Tony Blair, who spent 10 years as a high-profile political wife, wrote in an open letter to Michelle:
You have to learn to take the back seat, not just in public, but in private. When your spouse is late to put the kids to bed, or for dinner, or your plans for the weekend are turned upside down again, you simply have to accept that he had something more important to do. It is something of an irony that in these days of pushing for equality, those of us married to our political leaders have to put their own ambitions on hold while their spouses are in office and keep their views to themselves.
Just like Michelle, Cherie doesn't fit naturally in the shadows. Both women are accomplished lawyers and busy mothers. Michelle, a Princeton and Harvard grad, will give up her job as the vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center, along with a $300,000 salary. Still, the influence she gains as first lady is hard to calculate.
Do you think Michelle will heed the advice of her experienced British counterpart and take the backseat to Barack? Should she?
IRO
Duccio Del Duca
Miu Miu
Michelle is going to be busy enough on her own. I doubt she'll be sitting at home twiddling her thumbs and waiting for her husband to come home for dinner.
1I don't think Michelle needed that advice. I think she'll be just fine.
2I really liked Cherie Blair
3What's the alternative, fight with him about the kid's bedtimes, go out and get a job?
4How about instead of referring to it as taking the back seat, why not a positive spin? He's the front man in public, she's in charge in private. Both jobs offer leeway for back and forth movement.
I'm willing to bet that Mrs. Obama already has figured out what her life's going to be like as First Lady.
Who writes an open letter like that? I think if Cherie Blair was trying to be a friend and give advice, she would have done it in private.
5I find Cherie's advice really condescending.
6Exactly, girlA and Jude. What kind of advice is that? I could have told Michelle that, with more tact also...not like I'm talking down to her like Cherie did.
7I agree, Bella.
8As noted in the article, Blair writes regularly for the Times of London. I'm guessing they asked her to write a "letter of advice" to Michelle Obama. Her wording is a little harsh, but I think she has a point. Obviously, Michelle's own ambitions will have to take a back seat to her husband's for at least four years. (Although, I'm willing to concede that I'm sure Michelle already knew this.) I think the Obama's situation is interesting in that they are so young (relatively speaking, of course). Michelle will be able to have an extremely successful career herself after Barack is no longer president. (I'm not saying she wouldn't be able to if they were older, just that her youth gives her even more opportunities to build her career.) I definitely see her rising having success similar to Hillary Clinton's, and possibly even beyond what Hillary has been able to achieve, if she so chooses. And, if Michelle chooses to focus on raising her family, that's fine, too. I didn't vote for Obama, but I think it's great that both of the Obamas place their daughters at the top of their list of priorities. (And, from what I can tell, it's something they actually do, not just something they say they do.)
9To me, it sort of sounded like Cherie has a lot of bitterness about her years as the Prime Minister's wife and either wanted to vent that bitterness or is projecting it onto Michelle.
I also agree with Bella about how condescending it sounds.
10I think Michelle will be fine since she thinks of herself as Mom in Chief.
11agree with siguro and bella...exactly what i was thinking while I read it!
12Im sure Michelle Obama didn't NEED that little peice of info..
Michelle is a very intelligent woman, Im sure she will be just fine.
13I'm sure Cherie was at the top of Michelle's short-list for advice about how to deal with being in the public eye.
14Its honest advice, it might sound harsh but its true.
15i have to agree that cherie is speaking from her experience which isn't always the case with all political spouses. i think that the advice that hilary was able to share may be a bit more on target vs. what cherie was saying. i think that it's all relative to the type of relationship that you have with your husband/wife. in this case, michelle is giving up a lot for obama, but that's just something that comes with the territory. she'll have other opportunities coming along and that's something that she's going to deal with. i feel like they will still have a strong marriage and michelle won't take the back seat in their private life. it just doesn't seem like the way that this couple/family is.
16It's true enough about the job, but did Cherie not have a clue about that when she got a law degree, married a guy with political ambitions and had four (later five) kids? Did she think she was going to be co-Prime Minister or simply continue with her previous career/home setup? How would she want to liberate things for the spouse?
17We're not debating whether it's true or not we're debating that her wording was kind of terrible and I'm positive that Michelle's knows that he's job is very important. She won't stress if he missed dinner because he was meeting with a foreign dignitary. Michelle knows what is about he kinda was a Senator before he was e;ected President.
18ignore my terrible grammar and typos.
19I agree with Bella.
20A bit
from Cherie, but eh. I'm beyond sure that Michelle doesn't think she's going to be
shoulder-to-shoulder with her husband at all times...
21Well that's the crappiest piece of advice I've heard in a long while.
22After reading the original article written by Blair, I see that she wasn't writing to Obama at all. The article is about the challenges Obama will face, but is quite obviously not in any way directed at Obama. I will post a link in the next comment. (Which I'm sure will be flagged.)
23http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/cherie_blair/article...
24It is entitled, "My Advice to Michelle Obama...", but it's obviously not actually to Michelle Obama.
25I think Blair's article is more about informing the public of the sacrifices that political spouses have to make (and the degree of those sacrifices). Here are the final few paragraphs:
26where's the link lilkimbo.
27I posted it immediately after my comment referring to it. I'm sure it's still be looked over by the Team Sugar geeks. (I mean geeks in a good way!)
28But a Google search for "The Times of London" and "My Advice to Michelle Obama" leads you straight to the article.
29straight
30
31LOL, sorry for my non understandable lingo. I mean I'm good, i found it.
32OH, OK. I think I probably could have figured that out if I thought about it for a second, but I am trying to do too many things at once!
33I sort of feel like there has to be much better advice than that.
I feel Bill Simmons could have written better advice for a first lady- and he is (my very favorite) sports writer.
How about- make an album of your favorite candid family photos. Have The Best Slumber Party Ever. Shine.
Ok, so maybe Cherie Blair is one of the few women who could really give her sound advice. Why waste it on "dont become a hounding fishwife when he neglects you."
I feel like all of us have sound advice to give, to either everyone or just one special someone, as in this case. If you get a voice, make it count.
34
@ wadewifey3
35LOL wadey!
36All I can say is "Duh"
I mean seriously. Can you imagine BO being late for dinner and Michelle Obama relegating him to the couch for not calling?
I don't care WHO the president is, that's just rather a silly assumption.
37I just realized whoever did the casting for The Queen is freaking awesome. The actors who played Tony Blair and Cherie looked just like them it's insane.
38I think that Michelle Obama has already known this.
39But I also think that the letter was published for her column/article or whatnot so it's not like it's a 'real' letter.
Cherie IS condescending, Bella. She's a right pain in the arse and her book in Britain drew mostly jeers and guffaws and wincing (As in "too much info, Cherie").
Like we want to know exactly where Tony's spawn were conceived...yeah, she had to include that one.
Truthfully I find her to be an attention wh*re to some extent so this comment made me laugh a bit...so typically her to say something like this.
(not a Blairite, can you tell?)
40(Disclaimer: I didn't read her book but I enjoyed reading the subsequent ripping apart of said book.)
41Oh shut up, Cherie. Honestly.
42Seriously, this wasn't an "open letter." At all. It was something she was asked to write. I'm not sure why the sugarsite is spinning it like that. Boohoo that it isn't sugar coated, it's good advice.
43Cherie has felt oppressed and undermined from even before Blair came to power, so it's more likely that her article is another chance to vent rather than actual advice to Michelle Obama.
In '94 when TB became leader of the Labour party and media attention turned to their family, Cherie seemed to be unprepared and uncooperative regarding issues such us their son's choice of school and her best friend and confidante at the time who turned out to be a topless model and very close to people convicted of property scams.
She was from the beginning on very bad terms with Alastair Campbell, Blair's press secretary/spin doctor who she felt was interfering too much when it came to private/family issues.
It says it all really when Cherie, leaving No10 for the last time shouted to the assembled press: "Goodbye. I don't think we'll miss you!"
44I still don't particularly like the dress Michelle wore on Election Night.
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