Watering Down Michelle Obama

June 18, 2008

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Watering Down Michelle Obama
Well, you can't say the National Organization for Women didn't warn you: Barack Obama might be leading a campaign for change but, judging from a story in this morning's Times, Michelle Obama will be forced to bend to established patriarchy just as would-be-first-lady Hillary Clinton did 16 years ago. The repositioning will "emphasize her modest background" and "humble roots" and send Obama on talk show The View in hopes of "softening her reputation".

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44 Comments

bellaressa 4 years 48 weeks

Lainetm, U of C Hospital also has an endowment and gets tax credits if you look above. You can also check out the website of the hospital. Most hospital take Medicaid b/c it's guaranteed money. U of C hospital may take the poor but that is not their only clientele and it may be a large part but as I said guaranteed money - they ain’t taken the uninsured no matter what they say. I use to be uninsured and even though it’-s th6e closest hospital to me th6ey shipped my poor self to th6e County Hospital.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

Darn, I got sidetracked and by the time I hit "post" the first message came up! Apologies for the duplication.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

bella, I just replied with references (links) and was flagged. From the Hospitals' 2004 annual report: "The Hospitals provided $53.4 million of charity care in 2004, up from $51 million in 2003. This figure includes the unreimbursed cost of care to those with no insurance, plus the amount by which costs exceed payments for patients covered by Medicaid, for services provided in the inpatient hospitals, the emergency rooms and the physician-directed outpatient practices. The University of Chicago Hospitals remain among the largest providers of care to the poor and uninsured in Illinois."

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

The American Association of Medical Colleges reported in 2002 that 60% of their pediatric patients are Medicaid. www.aamc.org/newsroom/reporter/apr02/teachinghospitals.htm "The University of Chicago Hospitals is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the fourteen best hospitals in the nation for its leadership in advancing health care, medical research, and technology. The Hospitals expended $50 million in free medical care in 2005 and provided 58,500 Medicaid patient days, more than any other hospital in the state." www.hydepark.org/hpkcc/univandcommunity.htm "The Hospitals provided $53.4 million of charity care in 2004, up from $51 million in 2003. This figure includes the unreimbursed cost of care to those with no insurance, plus the amount by which costs exceed payments for patients covered by Medicaid, for services provided in the inpatient hospitals, the emergency rooms and the physician-directed outpatient practices. The University of Chicago Hospitals remain among the largest providers of care to the poor and uninsured in Illinois." (from their 2004 annual report)

bellaressa 4 years 48 weeks

Just as someone who came from a background similar - actually we were poorer, I find it inspirational to hear about successes, I do not always need to hear the coming up story. I want to know how it is when I get there b/c I know what the struggle is, those women see it everyday.

bellaressa 4 years 48 weeks

Especially for a hospital which serves primarily Medicare patients. You really need to get your facts straight. U of C Hospital is a private hospital. How many hopistals that primarly service Medicare patients can afford 700 million, 10-story, 1.2 million-square-foot New Hospital. Seriously, U of C just as their college has money. They pay their fauculty, staff, and exes big bucks. The students pay for their education since it is a private school and the hospital does a lot of research. Furthermore, U of C Hospital includes more than 700 physicians and covers the full array of medical and surgical specialties. UCPG physicians are faculty members of the Pritzker School of Medicine. The medical center consists of: Bernard A. Mitchell Hospital, the primary adult inpatient care facility University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, devoted to the medical needs of children Chicago Lying-in Hospital, a maternity and women's hospital Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine, a state-of-the-art outpatient care facility Regional Doctors Offices located throughout the Chicagoland area University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, one of the nation's premier medical schools FYI: This $700 million project will be financed with $500 million from tax-exempt debt, $100 million from gifts, and $100 million from cash and investments.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

Jill, I presume you were responding to my remarks. I wouldn't say I "vilified" her. I just think her career arc raises questions. My concern is driven by suspicion of all politicians and how they use their power. In general, when I see something that seems to diverge from an established pattern or trend curve, I like to question it.

hausfrau 4 years 48 weeks

Jill, really? You don't think its fishy AT ALL that after her husband got elected to Senate and started trying to push pork projects for her company she got a 160% raise? ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY PERCENT!!! Thats crazy! I wish I would get that raise!! :)

lilkimbo 4 years 48 weeks

I don't think that last comment was directed at me, but just to clarify, what bothers me are her comments to the women in Ohio, not the raises/job positions she's received/earned.

Jillness 4 years 48 weeks

"Only b/c she is not struggling now does not mean that she can’t relate to someone that is in that situation since she actually grew up in that situation." I agree. How in the world, SERIOUSLY, can we discuss whether a raise was warranted when we do not know if her work load increased or what her job required of her??? Come on! I am sorry, but trying to vilify a woman simply because she got a raise doing a job you know NOTHING about is just wrong. It says so much.

bellaressa 4 years 48 weeks

Well a senior VP here works part time and works from home at my company. She does not travel and she works only from home. She wanted to be a stay at home mom and the comapany didn't want to lose her. She is an assest and they made pervisions for her to continue to work and to do what she needed for home. Most companies look within before they post outside of the comapany. She was on the fast track with in the college (which a lot of companies do when they see something in someone) we have that track at my company and each year there are people that the heads of the corp look at and finger as potential growth within the corporation or the 4 colleges we own.

sarah_bellum 4 years 48 weeks

Not our salaries, piper. Our taxes. ;) And maybe for some their 'hope'.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

tiff, that's my concern exactly. I would equate MO's Zanesville remarks with BO's San Francisco comments about people clinging to their guns and religion. They are clearly and vividly indicative of being thoroughly out of touch.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

If an association with someone opens doors for you that would not be opened for another person, you're "riding coattails" IMO. That was sure a big pay increase from Executive Director to Vice President. Especially for a hospital which serves primarily Medicare patients. Was anyone else considered for the position? Is that pay differential similar to other positions at the hospital? And how many Vice President positions in the country are allowed to work part time?

tiff58 4 years 48 weeks

Bella, Michelle is very accomplished, and has done a lot with her life, there is no question about that. That's a really good way to put it, lilkim. A lot of those women would have been more than happy to "struggle" to pay for riding lessons and private school.

lilkimbo 4 years 48 weeks

With the struggles, it's the way she said it. She didn't talk about getting where she is. She talked about how it's difficult for the Obamas to pay for horse riding lessons. I think it shows she's out of touch when she's talking to people who are having difficulty paying for food.

bellaressa 4 years 48 weeks

How can anyone ride someone's coattails with experience and education? If you know anything about lawyers, most lawyers who do not practice law work in several of capacity. I will never knock a woman no matter who they are for getting where they are by working hard and climbing the ladder. If she decided to spend 20k on her children she can because she is giving them something she never received when she grew up, she can relate to anyone that came from a struggling background. Only b/c she is not struggling now does not mean that she can’t relate to someone that is in that situation since she actually grew up in that situation. Michelle graduated from Whitney Young High School in 1981 (a public magnet school here in Chicago –where you have to take a test to even get in and 96% attend college and the other 4% enter into the military) and went on to major in sociology and minor in African American studies at Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude with an A.B. in 1985. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled, "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community. She obtained her J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. While at Harvard, she participated in political demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who are minorities. Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin where she first met her husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property. Subsequently, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor and Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. In 1996, Obama served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. You act like she received her status at U of C Hospital b/c of OB which in terms she worked for the school who owns the hospital. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May, 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs. She still holds the position, though is working part time in order to devote more time to being a mother. I am somewhat speechless, there are many women I know especially lawyers since I work so closely with legal here at my job who not only work here but are on several of boards, most of the lawyers do not even practice law but most companies would hire them in a second.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

To support: "Among the pork-barrel spending requests Barack Obama has made since arriving in the U.S. Senate is $1 million for the hospital where his wife worked at the time and $8 million for weapons technology made by a big defense contractor with close ties to a major fundraiser." From "The Swamp", a Baltimore Sun blog, by Mike Dorning, dated March 14, 2008.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

Follow-up. Here's a paragraph about her career. "Her "hopelessness", "frustration" and "disappointment" remain, exacerbated by guilt over her own success. That is not speculation, but a precis of her own account. One might speculate that the guilt became all the more poignant to the extent her success was unearned. Michelle Obama's employer, The University of Chicago Hospitals, paid her $121,910, a reasonable sum for the skill level evident in her thesis, but raised this to $316,952 shortly after her husband was elected US senator." That's from a blog on Belief.net called CrunchyCon, by Rod Dreher, dated March 5, 2008.

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

BTW, I was slow because I was trying to find a non-partisan source. I found an NPR link that made indirect reference to the remarks, but did not quote them. Hmmmm, sneaky journalism. tiff: Being "no different" doesn't mean she's not taking advantage of the situation. cabaker: Yes, she was promoted to Vice President when he was elected to the Senate. And he attempted (but failed) to get some porkbarrel funding for the hospital for which she worked, too.

piper23 4 years 48 weeks

That is great news! Maybe if Obama is elected all of our salaries will almost triple!

tiff58 4 years 48 weeks

Cine/Cab, I think this answers your questions: "What she doesn’t mention is that the helping industry has treated her pretty well. In 2006, the Chicago Tribune reported that Mrs. Obama’s compensation at the University of Chicago Hospital, where she is a vice president for community affairs, jumped from $121,910 in 2004, just before her husband was elected to the Senate, to $316,962 in 2005, just after he took office. And that does not count the money Mrs. Obama receives from serving on corporate boards. She would have been O.K. even without Jack’s magic beans."

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

You're too quick for me! I just found it, but was flagged for including the link. I don't think she was intentionally condescending. I think being *that* out of touch with the regular citizens is even more dangerous than that.

cine_lover 4 years 48 weeks

Cab i think i heard that too. And what was their "middle class" Salary? Does anyone know?

Cassandra57 4 years 48 weeks

Oh, Jill, I know you're not trying to stir anything up. And I'm not trying to cause any problems, I just have real concerns about a lot of people in both / all political parties. I don't have the time to do a full analysis mapping MO's career trajectory against BO's political career. However, the Ohio comments are an easier thing to manage. There's a mention on the NPR site, but it carefully does not include the actual quote. (I'm trying to find objective references.) http://www.npr.org/blogs/news/2008/04/michelle_obama_says_her_husban.html Found it! I know it's the National Review, but it's a direct quote, so I don't feel I'm being unfair. "...here in Muskingum County, where, according to the census, the median household income in 2004 was $37,192, below both the Ohio and national average. Out of that, there’s the mortgage. And child care. Health care. Education. Lessons. “I know we’re spending — I added it up for the first time — we spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we’re spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements and so on and so forth,” Mrs. Obama tells the women. “And summer programs. That’s the other huge cost. Barack is saying, ‘Whyyyyyy are we spending that?’ And I’m saying, ‘Do you know what summer camp costs?’” http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MmEyN2RkNzcwYzgyZDY2MDBiY2U5MjJlZGMwNDM2ODg=

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