Why the GOP Declared Open Season on Michelle
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson – Former Arkansas Governor and almost certain 2012 presidential contender Mike Huckabee recently told reporters that attacks from Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and an armada of others in the GOP on Michelle Obama were silly, foolish, and counter-productive. Huckabee’s push-back at the Michelle bashers was as noble as it was futile. The GOP has declared open season on the First Lady for the simple reason that she’s not just any First Lady. The oft made comparison is made with the GOP’s ruthless and relentless attacks on Hillary Clinton. But then there’s the puzzle. Hillary was a major Democratic force inside the White House, as a Senator, and for a time as a front-running Democratic presidential candidate. She was, in short, a potent political threat. Michelle seemingly is not.
But she is because this is not just any political year. 2011 is the dress rehearsal political year for 2012. And what’s at stake is the White House. The attacks on Michelle are planned, well-timed, and calculated to sow even more doubt and discord about President Obama’s policies and, by extension, him. Slamming Michelle is a key part of the dirty pool equation. The safe and sensible things Michelle talks about on child nutrition, obesity, aid to military families, and of course, breast feeding if it came from any other First Lady and at any other time might get brief mention in the soft features section of a newspaper. She’d be cheered as a First Lady who uses her name and position to encourage Americans on health matters and as a staunch advocate for the welfare of military families. But those safe and sensible goals have been twisted, reviled, and made the butt of cheap, tawdry, vile quips, comments, and racist cartoons from the professional Obama loathers. That’s expected, and routine. But the game changer, with the exception of Huckabee’s criticism of the critics, has been the GOP mainstream and its deafening silence to the attacks.
Making Michelle the target of attack is not new. The GOP sniffed that Michelle would be an especially inviting surrogate to hammer Obama from the earliest days of the 2008 presidential campaign. The out of context remark in which she allegedly questioned her faith in America set off bells and whistles that Michelle, just might, be the punching bag for candidate Obama. The Obama campaign sensed the danger and tactfully made sure that Michelle’s would play the low keyed, support for her husband’s candidacy that presidential candidate’s wives traditionally play.
Read the rest of the story at The Huffington Post.
