...an endless array of interviews from the fawning advocacy media.
You will have a difficult time avoiding former First Lady Michelle Obama this week. The book tour for what Amazon has called an “intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir” by Mrs. Obama portends to be an endless array of interviews from the fawning advocacy media. If you are not a Michelle fan, this might be a good week to go on that Dominican retreat you’ve been putting off because shutting out the world is about the only way you will be able to avoid life according to Michelle.
In case you didn’t know, Mrs. Obama’s is “a life filled with meaning and accomplishment,” according to a synopsis. This is because she “has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era.” Leftist sycophants are lining up to inform us that the former first lady “helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history.” Amazing the things we learn when we listen to our betters.
History of First Lady Scribes
A quick review will demonstrate that Democratic first ladies have oh so much more to tell us than their Republican counterparts. Eleanor Roosevelt penned no fewer than four autobiographies, beating out Hillary Rodham Clinton, who (currently) has only three to her name. Rosalynn Carter riveted us with First Lady From Plains, plus another called Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life.
From the GOP Nancy Reagan gets the award for “Most Bitter in Prose” with My Turn, and perhaps for good reason, but alas the Dems have left her in the dust when it comes to a surfeit of autobiographical publications. Is there anyone out there who believes this will be the last word from Mrs. Obama?
Don’t bet on it.
Becoming is Michelle’s first foray at elaborating her fascinating life and times in print. This one is hyped as “warm, wise, and revelatory,” a “deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance ....” Unsurprisingly reviewers and Michelle fans are already gushing. One woman on Goodreads asked:
“Hi where can I order a million copies of this so I can try to use them all to fill the soulless void in my heart that has existed since 20 Jan 2017??”
Unsurprisingly Mrs. Obama chose to highlight empowerment over politics in her memoir, which is divided into three parts: “Becoming Me,” “Becoming Us,” and “Becoming More.” Jennifer Szalai wrote a shockingly balanced review for The New York Times, picking out a contradictory portion in the first part of the book:
“Early in ‘Becoming,’ she [Obama] recalls how, as a 10-year-old, she earned the respect of a mean girl named DeeDee by throwing a punch at her. Four decades later, campaigning for Hillary Clinton, Obama made an impassioned case for civility — ‘When they go low, we go high’ — that she explains as part of a lifelong belief in speaking out ‘against bullies while also not stooping to their level.’ Obama never squares the two episodes, making the decision to include DeeDee all the more intriguing or puzzling, depending on your perspective….”
Therein lies what many conservatives see as the essence of Mrs. Obama: inconsistent and paradoxical with a dash of the ever-present leftist know-it-all attitude. While no one can fault her for wanting American children to eat a more healthful diet, it was the way she went about it that was always the problem. Why bother to teach your children to make good food decisions when you can simply pare down their choices: mystery tofu or dried green beans?
Ultimately Mrs. Obama leans heavily into the progressive crowd that adores her: remove liberty, control everyone and everything, and for good measure how about a punch in the nose.
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Michelle fans can get Becoming in Kindle, audiobook, and hardcover versions.
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