When I grow up...

I want to be Michelle Obama.
Watching the introduction to her speech last night, I got a little annoyed. After all, she's not the Obama running for President, but they were hyping her up like she was. And I hate our political culture for making it so that Mrs. Obama has to give that speech to humanize herself and her husband, to connect to voters. Since she isn't the one running for office, her story really ought not to be that relevant. The home life of a candidate should only be relevant insofar as it reveals hypocrisy (e.g. the employment of undocumented workers by an anti-immigration candidate) or possible conflicts of interest. The rest of what matters should be the candidate's position on issues and his/her experience. Of course, in our 24/7 news cycle and with an electorate that makes decisions based on who they'd rather have a beer with, all kinds of things that would be irrelevant in an ideal world become supremely important.

Having said all that, I think Michelle Obama is fabulous. She held herself up as a picture of the American dream come true last night, but I'm not sure she really got how true that seems to lots of young women. Reading Jezebel last night, a lot of commenters expressed a great deal of admiration for Mrs. Obama. She really seems like a woman who has it all. She's beautiful, intelligent, poised, well-spoken. She went to great colleges and got a fantastic job at a law firm which she then left to do work that mattered to her. She's married to an amazing man who seems to really adore her, and she has two adorable daughters. She had a successful career of her own before stepping down to devote herself to her husband's campaign.
Now, I obviously don't know the Obamas, and no marriage is perfect, but they really seem like they respect, admire, like and love each other. You can see it in the way they look at each other, and it's in the cute story of their courtship.
A marriage of two equal partners, a meaningful job, a happy family life. That's what so many women struggle to find, to balance, and Mrs. Obama seems to have it. I remember when I was younger, feeling disappointed by the number of my heroes who seemed to not be able to find that balance. Granted, it was harder in a different time, but to read inspiring stories of women who changed the world but seemingly had to sacrifice being wives and mothers to do it was depressing. And I certainly acknowledge that not all women want to be wives of mothers, but it's nice to see these examples of women who manage to do it all.