It's Thanksgiving week and along with the focus on food (and black friday shopping and football...) Thanksgiving is often connected with family. The first family is often a fascination of many Americans. The Kennedy administration was often referred to as Camelot, due to the hope and optimism paid to the Kennedys and the first family, along the lines of European royalty. Jaqueline Kennedy along affected culture and style across the country and many first ladies have had direct connections to particular policy areas (none more so that Hillary Clinton, who helped design a health care reform bill). First Lady Michelle Obama, an accomplished lawyer and former boss to her husband, has her own
official office and policy areas including the Let's Move campaign. She also has a
huge following (also see
here) and
approval rating substanitally higher than her husband. The children of presidents have also recieved a lot of attention but are often kep out of the spotlight (see Clinton, Chelsea, and Obama, Sasha and Malia).
- What role does the first family (or more specifically the first lady) play in our understand of, or connection to the president?
- What role, if any, should the first family play in a president's image and/or campaign?
Enjoy your thanksgiving everyone!
I think that the First Family plays an especially important role in terms of connection to the president, particularly in bringing a human dimension to the president. People tend to view their leaders as sort of super-human, inapproachable beings, and the First Family (to me at least) is important in de-mystifying the president and really making people feel an emotional connection to him/her (one day?). If not, I could easily envision a situation where people view him simply as a stoic figure dealing with complicated, technical issues related to governing the nation and certainly not have any feelings of kinship or affinity towards him. For sure in the current conception of the president's role as being more on the rhetorical end, this emotional connection is very important especially in the light of so much of what we've discussed about the evolution of the president's role being about connection to and representation of the populace.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I think that the First Lady's position is wonderfully suited for making a difference and promoting positive values, since she is not subject to the same degree of constant scrutiny and criticism as the president yet has tremendous potential to make herself heard accross the nation. I also think that Michelle Obama is a particularly important figure among American First Ladies, since (apart from her really impressive educational background) she seems to exude a positive proactivity and can appeal to a much wider demographic than many others historically could.
I agree with Sarah the role of the first family is to not only bring in human dimension to the president and his coveted position, but to also provide the American people with a sense of comfort. If the people see Michelle Obama shopping at Target- the nation is more likely to support her on her policies because she is relatable- just like us. therefore one will give support to her and her family since they are just like any american family just trying to live and get by.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think it is important that the first family is held to the highest regard- after all they are the representation of America and the people. The nation voted in Obama along with his family into the white house. Thus it is integral that the first family maintains a respectful iifestyle free of scandal and controversy. The people want to see their leader working hard and succeeding in his professional and personal life. If the president is incapable of keeping his family together- then how will he ever run a country with over 50 million citizens.
The first family plays a major role in connecting with the president – but not in a political sense. I feel that it is important for the president to show that he is a “family man” (and hopefully a family woman one day!) because it makes him appear less removed and more in touch with the American people. The title of “president” is very intimidating and many people, including myself sometimes, think that the president is this great man who lives in a great white house, protected and “sheltered” in a sense with no clue of what’s going on with the everyday people. But when I see the president speak of his family, the relationship he has with his wife, daughters, even mother in law, it makes him appear more approachable and relatable. I remember an interview I saw in the summer of President Obama on a talk show. He was asked if his daughters understood what he does, the decisions he has to make, etc. President Obama told a story of his oldest daughter coming home from school one day who asked him, after a class discussion, to defend a certain political decision he made that she did not agree with. This brought a smile to my face. Hearing a story like this makes me remember that the president is only a human being and even he has to answer to those closest to him for his decisions. In terms of campaigning, I feel that if a child of someone running is old enough to understand and willingly want to put themselves out there and campaign, then why not. However, no president or politician should exploit those in their families to help boost their image.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to disagree for the most part with the previous posts. I don't think that the first family plays a major role in connecting to the President. This is because, I feel that the only reason that they are in the political picture at all, is because if they weren't, America would feel uncomfortable and would constantly think- "Wow, it's weird that we never hear about them." So, on some level, it is important that they make those appearances and yes, like mentioned above, they have to act in an appropriate manner (when they do) because they're held to a very high regard...however, I believe their role is somewhat of a default role. I was thinking how I'd feel if the President was a single man, brilliant guy, but he happened to not be married- and I thought long and hard about it and I don't think I'd have a problem. I think that their role is much more a role for the media and to make America not feel weirded out about the potential hiddenness of the First Family. However, at the end of the day, I don't think that their role goes beyond that.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the First Family has a symbolic position--they are, along with the President, the face of America. Even though this may only be symbolic, I still believe this is an extremely important position that carries a lot of responsibility with it. As the face of America, I believe that the public holds the First Family to higher standard. This may seem unfair to some, but that's the truth and nature of the office. Therefore, I believe that the members of the First Family must conduct themselves in a way befitting such a role. Indeed it is the President that took on this position, but the reality is the whole family is involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with above statements that the First Family definitely does play a crucial role for American citizens to connect to the president. Americans who see Barak Obama and the rest of his family are able to relate to him because in addition his role as President of the United States of America, he is also a husband and a father. Michelle Obama’s ideas of “Lets Move” a campaign to bring together community leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses, moms and dads in a nationwide effort to tackle the challenge of childhood obesity.” Is well known and highly respected by many. American citizens gain support in their lives by this movement and are able to implement healthier ways of living for their children. Michelle Obama in this light is like any other mother, a leader and someone who reaches out to other families. However, people not in favor of her, displayed negative comments under the link to Michelle Obama’s approval ratings. One of the concerns noted was regarding the fact that her and her family are “vacationing off of tax dollars”. If we believe that the president and the first family are regular people, which they are, people shouldn’t be so critical of the Presidents entitlement to go on a vacation! The world we live in today, is a world full of media and therefore the President and his family are often front and center and expected to act diligently and presidential ALWAYS, but do we really think that throughout history no other presidents went on a vacation? Obviously there is an appropriate way of doing so and there are appropriate times but the president and his family’s role should be one that the president is a family man as well. The role of the first family should be a model for any American citizen to look up to. For the children’s sake I agree with Obama and even Clinton for having their children out of the spotlight since otherwise they would lose the ability to live normal lives. They are entitled to privacy despite their parents’ position and shouldn’t have to deal with an excess of attention from the press. The first family should be a family that people can look up to and feel they can relate to, giving us sensitivity to the president that he has a family life too and is just trying to live with the many roles of his life to the best of his abilities.
ReplyDeleteI think the first family plays an important, although not crucial, role in the way we connect to the president. Seeing the president in the context of his family makes him more relateable to Americans and can improve his overall image as a person who has family values. In a way I see the first family as being comparable to the royal family in Britain in that the country looks up to them as role models and cultural icons but they wield only a limited amount of political influence. With regard to campaigning, I can understand if a first lady (like Michelle Obama) wants to join in the campaign effort of the President but I think the children should be kept out of the spotlight and I respect the Obama's for largely having done so up until now. I think it's important to remember that at the end of the day we're (hopefully) voting for a candidate based on his policies and leadership skills, and that the first family, while important, is only one part of our overall image of the president.
ReplyDeleteLike mentioned by a few people, the First Family places a symbolic role in America. I think that the First Family symbolizes wholsoeomeness and tradition. In my opnion, seeing a president as a family man helps his wholseome and likeable image.
ReplyDeleteLike it says in the prompt, Michelle Obama has a much higher approval rating than the president himself. Michelle Obama is a style icon and role model for many women in America.
Besides Buchanan, all other presidents were either married when they came into office, married during office, or came in as widowers. With the image of the traditional family ever changing in America, it will be intresting to see how/ if the First Family changes in the future.
I agree in a sense to what most of you are saying about the First Family being a symbolic figure to show the warmth and familiarity to the country that the President has. I am not so knowledgeable about the First Family but I feel that even though it is very nice for us to see the President as family man, I don't know how necessary it is for the President to have a family or for the family to be involved in the politics of the country. In my mind it kind of reminds me of a religious leader. There wives and families have a sort of in to the synagogue or church and the leadership of those places, but not all of them do. It depends on what the family wants. So yes, it is important to show his personal life a little bit, but I don't know to what extent they must be involved. I think if they want to they have the perfect opportunity and if not that is their choice too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone's statements that the first family provides a significant symbol for the American public. It's important for people to see the president in his role as a husband and father. We often discussed in class that a lot of the job of the presidency is to provide a symbolic role- whether it be in his executive or diplomatic capabilities- and I think that his familial role is also a symbolic connection to the public. They see him take a vacation with his wife and daughters and he immediately becomes more relatable, and more like someone who is just like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the significance of the president in his familial role should be LIMITED. If we assume most people feel this way (as it seems most of the class thus far has), why does the public go up in arms over familial issues in the White House? Obviously what comes to my mind are various presidents' affairs, but even something like the news stories that circulated when the Bush daughters were found to be drinking underage. People get really upset over these things and claim that how the president acts within his own family is indicative of his job in the executive. I think that we all need to remember that this is generally a separate realm and one that doesn't affect the president's performance as leader of the American people.
I agree that the First Family is important in making the president relatable to the people and they play an important role in the president’s image and campaign. As others have already stated, the First Family allows Americans to view the president as more than his official role as leader of the country, the president is perceived as “real” and he is, above his title, a person similar to ourselves. The First Lady, specifically First Lady Michelle Obama, is significant in our connection to the president. Michelle Obama is an accomplished career woman and a style icon, and she serves as a role model for all women, especially young women, in our country. Her positive approval rating and significant following can help her husband gain more votes in the upcoming presidential election. The converse is true as well - if the First Family, specifically the First Lady, has a negative public image this will damage the way the public views the president.
ReplyDeleteRegarding President Obama, I think that his family should take a role in his upcoming election. His family is well liked and relatable, and therefore have the potential to increase support for him.
I believe the role of the first family is not to make the president appear more human and relatable, but is basically a microcosm for assessing the president’s leadership skills. Ideally, the way the first family acts should be an extension of the president. If the president runs a home that produces happy and well-adjusted children then that is a good representation of him and how he could run a country. If his kids grow up to become criminals or bums then that too is a reflection on the leader of our country, but a negative one. Of course this is not an exact science because there are many factors that can affect the development of an individual, but this is definitely something that people pick up on. A wholesome family image is definitely necessary for the president’s public image because it will unquestionably make an impression on the voters. The people want to support a successful family man because he is someone to emulate in respect to their own families. If the president can’t even maintain his on family would you really want him having power over yours?
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Elana's point that the First Family should reflect the values of the President, thereby assuring (or not) the people of the President's leadership abilities. However, I don't think the public really cares all that much about the private lives of the family members. Obviously, it is important, as is mentioned in several other posts, for the family to serve as a symbol for the people, and as representatives of the people when they appear in public. However, their personal life choices are not necessarily weighed so heavily when looking at the integrity or leadership ability of the President. For example, President Bush's daughters were known to be party girls, but this reputation didn't harm the image of President Bush.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the First Family in election season can be very effective, and might even be underrated. While private lives are often left alone, people want to identify with the family on a superficial level. Women are inspired by the first lady, whether it be her impeccable fashion sense, or her personal goals as First Lady. Others might idolize the First Children. So family members potentially have the power to rally support for the President and really make a difference in the campaign.
- Elana Honick
Agreeing with majority of the people, I believe the position of the first lady is an important position both for the President and the country. Although the office of the First Lady isn’t an elected official, carries no official duties, and receives no salary, nonetheless, the first ladies do have a high and respected position in U.S. government. The first lady organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the President. This is important in that she has to conduct herself in a certain manner and present herself in a prestigious way that will reflect well on both the President and the country. The essence of her position is to be the private ambassador of the President to the world. That is a tremendous obligation and responsibility, but one that our recent First Ladies have performed well.
ReplyDeleteIt is common for the First Lady to select and promote a specific cause that they are passionate about. People look at her raising money or performing acts of charity for those less fortunate, or encouraging good eating and exercise and become inspired by her passion. This doesn’t just make her ratings go up but it can possible raise the Presidents ratings if the first family is liked. I think some people look at Michele Obama and the first family as an inspiration and role model. At the same time, I believe that the Presidential family and specifically their children should be to some extent private. The President can not totally shield the First Family from publicity but, the press and public should respect their privacy. The President’s family is often an inspiration for the country and the Obama’s wonderful relationship with his family has surely helped the public’s opinion of him.
Michelle Obamas role in our country is important because she is the other half of the president. The two of them - Michelle and Barak, made a family together and most probably made their family decisions as a unit. She is the person that holds his hand and keeps him feeling strong. So in this sense if the first lady came off as a person who wasn't a strong leader I think the country would feel a little bit uncertain and shaky about this. But since Michelle is a strong person and is trying to do good for our country it makes people have, I think, more confidence in the president. It lets us know and see that the family as a whole is trying to help the country and they are all invested in us. Someone mentioned that if Michelle shopped at target the country would relate to her. As i recall, in the beginning of Obamas presidency people were mentioning how Michelle is just like us, shopping at JCrew. Obviously JCrew is not target but she wasn't walking around in St. John or Hermes... she was trying to relate to the people and show that the first lady doesn't need to spend a crazy amount of money like previous first ladies to look respectful. My point is that Michelle does a good job at relating to the people and trying to help our country and if she wasn't the way she was I definitely think people would look at Obama differently. Him being a family man also helps people see that he has an emotional side to him. His family obviously needs to try harder to look "just right", but if they weren't trying harder than normal people would probably be worried.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the first family in our understanding of the President is a big one. I feel like the phrase “behind every man is a strong woman” really can apply to President Obama and his wife. Mrs. Obama comes from a strong background and I believe that that only reinforces President Obama’s position as a leader. I agree with Lea when she says that it is important for the President to show that he is a “family man” because it does make him appear more in touch with the American people. When it comes to the role that the first family plays in a President's image and/or campaign, I feel that it is a major part of it. A family image helps voters to feel a connection and a sense of familiarity because everyone, everywhere comes from a family. Representation is key, and family representation plays a major part in who the President is as a person.
ReplyDeleteI think the First Family plays a role in how we view the President only if the President or his staff makes sure that’s the case. When do we really see Obama interacting with his family? Only when the White House releases pictures of a family outing or a video of Obama and his new dog, it is a strategic political move. JFK was the best at this, partially because of his good relationship with the press. He was pictured in TIME magazine (I think) playing with his son in the Oval office; he knew that pictures of him with his family will bolster his reputation for being a young charismatic family man. All in all people like seeing the President interacting with his family, and being an all-around good guy. The extent to which the President takes advantage of that is between him and his PR people.
ReplyDeleteThe First Family can be used to criticize the President as well, for example back when Obama was campaigning and Michelle said something like, she wasn’t proud to be an American ( In whatever context, honestly I don’t remember) people used that against Obama. The role of the First Lady in particular is a difficult one; they usually have a cause that they promote throughout the course of their husbands Presidency. The tricky thing is that they need to balance their cause with policy changes. The people didn’t elect the First Lady and they don’t want to see her influencing policy in a direct way, we see that illustrated the way people pushed back against Health Care championed by Hilary Clinton. Also in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign people have complained saying that the First lady wants to tell us how to eat and how to run our lives (however valid that complaint may be.)
Michelle
The appearance of the first lady and the president’s children can give us insight as to how the president is able to cope with and manage even the smallest most personal groups or businesses which are comparable to a family. I think that having a well-polished family definitely makes the president look good and also shows a tremendous accomplishment on his part. Though this is not a Bible class, thinking of the role of the president’s family and his ability to lead them reminded me of commentators’ opinions on the story of Moses. They say that the reason Moses ran after his sheep towards the burning bush was so that G-d could test Moses’ leadership skills. By seeing that he cared for sheep so deeply, it was clear he could handle the leadership task on a much larger role and lead a nation. I think that the same way of thinking can be applied to the president and his family; only once he has proven himself to be a reliable head of a family can we rely on him as the head of a nation.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think it makes sense that Michelle Obama’s ratings are higher than those of her husband because she is in the spotlight enough to like her but out of it enough to forget to blame her. I also think that her fashion sense helps keep her ratings up. There are many people who do not follow politics closely but who do read magazines. As Michelle Obama is someone who is often featured or referred to in fashion columns, I think the average uneducated American who spends a lot more time watching E News (rather than the real news) would automatically be drawn to support her.
I think that the role of the president’s family is important. It makes him more relatable and more ‘real.’ That role is significant and we should continue to pay attention to it. As for cases in which a politician’s child might be rowdy (for example Bristol Palin), in my opinion, that is equally relatable. I think it is important to look at how the politician deals with the issue and to remember that the politician’s family members are not the politician himself. It’s great if a politician has a picture perfect family but it isn’t fair to judge him solely on his family’s appearance.
I think the most important role that the first family plays is in allowing the president to relate to the average American. I think that voters like to see that the president (who singularly represents the entire country) typifies the average American living out the American dream including wife 2+ kids, a nice house and a dog. I think this is why candidates seeking to be elected often mention their children and that they are (or at least appear to be) happily married. I will therefore be extremely shocked if Newt Gingrich is chosen as the republican nominee because of his shoddy record as a faithful husband and family man.
ReplyDeleteAnother role that the first family plays is in humanizing the president. Mitt Romney who is often criticized for being “robotic” and emotionless will appear at events with his more charismatic wife, assumingly to pull in voters who are uncertain about Romney because of his lack of person-ability.
Hermain Caine started showing up at events with his wife after being plagued by sexual harassment rumors in an attempt to squash suspicion that he was ever an unfaithful husband or a sexist.
While I think that the first lady mainly serves as a symbol of support for her husband, I think that she can also help her husband’s presidency in other ways.
Betty Ford for example was a staunch supporter of women’s rights, helped found the Betty Ford Clinic (after admitting to her own addiction to alcohol) and had political and social views that were not consistent with the Republican Party. The first lady is not constricted to the party ideology that her husband is and can therefore serve as a purveyor of more moderate ideas that the president might be criticized or penalized for supporting. The first lady can also help the president with tasks that are part of his party platform, like when Hilary Clinton headed the effort to enact universal healthcare.
I think that maybe a little too much importance is put on the president’s family. I don’t think having 23 foster children makes someone a better president, but I do think it can be beneficial to a president to have a well-respected spouse who can perhaps humanize him and reach people in a way that he cannot, and work on policies that he may not have time for, or cannot risk working on because of scrutiny or party ideology.
I think that the first family plays an extremely important role in connection to the President. Even though it might not be directly related to the job of being a President, his personal life is in the media and he is judged based on his actions. As a nation we want to be proud of our President and respect him. And as an average American we look up to someone who holds the traditional ideals of having a strong family. It is not only for America either. Other nations also respect a country more if the person who is representing them holds to these high ideals. The president's image is largely based on his interactions with his family, whether we realize it or not. People are interested in seeing him as a "family man" and feel pride when they see that he is a moral person who cares for his wife and kids. If he were to have an affair or neglect his parenting duties, I think his image would be severely tarnished.
ReplyDeleteHis wife also plays a huge role in this because she is considered his "partner in crime." I think that it is clear that Michelle Obama is a very motivated intelligent women and she plays her part extremely well. This is proven by the fact that her approval ratings are higher than her own husband's. She is extremely involved and I think that the nation really respects her for that.
This is such an interesting topic that I have to admit I have never given much thought....
ReplyDeleteI believe that the first family does play a role in the presidency because of the representational aspect that the presidency entails. The first family has the responsibility to maintain the image of the President. The first family is constantly being watched and critiqued and they should act as representatives of the face of the nation no different then the president.
However, I do not believe that the family should have political weight nor should they be judged based off of their familys personal decisions. For example when former VP Dick Cheney was accosted in the media and by opponents for his daughters sexual orientation. It is not the place of the family of the president to automatically be forced to agree with and/or support the platforms and political views of their father (hopefully one day mother).
I agree with the classmates above who stated that the first family has a very symbolic role but I do not think that politically they should bear much weight; we should be voting for reasons such as positive platforms and policy reform not family dynamics.
I think the First Family plays a major role the public's connection to the President. It is the way through which we relate to the President as a person, a regular man, and don't just view him as a leader that is above and unlike us. I agree with the comparison to the Royal Family in England and feel that the first family becomes the face of the country and has the power to be influential but not in an officially political manner. I think it's a great thing to have the family of the President to look at as a model. I believe that the values that a "family man" has can't really be gained in any way other than raising a family and are in fact values that positively enhance a President's abilities to lead the country.
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