First Ladies forge own unique paths
Caribbean Life, NOVEMBER 1-7, 2019 47
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The chair you now sit in was once
occupied by someone else.
You are the second or fifth or fortyfourth
to hold the job but get ready:
in this position, everything you do is
critiqued and measured against your
predecessors and there is no playbook.
Also know that, like in the new
book “Melania & Michelle” by Tammy
R. Vigil, you have some pretty big
pumps to fill.
As in the aftermath of nearly every
Presidential election in American
history, in January 2017, comparisons
were made between the outgoing
First Lady and the incoming
one. Fair or unfair, such study happens
with every new administration
and while everyone knew that Mrs.
Obama and Mrs. Trump were different,
there were many similarities –
more so, says Vigil, “than their public
personas seemed to indicate.”
Both, for example, “were raised
in less comfortable environments
than their forerunners,” politically
and economically. Both women had
aspirations beyond politics: Obama,
like predecessors Hillary Clinton
and Laura Bush, received a college
degree; like Nancy Reagan and Betty
Ford, Trump worked in “image-oriented
industries” and eschewed college.
Despite that Obama and Trump
had each enjoyed some amount of
fame prior to their husbands’ runs
for office, both had to learn to manage
their new and very unfamiliar
positions.
Of course, both were harshly critiqued
for their time as First Ladies,
by the public and by the media.
Their marriages were scrutinized
and their roles as mothers were
closely watched. Gaffes were magnified;
platforms were ridiculed. Even
their choice of fashion was cause for
negativity and yet, both were seen
as role models for young women and
girls both in dress and in the poise
they’ve displayed.
As for the next FLOTUS – if there
is one – she will likely have the same
struggles, scrutiny, and expectations
to meet, as has each First Lady for
more than 200 years. This, for a
position for which she’ll be required
to forge her “own unique path” in a
job she didn’t necessarily ask for, and
doesn’t get paid.
Apples or oranges? When it comes
to First Ladies, it almost seems
wrong to compare them since they’re
all so very unique. Even so, author
Tammy R. Vigil does it in “Melania
& Michelle,” and the side-by-side is
pleasantly surprising.
Indeed, Vigil’s book is one of the
more balanced on this topic, examining
the work of both Obama and
Trump with a non-sensational, nonpartisan
voice that remains honest
and doesn’t hide anything, and a
willingness to retrieve lessons from
past administrations as examples. In
detail, Vigil also shows why a thick
skin is necessary for the spouse in
the White House; and then she flips
the script, showing how, if a FLOTUS
ever decides to opt out and stay
home, she’d have history behind her.
No doubt, “Melania & Michelle”
is perfect for anyone interested in
politics but it will also appeal to
the reader who wants a behind-thescenes
of a job that only a select few
will ever hold.
Check it out. It’ll keep you in your
chair.
“Melania & Michelle: First
Ladies in a New Era” by Tammy
R. Vigil
c.2019, Red Lightning Books
$26.00 / higher in Canada
199 pages
Book cover of “Melania & Michelle: First Ladies in a New Era” by Tammy R.
Vigil.
Tammy R. Vigil. Katherine Taylor
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