From NYMag, “The Obamas’ Law Professor Thinks Michelle Should’ve Been President“:
This election cycle, Michelle Obama proved she could give a speech as well as — and maybe even better than — her husband. But according to her law professor, Michelle’s skills rivaled Barack’s in other areas, too. TMZ caught up with Charles Ogletree Jr., a constitutional law professor at Harvard who taught both the Obamas when they attended the university. And according to him, Michelle was the better student — and would’ve been the better president…
So … Michelle 2020? Not quite. “She could easily be president, but I don’t think she will,” Ogletree said. Judging by the number of times the Obamas have said exactly the same thing, that’s a pretty safe bet.
Video at the link. That’s the thing about becoming President — you have to want it, above all else, and it would seem that’s not how Michelle Obama rolls. Who could blame her?
In that vein, former MObama staffer Sara Hurwitz had a piece in Politico:
The most valuable lesson I learned about speechwriting from my former boss, first lady Michelle Obama, is this: Say something true.
The first, most foundational question any speaker should ask is not, “What will make me sound smart, or witty, or powerful?” or “What does the audience want to hear?”
It is: “What is the deepest, most important truth I can tell at this particular moment?” From her frank comments on race and gender over the years, to her remarks on the campaign trail last fall, every speech Michelle Obama gave was her answer to that question—and audiences appreciated it. Amid the bland, calculated language that has become the dialect of modern politics (“We need to support hardworking middle-class American family values!”), genuine words stand out and have a special kind of power to move and inspire…
Members of Donald Trump’s party saw that he lied with impunity, lashed out at the smallest provocation and took pleasure in demeaning and humiliating others. They acknowledged that certain statements he made were racist and misogynistic. And they clearly suspected that he was dangerously unfit for the presidency. Yet rather than voicing what they felt in their gut to be true about him, they chose to verbalize it away, helping legitimize his candidacy for the most powerful job on Earth.
Perhaps they thought he could not win. Perhaps they thought he could not do that much damage if he did. Both of these assumptions have now been proven wrong. Yet, many of these individuals still seem to be talking themselves out of telling the truth about who Trump is and how he behaves…
Late-Night ‘The Road Not Taken’ Open ThreadPost + Comments (59)