» Ronniesia reed
–rreed24@my.apsu.edu
When it comes to the 2012 election, there are many factors that affect people’s decision on who they will vote for.
Christy Walker | Designer
An important attribute of the president we decide to elect is the spouse standing beside him or her. The first lady does have an impact on every American’s life.
The first lady is supposed to be a trendsetter and role model. More importantly, she ensures that women are still heard in government decisions and policies.
The women of America want a first lady who is genuine, respectable and relatable. They want her to have been through the same struggles they have, someone who can speak on those struggles, and help eliminate some of those struggles.
Recently, Michelle Obama and Ann Romney, the wives of the presidential candidates, gave speeches in their husband’s national conventions.
Both started their speeches laying out how they met their husbands and then discussed pleasant details about their relationships and families.
In Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention, she stressed the importanace of being a good mother.
“You see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still mom-in-chief,” she said. “My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.”
While helping to promote women’s rights, she also applauded her husband’s efforts and policies.
“He’s thinking about the pride that comes from a hard day’s work. That’s why he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women get equal pay for equal work.”
Michelle Obama also focused on economic issues in her Democratic National Convention speech.
“Barack knows what it means when a family struggles, He knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids,” she says.”
The president’s work on health care, college loans and more all come from that experience … These issues aren’t political for him, they’re personal.”
In Ann Romney’s speech at the Republican National Convention, she pointed out the struggles her and her husband went through.
“We got married and moved into a basement apartment. We walked to class together, shared the housekeeping, ate a lot of pasta and tuna fish.
Our desk was a door propped up on saw horses, our dining room table was a fold down ironing board in the kitchen,” Romney said in her speech at the RNC.
All of this implies that they had hard times, which are pretty common in today’s society. However, after saying all of this, during an interview with NBC News she says, “Mitt and I do recognize that we have not had a financial struggle in our lives.”
A first lady is an important and influential public figure that should be genuine and respectable, not someone who paints a false picture of something as simple as her past in order to sway voters’ perceptions.
If Ann Romney can mislead us about her and her husband’s past, what else can she mislead us into thinking will happen with our future?
First lady Michelle Obama has created a great image for herself as being passionate and genuine. She is a trendy woman who is widely respected, a leader and, most importantly, a good mother.
If you feel that women’s rights, health, equality and other social issues are important factors in your voting decision, first lady Michelle Obama is right there with you.
Michelle Obama supports equality, birth control access for women, healthy lifestyles and same sex marriage.
“This is something that, you know, we’ve talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do … In the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people,” President Obama told ABC Today when speaking about their support of same sex marriage and equality.
When Ann Romney was asked about same sex marriage during an interview with KWQ6 News she turned down the questions describing the topics as, “hot-button issues that distract from what the real voting issue is going to be … the economy and jobs.”
The economy and jobs are important factors in the upcoming elections.
Even though these issues are not the most crucial, every American wants to be treated equally and with dignity. Every American wants to know they are being treated fairly — economically and socially.
This means that everyone is given a fair shot, is free to love who they want to and can do whatever they choose with their own bodies.
Our first lady needs to be someone who takes all of our needs into consideration and answers all of our questions to make sure all Americans, man or woman, feel secure in all aspects, when we vote this November.
