It’s President Obama’s 20th wedding anniversary today as he takes the stage for the first debate. My question to you is if that matters in the least as we face wars abroad, economic problems at home, mounting debt, and an environment headed for disaster?
Now, I’ve been one who voted for Obama the last time around and even admitted on Twitter that I have voted Democratic in every Presidential election since I turned 18 in 1982 but this year I am at a loss. I’m disappointed in the hope and promise of the Obama administration and the reality of a foreign policy that seems pretty darned close to what came before (doubling down in Afghanistan). The problems in Washington seem even more intractable than 4 years ago while the country, and the world, are falling apart at the seams.
But I will say that as someone who has spent my fair share of time navel gazing over the meaning of goodness in the context of manhood, having a President who clearly adores his wife and two daughters is refreshing after Monica Lewinsky and any number of celebrity melt-downs. So that does matter in my book. Not as much as the lives lost in futile wars and jobs lost in a sputtering economy. But it does matter that the leader of the free world set an example for personal ethics as well as public policy.
What do you think?
###
photo: AP
About Tom Matlack
Giving him a chance to beat up a rich white guy on national TV is a pretty good present.
Obama seems like a good husband and father and character matters, but I just want a competent manager. I don’t care if he’s like me, if he can relate to me, if he can feel my pain, etc. Just be an effective manager. In that regard, Obama’s marriage doesn’t matter to me. Besides, by that metric, the candidates are evenly matched.
I agree that it does matter, but I doubly agree that it doesn’t matter nearly as much as a President’s policy achievements. It seems odd to me that people get really riled up about the personal lives of politicians while remaining apathetic about the details of their policies. I can see why it matters, but there’s almost never a situation in which it matters enough to warrant the amount of attention it receives relative to the economy or foreign policy or any of the President’s other official concerns.
I guess we pay so much attention to the private lives of our presidents’ personal lives because their performance there is much simpler to judge than their job performance is. Presidents make thousands of complex decisions over the course of their terms, and it can be hard for the average person to judge whether they chose wisely in many cases. On the other hand, presidents’ personal lives are much more relatable. We might not be sure whether or not it was a good idea for Bill Clinton to bomb Kosovo, but we can be pretty sure that it was a bad idea for him to sleep with Monica Lewinsky.
I’m inclined to discount the importance of a President’s family life relative to his policies and politicking. After all, George W. Bush appeared to have a wonderful family, but he made an absolute mess of the country. If I had to choose, I’d say that a president who is scrupulous in his personal life but makes a hash of his official duties is a far worse role model for goodness and manhood than a president who does his job well while letting his duties as a husband or father slide. It would be nice to have a President who could handle both, though, and I suspect that Obama about as close to that ideal as we’re likely to get.
When I watch his body language with his family, it really makes me smile inside… it seems that he really wants to do the best for not just his family, but also for other families who may have not been so privileged or blessed with good fortune…
Tough job and battles all the way…
@GoodMenProject I have been asking this very question from everyone, why these public office holders have to have their children on the stage, dance with their wives in front of the public? Just to let them know that they are one of us, they want to relate to general public? That’s low I personally think Public office holders or runners for public office should be judged purely on their abilities to run the country. We as citizens should choose our Presidents, Prime Ministers just on their abilities. We elect these posts so they run the country not to relate to them.
These are gimmicks and if they have to pull these to get majority behind them, I am afraid they have failed to provide what they should have done. They have failed to provide shelter, jobs and better life style for majority who elected them.
My point is they are running for public office and the only thing we should be swayed with is their ability, skills as leaders and not how they dance or how many children they have. That’s their personal matter and should be kept personal.
I’m not really interested in Obama’s personal life. I’m interested in his political positions and for my tastes he has been far too conservative.
Sure, it makes him seem more accessible. My only question is why he agreed to having the debate on their anniversary. That would not have flown in my wife’s book. Could it have been orchestrated to allow for the sweet opening shout-out to Michelle?