Deanna Grunenberg

I. The extraordinary Mrs. Obama...

Saturday May 17 2008

Independent.ie

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/the-extraordinary-mrs-obama-1378626.html

II. This article is about the fact the Barack Obama’s wife is very involved in his presidency. She “opens” his speeches with sayings like, “Are you ready?” Many people seem to like her a lot. They scream things to her such as, “You go, girl!” This article explains Mrs. Obama’s life instead of Barack Obama’s life. She always felt that she was in the wrong place while at Princeton University. She talks about her husband’s weird quirks which is very controversial. Some people find it disrespectful. This article states that without Mrs. Obama, Barack Obama would not make it to the next round of the primaries.

III. A. An AP World theme that relates to this article is development and transformation of social structures. This relates because this article has to do with gender roles, and racial and ethnic constructions. This article describes the role of the first lady, and what she should and should not do. They also talk about how she is black, and how she felt about it during her college years.

B. The historical background of this issue is that there has never been a black president in US history. There has always been a first lady, and they either play a political role such as Hillary Clinton, or they play a “sweet” role such as Laura Bush.

C. The point of view of this article is an Irish male.

D. This author is talking about a racial issue. He mentions the fact that Mrs. Obama is black several times. It is unnecessary to mention that so many times. He makes it seem that it is very important that she is black. He mentions that a black woman cries and cheers for Mrs. Obama instead of just saying a woman. They call her the “warm-up act for her husband.” This may be taken as an insult because it insinuates that that is all she does.

E. It would be helpful to hear from a past first lady. They might understand how it works, and may have some input about this issue. They may think that what Mrs. Obama is doing is good, or a bad way to compete.

F. I think that what Mrs. Obama is doing is a negative way to lead her husband into the general election. People do not want to know about their president’s bad habits or bad breath. They simply want to know how he will be as a president, and what he will do for the country.