Here's the good news: Every campaign seems to have somebody cast in a
supporting role who proceeds to steal the show. Not through glitz and
glamour, but the lack of same. In the spotlight's glow, it's not easy to
hold on to that equivocal thing called the self. When you see it done, it
brings the whole show back to earth.
I'm talking, of course, about Michelle Obama, another proof that American
men, even the most ballyhooed of presidential candidates like Barack Obama,
tend to marry above themselves. Sen. Obama clearly did. Consider:
When her hot-shot husband became an Illinois state senator and started
spending much of his time in Springfield, Mrs. Obama told him off: "I never
thought I'd have to raise a family alone."
She sounded like any other wife, mother and real person who has to hold down
a responsible job, look after the kids, and educate the male of the species,
too. Mrs. Obama told her husband last fall that it was "now or never" for
his presidential hopes because she wasn't about to put their two little
girls, 6 and 9, "through this again."
Asked what her platform as potential First Lady would be, Mrs. Obama told
the questioner: "To make sure my kids have their heads on straight." First
things first. None of this co-president business.
A product of Chicago's all-too-real South Side (Go White Sox!), she's never
lost touch with reality, despite her degrees from Princeton and Harvard Law.
She seems to have her head on straight herself. Imagine: There are still
sensible adults out there - even in politics.