Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Off-Limits? Why?

Barack Obama was indignant on Good Morning America the other day over Republican criticisms of his wife's recent remarks:

"But I do want to say this to the GOP. If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful. Because that I find unacceptable," he said.

Obama praised his wife's patriotism and said that for Republicans "to try to distort or to play snippets of her remarks in ways that are unflattering to her I think is just low class ... and especially for people who purport to be promoters of family values, who claim that they are protectors of the values and ideals and the decency of the American people to start attacking my wife in a political campaign I think is detestable."

"But I also think these folks should lay off my wife," he told 'GMA' as his wife chuckled beside him.

Gracious me. The Senator evidently believes that Michelle Obama should be allowed to join in the political fray, make whatever comments she pleases about the meanness of the United States and how there's nothing about the U.S. of which she can be proud, and the GOP must dare not quote her remarks or express any disapproval of them whatsoever. Such behavior is "detestable" according to the outraged husband.

I wonder. Is it also detestable for Hillary's spouse's comments to be scrutinized and criticized? Is Michelle Obama a child to whom we should all condescend when she makes speeches in the public square bearing on matters of public interest? If Obama wants his wife to be off-limits to GOP political ads then he should get her off the political stage. If she's going to act like a politician then it's just as silly to declare her exempt from public criticism as it is to declare Bill Clinton exempt.

RLC