I read the most heart warming article in Huffington Post today. It was about how the most overlooked but one of the most important things about Barack Obama getting elected is his relationship with Michelle.
How long has it been since we, as a country, has seen a couple in the White House truly in love?
Judging from the comments posted by people about the article, many people have noticed the relationship of the Obamas and it makes them smile to see something so rare in politics.
We have the picture perfect 'family values' families posing stiffly but, you never see a genuine relationship between the husband and wife in politics.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Kathyn and Gay Henricks explain how important it is in this day of dysfunctional families and divorce and stress to see a couple in the White House who totally are in love with each other and are not afraid to show it.
It is important for a country to see a mature and healthy relationship between two people who love and respect each other.
Imagine having a president who likes his partner and values her as an equal, a president who touches his wife affectionately in public and actually listens to her when she talks!
I know when Barack Obama first went out on the road with his new campaign you saw the first glimpse of the Obamas as a couple and from the beginning you saw that special chemistry between them. The way he looked at her and Michelle's fierce declarations of her love for her husband. As time went on we got to see the little pats and touches that couples exchange and you could see by the way they look directly at each other there was a special relationship between the two.
Who can forget the love tap they exchanged the night that Obama claimed the democratic nomination?
As the Hendricks put it:
For Americans, one of the most important aspects of an Obama presidency is being overlooked: the model of a healthy relationship. In the 28 years of our own marriage, we've worked with more than 4,000 couples in our office and seminars, so we have a reasonably good idea of what kinds of behavior one sees in a healthy relationship. For example, Michelle and Barack do something we've never seen before in a presidential couple: they actually look directly at each other when they're speaking to each other. They also laugh at each other's humor, and they allow their sexual attraction for each other to be visible. Contrast that with other presidential marriages, in which the sexual attraction to each other was not visible but their sexual attraction to others became highly visible. Michelle and Barack talk openly about their feelings for each other. They're real
They go on to compare this with our current occupant in the White House, the Bushes:
However, you don't have to go back in that far in history to see a strange or strained White House marriage. Have you ever seen the current occupant of the White House speak, much less listen, to his wife in public? For example, do we ever get to hear from the real Laura Bush, the one who disagrees completely with the far-right views of her husband on such matters as women's reproductive rights? No, because she's been muzzled, like most of her predecessors, and sealed off behind the glazed smile of the Perfect Presidential Wife
The Hendricks also ask us to imagine the McCains as White House occupants. The way John McCain disrespects women and knowing how he talks to his wife, Cindy. And we would see the perfectly overdressed Cindy in overpriced outfits looking just as zombied out as Laura Bush in the four years of having to pretend that everything is perfect. And you know it is not. Does anyone wonder why Cindy became addicted to pain killers. I always thought it was partly due to emotional pain from a disappointing marriage to a man who shows little if any affection or respect.
But, to see a couple that is in love and has a healthy sexual attraction to each other would be marvelous to see. And as parents of those two adorable little girls, you see what real family values are about. There is no doubt that Barack and Michelle Obama adore those little girls and it's their love for them that has made them the charming and authentic children they are.
I think it is also important for people to see a husband and wife who like and respect each other as well as love each other in White House in a time a stress and uncertainty. There is a certain aspect of security in seeing that as well as with all the rudeness, hate and unhappiness in this country over the past few decades and growing to see how two people interact who have a real respect for one another.
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