Donald has-taken-steaming-shits-with-more-moral-integrity Trump announced that he had a huge ("YOOJ!!") announcement that was going to shake up the Obama campaign.
Rumors swirled around the less-savory media outlets about what Trump might have in store. The Daily Mail wondered whether Trump had acquired the fabled divorce papers of Barack and Michelle Obama, showing the couple's marriage had once hit a few bumps in the road.
Sadly this was not the case. Instead Trump made a few asinine "announcements" where he publicly tried to extort Obama's school records and passport documents to the tune of five million dollars. Even conservatives were disgusted by this. The National Review's "Three Martini Lunch" podcast posted a Trump picture with words "Go Away." Hey guys, he's on your side! What's the matter?
More interestingly, Jim Geraghty and Greg Corombus mentioned a few details about the rumors involving the Obamas' marital problems back in 2000:
Corombus: "There's something really damaging in divorce papers that were drawn up between (Barack Obama) and Michelle but were never acted on... either way I really just hope that both of these people (Donald Trump and Gloria Allred) go away... but of course they're not going to because they don't know how to do that.
Geraghty: "You're going to regret that Greg. This is gonna by 'Yooj'" (Laughter)
Corombus: "You can tell that I really like doing my Trump impression. .... As for Trump, I mean, who the heck knows?" (Geraghty laughs) "(Trump) says that what he's announcing is unlike any of the rumored reports that have been out there. Regarding the Obama divorce papers.. I thought that this was, if not well known, at least part of the public record. Back around the year 2000 the Obamas' marriage hit some rough patches. Obama had run for Congress, people may recall, against incumbent Democrat Bobby Rush. A lot of people told him it was a bad idea. He was a little-known state senator taking on a well-established incumbent. Obama went into considerable personal debt as a result of that bid. His credit cards were getting rejected. Michelle Obama didn't think it was a good idea but he went forward with it and their marriage hit a rough patch."
I don't think this story of the Obamas' rough marriage back in 2000 is well-known at all, ... and that's a damn shame. Why? Well, because over fifty percent of marriages in the US end in divorce nowadays, and the single most common issue that breaks a marriage is money problems. Marriage on the rocks? We've been there. Massive personal debt? Been there! Credit cards being rejected? Been there!
For over a century's worth of presidential campaigns here in the US all candidates were required to have perfect families. Nothing tarnished a candidate like the specter of divorce or the vibes of something slightly less than domestic tranquility.
Lately though marriages in the US have been fracturing more than staying together... and the recession has a helping hand in that. We're poor, we're unhappy at home and we are beginning to see happy families as less than the norm than an idealistic artifice.
Believe it or now, Romney's blandly happy family complete with his wife'd disturbingly blank smile and Tagg Romney's death stare is turning off voters. The whole deal looks disconcerting, like there may be robotics or brainwashing involved in the arrangement. When Ann Romney took the stage at the RNC to talk about her marriage and hardships and how she and Mitt used to live in a basement apartment eating spaghetti off the ironing board... it sounded less like a real memory of young married life than like Ann had just flipped through "Nickel and Dimed" to get a quick idea of how the little people live. Ann Romney seemed less to be speaking from the heart than speaking out of obligation to her husband.
The Obama marriage is also presented as almost idealistic but there are fewer artificial overtones to how Michelle Obama and Barack Obama interact. Michelle Obama is a skilled political operative and an Ivy League lawyer. She clearly speaks her mind. When Obama failed the first presidential debate there was no artificial smile on Michelle Obama's face as her husband stepped off the platform. She was angry, and she wanted the president to see that. You can't imagine Ann Romney ever not smiling at Mitt Romney, let alone not smile when there are cameras present!
This is why I want to see the Obama's divorce papers, ... because I think it will pound home the difference between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Romney has never been poor. He will never know how 90 percent of the American population lives. Barack Obama, however, has been one of us. He has been poor. He has been in debt. He has had credit cards rejected and he has had fights with his wife.
If the Republicans had somehow gotten ahold of the Obama divorce papers and released them... the move would have backfired horribly on Mitt Romney.