Posted on 09/12/2008 7:23:00 AM PDT by Mike Bates
On ABC News's Political Punch blog, senior national correspondent Jake Tapper writes "Why Wasn't Michelle Obama at the 9/11 Ceremony?"
Some readers have asked me why it was that Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was without spouse at the 9/11 commemoration ceremony today in New York City.
After all, they point out, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was accompanied by his wife Cindy.
Where was Michelle?
The Obama campaign responds that Michelle was back in Chicago with her daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, since this is the first week of school.
The McCain kids, incidentally, have all graduated from high school (some long ago) with the exception of Bridget, who's 16.
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer questioned White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux about Michelle Obama's whereabouts on CNN's Situation Room today:
BLITZER: Do we know why -- why Michelle Obama decided not to come, or has the Obama campaign explained that?
MALVEAUX: Wolf, they haven't actually explained that. And since -- since we have seen these pictures, I have e-mailed two people from the Obama campaign to see if we can get an answer to that question, whether or not she was with the daughters, taking care of something else at the time, and why it is that she wasn't able to make it today.
Later, Malveaux had the explanation:
MALVEAUX: Well, Michelle Obama was in Chicago. It was the first week of school for their young daughters, Sasha and Malia. So, she felt it was important to be with them for this week.
All parents can appreciate the importance of being there for young children as they begin a new school year. Unfortunately, Michelle Obama wasn't able to be with her daughters yesterday. As reported today by the Indianapolis Star:
FISHERS, Ind. -- Michelle Obama on Wednesday described her struggles to balance career and family -- and spoke of the guilt she often feels when she shortchanges either one.
But her presentation before a mostly female, friendly crowd of 250 in reliably Republican Hamilton County was about more than underscoring that she and her husband, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, understood family pressures.
Even then, Obama wasn't done for the day. UPI detailed her Wednesday evening:
The National Black Baptist Convention meeting in Cincinnati warmly welcomed Michelle Obama who called on members to "struggle for the world as it should be."
Obama had to wait for the crowd of about 7,000 to calm down before she could begin her speech Wednesday night, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. She began by telling the National Baptist Convention USA she was speaking "as a person of faith who believes we have all have been called to serve our fellow men and women and to honor God's creation."
"We can either settle for the world as it is, or we can fight and struggle for the world as it should be," she said.
It doesn't seem as though anyone in the mainstream media asked the obvious question: If the candidate's wife felt it was important to be with her children this week, and that's why she was unable to pay her respects at the 9/11 ceremony, why did she spend yesterday campaigning in two states?
“The girls are obviously in school during the day.....what does she need to be there for?”
This is a very silly thing to attack on.
When our children were younger we ALWAYS made sure one of us was available during the school day early in the year. There’s no way both of use would have been hundreds of miles away. Strikes me as something any good parent would want to do if possible.
"And knocking down those two towers was a good start -- you know -- chickens coming home to roost."
BS!
And O will be on SNL while Ike hits Texas, how uncaring of him!
speaks...........jeez
Lying and deceit.
It’s so “them”.
At least in Iowa, all republican Headquarters were shuttered because no campaigning was taking place.
This is a major blunder for the Obama campaign. Spread it far and wide!!
The truth is, the Obama campaign didn’t want footage of Obama at 9/11 to be put up against “for the first time in my life I am proud of my country” and “America is a mean country’ etc
I won’t bash her for wanting to be with her kids.
But she showed many of us this week that her priorities are not in order and are self serving. It was more important to attend events on Wednesday that would hopefully advance her husbands campaign, than it was to honor our nation on Thursday. Had she been home on Wednesday too, I would have defended her. Instead she gave us all a message....
When push comes to shove...the Obamas care first about the Obamas.
Yep change we can believe in...believe that.
Sounds like Michelle is also a creationist.
Because Charlie Gibson thinks she's a pig who smells of fish...
I think we should stop call calling them the "mainstream" media. They are not at all in tune with mainstream America.
‘Why Wasn’t Michelle Obama at the 9/11 Ceremony?’
Well, maybe it’s because they’ve figured out that Michelle ain’t adding to the vote total for the Obama/Biden ticket.
Just a guess.
Obviously she took seriously her pastor’s view that 9/11 was evidence of America’s chickens coming home to roost.
Obviously she took seriously her pastor’s view that 9/11 was evidence of America’s chickens coming home to roost.
As a stay at home mom for the past 17 years, I would concur. But my husband never ran for the Presidency. A competent surrogate (grandparent, trusted neighbor or aunt) could surely fill in for the short time for her to appear at such an important occasion.
I see that ABC's Tapper has updated his blog:
UPDATE: As has been pointed out elsewhere, Michelle Obama did do some campaigning this week, in Indiana and Ohio. How does that fit in with the campaign's explanation that she was too busy to attend the 9/11 ceremony because this was Sasha and Malia's first week of school? I asked the campaign and will get back to you when and if it responds.
Gee, I wonder where "elsewhere" is?
The are the obama-rat media.
They are the obama-rat media.
Because she still thinks this was a Bush “inside job”, was faked and refuses to honor something that America attacked all by themselves.
She is so very honorable... (puke)
The fact she was missing from the ceremony speaks for itself.
nuff said.
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