Pay to Play

A few weeks back, at the gym. The television in front of me was tuned to CNN. After a commericial for Medicare and a commericial for "Green Collar Jobs" (odd that there were 2 government commercials in a row), the lead story when the "news" returned was "should the first lady be paid." I nearly let the arm of the Elliptical machine smack me in the head when I heard this. The first lady get paid!?

They went on to describe how this poor woman is going to have to give up her lucrative career as an attorney.

They didn't continue with the rest of what she is going to have to do. She is going to have to travel around the world eating delicacies and meeting foreign dignataries. She is going to have to live in a huge mansion with servants at her beckon call. She is going to have to force herself to eat, wear and use only the finest of everything. She may have to make a commericial from time to time to let us know that "reading is fundamental", or "drugs are bad." She may have to make a speech or give an interview from time to time. And, oh yes, she would have to sleep with the President of the United States (ooohhh those pecs).

To her credit, Laura Bush's response to this question was "ofcourse the first lady should not get paid".

My first thought was that this is a trial balloon floated by the Obama administration because Michelle wants to get paid, but I shook my head and took a deep breath, slowing my pace on the elliptical as I realized that my heart rate was now pushing 4 digits. That couldn't be it. This must be an isolated goofy story that CNN has decided to throw out ther for no apparent reason. We will never hear anything about this again.

Boy was I wrong. Just today, Barack Obama is talking about how we will have Trillion Dollar deficits for the forseeable future because we have to spend our way out of this complete economic collapse. And suddenly the media is talking about Michelle Obama's salary again. Didn't the Obamas discuss what being a First Lady entails before Barack ran for office? We didn't vote for Michelle.

It is great that "for the first time in her life she is proud of her country" (now that her husband is President.) Perhaps she should, for the first time in her life, exhibit that pride and SERVE her country...as so many have done before her. Is it the good of our country or the good of the Obamas that is important to her?