Wishful thinking won’t win Michelle Obama the White House

An idea that until a few weeks ago was condemned by the corporate press and Republican commentators as a far-right conceit, typical of such “extremists” as Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), has now gone viral. Both the New York Post and Fox News are energetically floating the possibility — even the likelihood — that the Democrats, out of desperation, will run Michelle Obama as their presidential candidate in lieu of incumbent Joe Biden.

Supposedly, Obama “can bring back the black voters who are hemorrhaging to Donald Trump.” Moreover, “the very unpopular Kamala Harris would be leapfrogged without any repercussions from the minority community.”

Michelle Obama comes across as Barack without his social graces. She is a younger, black version of Hillary Clinton.

We are also being harried by the assurances of Joel Gilbert, who has written a book on this subject, that the former first lady is a “political animal” who was already planning a great career for herself as the ambitious daughter of a Democratic precinct captain from Chicago.

Michelle does have certain advantages as a candidate that are less obvious in Biden’s case. She is not demented, she does not shuffle when she walks, and she did not release 10 million illegal aliens into the country to increase the number of Democratic voters. She was also not involved in an extensive money laundering operation with a corrupt brother and drug-addicted son.

Obama is also well liked in certain circles, which may account for why she was voted the world’s most respected woman for several years in a row. I even know people who start drooling when her name is mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.

Most admired?

But then there are the factors that make me skeptical about her performance as a presidential candidate. Michelle’s reputation as a celebrity rests partly on the fact that about 10% of the respondents in a Gallup poll rated her as their “most admired woman.” In 2020, Vice President Kamala Harris came in behind Michelle at 6% and Melania Trump at 4%. That survey and similar polls, as flattering as they may seem, hardly suggest that Michelle would ace a presidential race.

Although Michelle has appeared on lots of TV shows, those appearances have been micromanaged by gushingly sympathetic hosts who never seem to ask challenging political questions of their venerated guest. Enjoying the support of Oprah Winfrey and Joy Reid can’t hurt a presidential candidate but won’t exactly propel that person into the White House.

It also might not be the case that because Michelle’s husband remains wildly popular, thanks to decades of media hype, such an advantage will transfer to his wife. Despite his ranting against MAGA Republicans and white racists and his weaponization of the federal government against his political opposition, Barack Obama can manage to be charming in interviews and public appearances. Unless I’m mistaken, this charm is woefully absent in Michelle. She comes across as Barack without his social graces. She is a younger, black version of Hillary Clinton.

Michelle Obama will need to work hard in a race to avoid making the silly, self-absorbed comments she routinely allows to slip when she depicts herself as a victim of white racism and sexism.

In 2021, for example, she went on interminably about racist Washington strollers who dared to ignore her while she was walking her dog. That inattention, we were told, was true even for those strollers who stopped long enough to pet her canine. Allow me to note that those who stop to pet my long-haired Dachshund while I’m walking with him rarely bother to speak to me; nor do I see any reason why they should.

A limited media lift

Of course, the media will predictably cover up Michelle’s verbal indiscretions, but at least some of these outbursts will likely get through to the public. Although the corporate press has worked overtime to depict her as surpassingly charming, those efforts may be insufficient if she starts pitying herself as a victim too often. Certainly, the Democratic base would like to see Michelle nominated, but I have to wonder who else would.

I’m not suggesting that Michelle would get trounced in a presidential race. The Democratic Party will start that contest with an enormous advantage. It will enjoy the largesse of corporate capitalists and Hollywood moguls and the obliging assistance of government workers and media reconstructors of reality. That’s not even to mention the election manipulators the party has at its disposal.

But I’m not sure that nominating Michelle Obama will provide the Democrats with any additional benefit. Their most important assets are their organizational and financial edge and the availability of an utterly servile media to spin news in their favor and to keep their scandals hidden. Robert Cahaly of the Republican Trafalgar Group was stunned by the staggering turnout that the Democrats produced for midterm elections, thereby defying his own meticulous number-crunching. Somehow, they could materialize votes that observers never knew were there.

The competence of their presidential candidate may matter less than these other things for achieving a Democratic victory. Therefore, running Sleepy or Demented Joe may not cost the Democrats the race. And substituting Michelle for the frail, morally compromised incumbent may not give the Democrats any special boost.