Thursday, February 5, 2009

Michelle Obama's Staff

The media (and many bloggers) are criticizing Michelle Obama for her putting her family first. She has consistently noted that her primary role is that of a mother, not a policy maker. I'll admit that I was hoping for a more aggressive first lady, especially with Michelle Obama's credentials and policy agenda that places working families as a top priority, I am not willing to judge her so quickly. A recent article highlights the credentials of her staff:

Policy director Jocelyn Frye was the general counsel and director of the workplace fairness program at the National Partnership for Women and Families. Frye was involved in developing the Ledbetter legislation.

Deputy chief of staff David Medina was the political director for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards’ presidential campaign and worked for the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign. USGLC executive director Liz Schrayer called Medina “a very strategic thinker” with strong labor and minority connections.

Deputy policy director Trooper Sanders worked for former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, and the William J. Clinton Foundation. Communications director Camille Johnston, who oversaw communications for the Los Angeles Dodgers, had been Tipper Gore’s communications director.

Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary, and her team also are housed under the first lady’s staff. Rogers is a friend of the Obamas from Chicago, and also a prominent corporate executive with insurance, energy and state lottery experience.

Norris, the chief of staff, is an Iowa campaign veteran who also once worked for Gore. She and Michelle Obama bonded while riding around the state in a minivan together in the months before the January Democratic caucuses.


Maybe I am just optimistic, but I see a highly respectable, political, and well connected staff that can support a more aggressive policy agenda that places the First Lady in the center of policy change to support working families. Michelle Obama may be "First and foremost Malia and Sasha's mom" but she may have another role in the future. Let's give her a first 100 days!

1 comment:

Athena is a ... said...

I agree with you wholeheartedly. Of course we saw these early judgments coming, for her and her husband. When expectations run too high, a person can rarely do anything but disappoint. Bottom line is that she just moved her whole family across several states and given Barack's full plate you know she is the one having to help them adjust in addition to her own transition. We must cut her slack. I wish I knew how long it would take for society to realize that a working mom has, at minimum, two full-time (two 40-60 hour per-week) jobs before she even begins to attend to her own needs or interests or those of her husband.