Amid heavy media coverage of the Obamas' marriage, I can't help but wonder: Are we actually seeing something new here — a First Marriage that is both healthy and modern? Or is that notion a product of the media's infatuation with the Obamas?
A package of articles in the latest issue of New York magazine invites that conclusion. Riffing on a single, electric, Inauguration-night photo of the Obamas, with Michelle wearing Barack's suit jacket over her evening gown and the President seeming to lean on her, smiling, as their foreheads touch, Stacy Schiff writes, 'We're in uncharted territory here.' The chemistry between the First Couple is so obvious that 'if you're a woman, you want what she's having,' Ms. Schiff adds. After watching other high-level political wives struggle with their roles, she writes, 'only now are we discovering what a functioning marriage between equals actually looks like' at this level of politics.
In another article in the package, Amy Bloom asserts that in Ms. Obama 'we get .. a woman who seems to be loved and respected and enjoyed by her admirable husband, toward whom she feels the same way. You don't see much of that anywhere.'
While this is a seductive viewpoint, other Presidential couples have been both loving and respectful. Ronald and Nancy Reagan were famously fond of each other. And while George W. and Laura Bush are more private, their mutual caring and admiration seems evident.
What seems new to me is that Ms. Obama appears more comfortable juggling multiple roles in public, compared with past First Ladies. She's as relaxed showing her loving, nurturing side including her love for her husband — as with flexing her professional skills. While she's more openly affectionate than, say, Hillary Clinton, she also appears more independent and confident than some other, more traditional, First Ladies of the past.
Many of you have commented on our blog about the challenges of keeping marriage healthy and happy here, here and here. Do you take any meaning from the Obamas' marriage? Is this just the media's latest honeymoon with a new pair of political stars? Or are Barack and Michelle Obama indeed setting some kind of new standard?
有关奥巴马婚姻的媒体报导铺天盖地,我不禁想问:我们真地发现其中有一些新东西吗一桩既健康又现代的"第一"婚姻?还是,这个想法只是媒体过于迷恋奥巴马夫妇而带来的产物?
在最新一期《纽约杂志》中,有一组文章让我有了这样的思考.文章中用了奥巴马夫妇在总统就职之夜的那张令人怦然心动的照片:米歇尔(Michelle)在晚礼服外面披着奥巴马的西装外套,而奥巴马微笑着将身体倾向她,两人额头相抵.照片下面,雪弗(Stacy Schiff)写道,我们从未见过这样的情形,总统伉俪之间的默契如此显而易见,如果你是女人,你会希望获得她所拥有的.她写道,看到其他政界高层的夫人在自己扮演的角色里挣扎后,只有现在我们才发现在这个政治层面上,美满婚姻关系是什么样子.
在这组文章中的另外一篇中,布鲁姆(Amy Bloom)写道,在奥巴马夫人身上,我们看到了一个看起来被她的优秀丈夫锺爱、尊重和欣赏的女人,而她对他的感觉也是一样.你并不是在任何地方都能看到这些的.
尽管这是一个很有诱惑力的观点,但其他总统伉俪也有既相亲相爱又相敬如宾的.里根夫妇出了名的相爱.布什伉俪更注重隐私,不过他们之间的相互关爱和赞赏也是一目了然的.
在我看来,新鲜的是,相比以往的第一夫人,奥巴马夫人在处理自己多重公众角色上似乎更得心应手.她在表现自己的爱心方面(包括对丈夫的爱)轻松自如,并且在展示其职业能力上也是游刃有余.与希拉里(Hillary Clinton)等第一夫人相比,她会更加坦率地展露自己的爱意,而与过去一些更传统的第一夫人相比,她则显得更加独立和自信.
很多读者朋友都在本专栏发表评论,讲述在维持健康幸福的婚姻关系上所遇到的问题.你从奥巴马的婚姻中获得了什么启发?这只是媒体对一对政界新星的又一个"蜜月期"吗?还是奥巴马夫妇确实为我们树立了某种新标准?