Was it a diss or not?

By Michelle Malkin  •  August 21, 2007 12:21 PM

Drudge is headlining the Chicago Sun-Times article about Michelle Obama’s latest comments on clean houses:

At another stop, in Atlantic, Michelle said she travels with her husband in part “to model what it means to have family values,” adding “if you can’t run your own house, you can’t run the White House.” She didn’t elaborate, but it could be interpreted as a swipe at the Clintons.

Go ahead and weigh in: Was Mrs. Obama dissing Mrs. Rodham Clinton or not?

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Posted in: Barack Obama

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Comments


  1. #1
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:24 pm, Rusty said:

    It’s probably a swipe at HRC, Rudy, and any other candidate who is publicly known for having a home life that could potenially anger “family values voters.”

    What she said was especially stupid because of how others will interpret it and because it’s not like “family values voters” will ever vote Democrat. They’ll just avoid voting Republican if they’re angry.

  2. #2
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:24 pm, geminicontender said:

    Hillary is definitely not a housewife. Probably not much of a mother because she is so consumed with power. And she is definitely not much of a wife. Husbands don’t go off on their own. Usually there are problems at home prior to adultery. Obviously, Hillary has no problem with infidelity. Is that what you want in your next President?

  3. #3
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:25 pm, Brian72 said:

    Of course she was hitting Clinton with that. It seems to be a common campaign strategy, when Obama or especially Edwards needs to attack Senator Clinton, they send out their wives to do it, in order to avoid the negatives of being mean to a woman, and a Democrat. The unassailable messenger strategy at work. Looks like Ann Coulter was right about that, wasn’t she?

  4. #4
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:39 pm, i b squidly said:

    The debate question we’ll never hear:

    Senator Clinton, if you become President how do you propose to keep Bill from playing slap’n'tickle with the staff?

  5. #5
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:54 pm, Jarhead said:

    Here we go, now there’s going to be a Catfight!

  6. #6
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:55 pm, 3Steps said:

    Oh I definately think she was diss’n Hillary. But I have to agree with Rusty here… not JUST Hillary. Rudi has some serious ‘home’ issues to overcome. I doubt we have heard the end of the ‘family values arguement’ by a long shot.

    Of course… I also doubt that Mrs Obama’s version of ‘family values’ is the same as mine.

  7. #7
    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:56 pm, swj719AWG said:

    Jarhead, look at the two that are going to be involved…

    This isn’t one I’ll watch, thanks… :)

    Senator Clinton, if you become President how do you propose to keep Bill from playing slap’n’tickle with the staff?

    Please dear god let there be another YouTube democrat debate…

  8. #8
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:03 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Reporter – “Bill, are you enjoying campaigning with your wife?”

    Bill – “I never had sex with that woman.”

  9. #9
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:12 pm, max said:

    She’s just being a good mulsim woman, subservient to the husband who “runs the house.”

  10. #10
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:13 pm, shooter said:

    I kinda hope it was a diss. Easy target.

    What I’m worried about are the future ‘going’s on’ of first lady Bill.

    We just can’t let it get that far.

  11. #11
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:16 pm, Bhishma said:

    On August 21st, 2007 at 12:24 pm, geminicontender said:
    Obviously, Hillary has no problem with infidelity. Is that what you want in your next President?

    Good point! Deep inside, this concerned me more from Bill’s sexcapades. I could not put a finger on what exactly it was but I wondered “What wife would be not concerned about her husband’s extramarital affair?”
    Answer: Not a self-respecting one.
    Then, I wondered “So, what are the values of this wife, who has just been cheated upon, in the most famous case of adultry, in history?”
    Answer: Superficial.
    Now, it becomes clear to me. Hillary is an cheap and a sleazy opportunist. More like a used-car salesman of American politics. Not, an astute statesman / woman, this conutry deserves. She cannot be good news for this great nation. Thank you for nailing this down, geminicontender.
    On the other hand, Tom Tancredo stands tall in statesmanship and patriotism. His record speaks for himself.
    http://www.teamtancredo.com

  12. #12
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:16 pm, ajmontana said:

    Tell me Barack wouldn’t “do” the Obama girl.

  13. #13
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:29 pm, Defector01 said:

    She dissed Democrats in general who don’t have values

  14. #14
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:41 pm, Trae said:

    Please dear god let there be another YouTube democrat debate…

    Do you really think CNN will let a question like that to go through?

    Plus MM: Please change your RSS Feed to “Full Text”!!! It takes me forever to peruse through your postings when I have to follow the link to read up…pretty please?

  15. #15
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:42 pm, 3Steps said:

    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:16 pm, ajmontana said:
    Tell me Barack wouldn’t “do” the Obama girl.

    ROFL! Well OF COURSE he wouldn’t… well.. not in front of the kids anyway ;-)

  16. #16
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:43 pm, Kevin from Ohio in Virginia said:

    Umm… as much as I am not a fan of B. Hussein Obama, I’d like to find more substantive things to dislike about him. Certainly, something said by his wife that is CLEARLY being blown out of proportion is not worth scrutinizing.

  17. #17
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:45 pm, jrlingreenbay said:

    Ok, I’m going to dissent a bit on this one…

    Looking at this quote:

    “Michelle Obama: ‘One of the most important things that we need to know about the next President of the United States is, is he somebody that shares our values? Is he somebody that respects family? Is a good and decent person? So our view was that, if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House. So, so we’ve adjusted our schedules to make sure that our girls are first’… ”

    Given this text – it appears that this could be a description of how the Obamas have adjusted their personal, family lives to ensure that the campaign does not overly interfere with their relationships.

    When I first read the Sun Times piece, the paragraph stated: “At another stop, in Atlantic, Michelle said she travels with her husband in part “to model what it means to have family values,” adding “if you can’t run your own house, you can’t run the White House.” She didn’t elaborate, but it could be interpreted as a swipe at the Clintons.”

    The thing is – she did ‘elaborate’ – or at least there was more to the statement than the newspaper printed.

    I think the media is looking for any opportunity to create animosity and a news story.

    On a loosely-related note, I find it quite interesting at the amount of time candidate’s spouses are spending addressing the media and the public. I don’t recall this much input from spouses on the campaign trail in 2004 or 2000 or prior.

    Could this be because the wives can attack and get away with it because they’re NOT the candidate? Could it be because of the candidacy of Hillary – and they’re out the to counter the female aspect of her candidacy?

  18. #18
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:45 pm, Pulchritudinous Patriot said:

    How many month’s until the elections?

  19. #19
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:45 pm, ajmontana said:

    ok kevin, How bout the latest on his Cuba “bullcrap” pandering to the miami crowd….barf

  20. #20
    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:59 pm, swj719AWG said:

    Do you really think CNN will let a question like that to go through?

    I can hope…

    But no, I don’t think it would get through…

    But it’ll be popular on YouTube… :)

  21. #21
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:21 pm, zyzzyg said:

    Go ahead and weigh in: Was Mrs. Obama dissing Mrs. Rodham Clinton or not?

    This exercise is more fun than substance. I would think it would apply to all the candidates.

    With the campaign being longer and starting earlier than usual it is nice to have these diversions. What it does do, is allow us to get to know the candidates more intimately, albeit at a distance. We like that sort of thing, it makes it less painful, or more fun, to pull the lever (OK, I’m old school) for that candidate.

    [Note: This familiarity and comfort with the candidates humanizes them, makes them more approachable, and that inculdes Sen Clinton.]

    Although asked, which candidate would you most like to have a beer with, how likely would it be that would happen to anyone of us? We want to see the candidates eat a waffle cone at the fair, eat a philly cheesesteak at Geno’s, watch what they do when they spill a little mustard on their collars, see them in ungaurded moments that would make them more real for us.

    I think that is the context of Mrs. Obama’s statement. Don’t look too deep, not everything is planned, and not everything is about the Clintons.

  22. #22
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:22 pm, dadog said:

    Put a gag order on all these back seat loud mouths.. Who cares what they have to say… And even further, when are the candidates actually going to say something intelegent about how they are going to run this country…All I ever here blah blah blah ..whore..blah blah infidel..blah..cheater.. grow up and for once do something for the country..

  23. #23
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:23 pm, EdDantes said:

    I’m not sure what’s more relevant, Michelle Obama’s dig at the Clintons or the relationship between Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie.

  24. #24
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:28 pm, dadog said:

    ZYZZYG………I totally disagree…. I never want to see them… I want to be assured that they are behind a desk doing their job…not on vacation every 2 months or campaigning for 12 months… we are paying these people to be Senators // Governors, not professional campaingners

  25. #25
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:30 pm, Jarhead said:

    I’m from New York and this brings back to mind when Rick Lazio was running against Hillary. In one of their debates Rick Lazio walk over to Ms. Clinton to hand her a piece of paper about campaign finance or something to that effect. Well, when Mr. Lazio did that he lost the election and the debate was I believe in August of 2000. Once he invaded Hillary’s space he was seen as attacking a woman. I bet they remember what happen to Rick Lazio and this is why both the camps Obama’s and Edward’s send out their wives. Because, it looks and sounds a lot better that the wives do it to Hillary, once Obama or Silky go on the defensive they will be seen as attacking a poor woman whos only fault is to sit down, talk awhile and chat…

  26. #26
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:35 pm, jrlingreenbay said:

    I laugh at the incessant need to find a fight somewhere with these candidates.

    You have this instance, as well as the Karl Rove interviews from Sunday, where all he did was state facts ( Hillary’s approval rating ) in answer to a question posed to him….and suddenly ‘Karl Rove keeps heat on Hillary’, ‘Rove continues to attack Hillary’, etc….

    Anyone with 1/2 a brain can look at the entire picture and see this is a media manipulated battle.

  27. #27
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:41 pm, Pulchritudinous Patriot said:

    Has politics in the US really fallen so low that the women are now engaging in cat fights?

  28. #28
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:45 pm, Rick Moran said:

    Very little is said to the media by anyone connected to the campaign – including spouses – that doesn’t have some kind of calculus to it.

    Obama is so far behind, expect more veiled personal attacks like this one. And why not? Hillary is such a ridiculously easy target that it won’t take much to remind people what those years were like when she was in the White House.

  29. #29
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:48 pm, The Raging Republican said:

    Zing!

  30. #30
    On August 21st, 2007 at 2:48 pm, ajmontana said:

    My popcorn popper is ready, I expect things to get pretty juiced after labor day. :)

  31. #31
    On August 21st, 2007 at 3:05 pm, trinitytim said:

    Jarhead, very astute obversation. I think you nailed it.

  32. #32
    On August 21st, 2007 at 3:11 pm, Yashmak said:

    For some reason, I doubt it was a diss. It seems like a common sense comment. Just because it could apply to one candidate or another, doesn’t necessarily mean it was meant to.

    If a scandalous comment is gold, I suspect this one is just iron pyrite.

  33. #33
    On August 21st, 2007 at 3:18 pm, hadsil said:

    She agrees with Dan Quayle?

  34. #34
    On August 21st, 2007 at 3:25 pm, 29Victor said:

    So, then, JFK shouldn’t have been in the White House? Or would this only apply to Jackie O?

  35. #35
    On August 21st, 2007 at 4:06 pm, Schweggie said:

    Braindead today from work, can’t offer anything meaningful, well what’s new then, but anyways so many hilarious photoshops of Hillary out there, but this one struck my funnybone good.

    The complete photoshop collection of the Hillary shriek on video. Good for a laugh or two. So …yeah.

  36. #36
    On August 21st, 2007 at 4:18 pm, John Ansell said:

    LOL #8, and the follow up to Shrillery, “Have you ever had sex with Bill?”

    Shrillery, “I don’t recall x’s 99″

  37. #37
    On August 21st, 2007 at 5:54 pm, reine.de.tout said:

    Yes, indeedy, it was a diss. Michelle Obama seems to be one tough cookie.

  38. #38
    On August 21st, 2007 at 5:56 pm, Snooper said:

    I am pretty sure it wasn’t a diss but it was a dat!

  39. #39
    On August 21st, 2007 at 6:01 pm, ajmontana said:

    lol snooper. :)

  40. #40
    On August 21st, 2007 at 7:25 pm, Boomer said:

    The wife and I believe it was on heck of a B-Slap. Or as I like to call it they fired a warning shot into the bridge instead of across the bow. Ouch! Seems like the only ones with gumballs in the Democrat’s camp are the women.

  41. #41
    On August 21st, 2007 at 7:35 pm, tarpon said:

    Yeah, it was aimed at the hound dog. Tommorrow’s will be aimed at the CIA report saying the hound dog was out playing around instead of minding the store — Like everyone suspected all along.

    For me, the CIA “President was asleep at the switch” report is more damning than the rest.

  42. #42
    On August 21st, 2007 at 11:58 pm, SFWife said:

    Who CARES?! Why do we even need to talk about this??

  43. #43
    On August 22nd, 2007 at 7:37 am, Chief RZ said:

    She just told The Truth.
    Those who try to “skirt” around family values may feel some heat; others will be able to deflect it because as one commenter stated, “democrats do not follow any rules.”

  44. #44
    On August 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 am, misterbee241 said:

    Absolutely a diss, but the truth at the same time.
    Hillary cant rein in Slick Willie, how can she rein in al-Quada?

  45. #45
    On August 22nd, 2007 at 10:45 am, 24Klady said:

    The wives of candidates attacking HRC on a veiled personal basis kicks her back down to their level of being a candidates wife, not a serious contender for the While House. They know that much of her appeal is based on her being known as the co-president. A large number of liberals would re-elect Slick if they could. It was demeaning and a definite diss.

  46. #46
    On August 22nd, 2007 at 8:23 pm, Al in St. Lou said:

    On August 21st, 2007 at 1:41 pm, Trae said:

    Plus MM: Please change your RSS Feed to “Full Text”!!! It takes me forever to peruse through your postings when I have to follow the link to read up…pretty please?

    I concur. Pretty please, MM?

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