HotmailObama marriage inspires fascination, imitation
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 | A leader in the making Witness private and political moments along Barack Obama’s path to the presidency, as seen by official White House photographer Pete Souza. more photos |
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How they met
The very story of how the Obamas met is a modern one, notes Coontz. She was his assigned mentor at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin. So right off the bat, “there wasn't the old sense that the guy is a leader,” says Coontz. The story also reflects a modern statistic: In at least five cities, Coontz says, women in their 20s earn more than men in the same age group.
The Obamas have been called role models for so many things — could they be reasonably expected to serve as one for healthy marriages, too? That may be taking things too far.
“I don't think they're going to cause couples to develop better relationships,” Coontz says. “But it IS nice to have one's own relationship reflected in the White House, or one's desires for a relationship.”
Dillard, for one, says he looks at his old friend and wants to learn from him in this way, too.
“It helps me in my own life,” says the legislator, 52, who like Obama has two young daughters. “I want to be more like the Obamas in the way that I adore my wife and relate to my children.”
Of course, there's the other side of it — watching the Obama marriage can cause a little jealousy, or even a sense of pressure to achieve the same thing.
“It worries me because, how many years have they been married, and they're so romantic?” asks Geralyn Lucas, a New York mother and author. "It's total pressure!”
Like so much about the Obama presidency, the relationship may simply be a sign of a multilayered generational shift.
“They're in a generation where parents kiss each other in front of their kids,” says Janice Min, editor of Us Weekly, the celebrity magazine that has made frequent use of smiling shots of Obama, his wife and family.
And it's certainly possible that the Obama marriage is fascinating and inspiring to only Obama supporters — contributors of gushy comments on YouTube aren't required to say who they voted for.
“In a sense, it's people who love this president so much, and so they love the woman he loves, too,” says Min. “For them, there's already a fairytale aspect to this presidency, and to have the romance layered on top of that, it just makes it all the more intriguing.”
Still, Min thinks the public as a whole is genuinely fascinated with its first real glimpse into the emotional life of a president. “Just to know anything about a president's romantic life is so unusual,” says Min. "Just to even think they have one is so intriguing.”
And, Democrat or Republican, it's hard to ignore that this president, when it comes to affairs of the heart, has his priorities straight.
“First of all,” he said to the crowd at the first inaugural ball, “How good-looking is my wife?”
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