Back off, Rush, and Let the First Lady Shop
Mondays are typically slow news days, and today was apparently no exception to judge from the superfluous questions asked of Politico’s Arena panel today. On the other hand, I’m still ticked off that I didn’t know about the Missoni collection at Target until it was sold out, so what do I know? Did any of you find the Missonis? And really, do you think the media should have spent one drop of ink reporting on Michelle Obama’s shopping trip to Target?
Arena Asks: An Associated Press photographer’s shots of First Lady Michelle Obama strolling away from the checkout counter at a Target store in Alexandria, VA, circled the globe Friday. While many found the photos endearing, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck saw it differently. Considering the photographer just happened to be at Target at the same time, was the first lady’s shopping trip an innocent errand or image manipulation?
My Answer:Who’s kidding whom? How can the FLOTUS ever do anything uncalculated even if she wants to? I’ll bet dollars to donuts she’d LOVE to be able to sneak away and shop anywhere without having to think about its impact on her husband’s polls. But she can’t, so that’s not really the question no matter how right-wing shock jocks spin it.
Symbolically, the message is one that struck home with me. Everyone wants to get good value for the dollar. I’ve found I can buy stylish workout clothes at Target for one-fourth the price I’d pay at major brand stores, for example. So why would I waste money I could save, spend on something else for myself or my family, or contribute to a worthy cause?
Whatever her reason, Michelle Obama was being smart to shop for value. Or maybe she was just trying to snag some of those made-for-Target Missoni garments before they sold out.
GLORIA FELDT is the New York Times bestselling author of several books including No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power, a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to major news outlets, and the Co-Founder and President of Take The Lead. People has called her “the voice of experience,” and among the many honors she has been given, Vanity Fair called her one of America’s “Top 200 Women Legends, Leaders, and Trailblazers,” and Glamour chose her as a “Woman of the Year.”
As co-founder and president of Take The Lead, a leading women’s leadership nonprofit, her mission is to achieve gender parity by 2025 through innovative training programs, workshops, a groundbreaking 50 Women Can Change The World immersive, online courses, a free weekly newsletter, and events including a monthly Virtual Happy Hour program and a Take The Lead Day symposium that reached over 400,000 women globally in 2017.