Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Very interesting thread and one I've never thought about. I'm not going to comment on the ones before Nancy Reagan since I wasn't old enough to remember any of them.
Nancy Reagan was when I was a kid and literally all I remember about her was the just say no messages and her support of DARE. Pretty cool on her end.
Hillary Clinton was smart and I remember her doing quite a few things when she was FL, working on stuff like healthcare and anti-violence against women initiatives. She was probably the most active first lady I remember.
Laura Bush I honestly don't remember much about other than she was always at someone's school talking to kids lol. I'm sure she did more but honestly hat time period was so chaotic that it's just a bit of a blur with her.
Michelle Obama was really smart too and I vividly remember all of her focus on nutrition and keeping kids active. Definitely the prettiest FL of my lifetime too!
Melania Trump really was the one I didn't feel like actually did much as first lady. Some was probably how the media treated Trump but it seemed like she was out there a lot less than any of the other first ladies. Most of my memories of her are giving what felt like forced speeches. I never felt like she really wanted to be there (which is understandable).
Overall though, we've had some really solid first ladies over the last few decades. I've read a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Kennedy but don't really feel like I can speak on them given the very different social paradigms in the country at the time (as well as the fact I was not yet alive).
It was NOT an arranged marriage. Unless the minimum of six biographies that I have read on FDR and Eleanor were flat-out wrong. In fact, Sara Delano Roosevelt's, FDR's mother was very much opposed to the match. However, after the Lucy Mercer affair, Sara did bring force to not have the marriage break up. I can't remember now if it was financial pressure or what. It is also true, according to the biographies I read, that Eleanor refused to have sexual relations with FDR after she discovered the affair. It was all very sad, imo.
Really, before you post such things, you should do some research.
What I meant arranged marriage (political partnership) was that she stayed in a very dysfunctional marriage that she wasn't loved or loved him to keep appearances and not ruin the political aspirations of FDR or stain the Roosevelt family. She disliked having sex with him. She admitted she didn't want to be a mother. "It did not come naturally to me to understand little children or to enjoy them". It was a political partnership to keep power and appearances. It's still bad and nothing to view Eleanor has a role model for girls. It's a sad.
Unpacking one of Franklin's suitcases when she discovered a bundle of love letters to him from Lucy. He had been contemplating leaving his wife for Mercer. However, his political advisor, Louis Howe convinced him not and his mother but Eleanor didn't want to be there anyway. Both were forced and stayed for power and wealth.
When I say arranged marriage you are confused on the timeline. Obviously none of the 2 wanted to be with each other but powers in politics and family forced them to be together and act to the public. That's not dignity from a man or woman especially a woman who her children has to respect.
She wasn't a good mother, she even said it or a good wife. She disliked having sex with him, probably why Franklin fell in love with someone else. She stayed because it was an arrangement and power and wealth were the reason. I stand by my original post. What is it to admire about that? It's sad.
Jackie is already well-known, bringing grace, elegance and class to the White House.
Nancy Reagan's just say no campaign is commendable, despite a societal reality about the crack epidemic, that made her advocacy look too simplistic.
Hillary Clinton's advocacy of healthcare, against a Newt-led political opposition.
Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign, despite a Tea Party and "junk food industry" opposition.
Melania Trump's anti-bullying efforts. However, some may suggest that the actions of her own husband may have shot that down.
Sounds a very partisan post . First Ladies are not elected and shouldn't be campaigning in the political arena or pushing for partisan laws. Hillary wasn't elected and Newt was. See the difference? Hillary shouldn't be the face of national health care or dealing with Congress in close doors. She wasn't elected.
First Ladies are supposed to take on issues that are not partisan that both sides agree and political neutral. See the difference? That's why Melania did a good job. She stayed in her lane. She wasn't pushing for very divided topics like guns, healthcare, Foreign policy of wars, abortions, immigration , global warming or attacking gas companies or to change drastically the country. That's not the role of the First Lady. The President has the V.P. for that who people voted for.
How did the Tea Party prevented Michelle from eating junk foods????? Did Michelle tried to pass a federal law or have her husband pass E.O.? I thought the states and cities can control that? Do we need mandatory federal laws to decide what to serve in the schools and what programs to promote for children?
Jackie is special for what she had to put up with and how she handled the assassination of her husband next to her under sniper attacked. She loved her husband very much and it showed that day that she didn't care about her own life but her husbands. She even crawled back of a moving vehicle under sniper attacked to pick up her husband's brains and comeback to him. She protected her children. She understood her roll as 1st Lady wasn't to get political on controversial issues like Eleanor or Hillary or to steal her husband spotlight politically. She stayed in her lane because she knew she wasn't elected. She had to put up with the LBJ people that wanted her gone quick from the W.H. Add what she had to put up with Jack but unlike Eleanor, Jackie loved her husband, love having sex with him, love to be a mother and having kids. She was special. She was never partisan. She even went to the Reagan W.H. several times and was very polite and kind and never got political.
Jackie is already well-known, bringing grace, elegance and class to the White House.
Betty Ford was not afraid to make public her struggles with alcohol and breast cancer.
Nancy Reagan's just say no campaign is commendable, despite a societal reality about the crack epidemic, that made her advocacy look too simplistic.
Hillary Clinton's advocacy of healthcare, against a Newt-led political opposition.
Michelle Obama's anti-obesity campaign, despite a Tea Party and "junk food industry" opposition.
Melania Trump's anti-bullying efforts. However, some may suggest that the actions of her own husband may have shot that down.
It's the one thing I agreed with her on. And this is the number one blunder of the GOP party for not giving the people free health care while all these politicians make damn sure they have it for themselves. Now look at the USA today. We give billions upon billions to other countries, but yet still deny free health care for our own citizens. We already pay the most taxes than any other developed country, and we literally got NOTHING to show for it. Nothing. Our roads and bridges are deteriorating, our schools are churning out kids that are not equipped to compete with the likes of China, India, and when a natural disaster hits, there seems to be no help from the government. But the sad thing is, when the dems were in power, they didn't give us the free health care either. They gave us the BS Obamacare that made things worse instead of better. So in the end, both parties seem to be led by people who simply do not care.
It's the one thing I agreed with her on. And this is the number one blunder of the GOP party for not giving the people free health care while all these politicians make damn sure they have it for themselves. Now look at the USA today. We give billions upon billions to other countries, but yet still deny free health care for our own citizens. We already pay the most taxes than any other developed country, and we literally got NOTHING to show for it. Nothing. Our roads and bridges are deteriorating, our schools are churning out kids that are not equipped to compete with the likes of China, India, and when a natural disaster hits, there seems to be no help from the government. But the sad thing is, when the dems were in power, they didn't give us the free health care either. They gave us the BS Obamacare that made things worse instead of better. So in the end, both parties seem to be led by people who simply do not care.
Kinda ironic given that Obamacare is basically Romneycare, which was created by a right wing think tank as a response to Clinton trying to get universal healthcare.
Sounds a very partisan post . First Ladies are not elected and shouldn't be campaigning in the political arena or pushing for partisan laws. Hillary wasn't elected and Newt was. See the difference? Hillary shouldn't be the face of national health care or dealing with Congress in close doors. She wasn't elected.
First Ladies are supposed to take on issues that are not partisan that both sides agree and political neutral. See the difference? That's why Melania did a good job. She stayed in her lane. She wasn't pushing for very divided topics like guns, healthcare, Foreign policy of wars, abortions, immigration , global warming or attacking gas companies or to change drastically the country. That's not the role of the First Lady. The President has the V.P. for that who people voted for.
How did the Tea Party prevented Michelle from eating junk foods????? Did Michelle tried to pass a federal law or have her husband pass E.O.? I thought the states and cities can control that? Do we need mandatory federal laws to decide what to serve in the schools and what programs to promote for children?
Jackie is special for what she had to put up with and how she handled the assassination of her husband next to her under sniper attacked. She loved her husband very much and it showed that day that she didn't care about her own life but her husbands. She even crawled back of a moving vehicle under sniper attacked to pick up her husband's brains and comeback to him. She protected her children. She understood her roll as 1st Lady wasn't to get political on controversial issues like Eleanor or Hillary or to steal her husband spotlight politically. She stayed in her lane because she knew she wasn't elected. She had to put up with the LBJ people that wanted her gone quick from the W.H. Add what she had to put up with Jack but unlike Eleanor, Jackie loved her husband, love having sex with him, love to be a mother and having kids. She was special. She was never partisan. She even went to the Reagan W.H. several times and was very polite and kind and never got political.
"Stay in her lane."
Guess Bill wasn't supposed to appoint his wife to a task force he put together, to tackle healthcare. She was supposed to stay in the White House and "stay in her lane."
Didn't know that obesity, and advocating healthy choices, was partisan. So many on one side of the political spectrum always talk about choice. But when a first lady on the other side talks about it....!
I selected Eleonor Roosevelt. The problem that I had was that you showed a bias by making a list of the ones YOU think deserved consideration. If you had asked for us to select out of our own knowledge of history on their accomplisments, I believe more would probably had been selected. Aftewards you could have mentioned your favorites to avoid predesposition.
Ms. Roosevelt has been my favorite for years after reading a few of her accomplishments and of other first ladies.
You have a great day.
elamigo
A poll with 45 selections would have been inefficient and overwhelming. I picked recent ones then the ones I thought were noteworthy.
Although on a more serious note, I’m not sure who I would choose. To me, I don’t really like when First Ladies have an agenda and try to enact policy changes, as they are not elected.
I totally agree. If first ladies are going to have power politically, they need to be vetted, voted and held accountable exactly like the President should be. Of course with the current administration, no one has been held accountable. But, that is always the case with democrats.
The liberals pushing abortion and non traditional sex say keep the government out of their bedroom. I say, keep the White House bedroom out of my government.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
