Why First Ladies Matter

The first lady has the most important role next to the president of the United States:  she is the one person who can tell the president he is wrong when nobody else will.

There were loud groans and snickers all around me last night when Wolf Blitzer asked the presidential candidates at the GOP debate in Jacksonville why theirs wives would make the best First Lady.  Twitter was overloaded with snarky remarks as well. I thought the question was a good one.

I was lucky enough to score a ticket to the debate through CNN, although I was definitely in the cheap seats.  But the cheap seats were also a cross-section of local Republicans, not the movers and shakers in the VIP seating below.

First Ladies are important because they set the social and cultural tone for the White House, have immeasurable influence on presidents and can make enormous differences in the social issues they champion.  Using the media correctly, they can bring big time brownie points to the White House.

The President actually sets the parameters for his wife’s involvement whether it be by his outright support or subtle use of his aides to ignore requests from the First Lady’s office.

Jackie Kennedy brought culture and grace back to the White House.  As a mother of young children, she declined the role of taking on outside social issues saying that if she messed raising her children that up nothing else really mattered. But the public ate her up and President Kennedy once remarked that he was simply the man who accompanied Jackie Kennedy to France.

Lady Bird Johnson’s highway beautification projects were roundly supported by her husband and later became law with the Highway Act.  Rosalyn Carter was the first to sit in on cabinet meetings. Her work with mental health issues also eventually became law. She also traveled to Latin America to meet with heads of state. Pat Nixon was kept at bay by Nixon’s staff and President Nixon himself seemed to all buy ignore her. She was a quiet influence well-liked by the press.

Hillary Clinton was the first to have an office in the West Wing and spearhead a program, the healthcare issue. She was the first former First Lady to ever run for president, be appointed to a cabinet level post or be a U.S. Senator.

Betty Ford shared her fight with breast cancer at a time when women did not do that publicly. She was outspoken on social issues and the media loved her. And then there’s the Betty Ford Clinic.

Nancy Reagan’s  “Just Say No” brought the issue of fighting drug abuse to youth.  It was her influence on the president and the operations of the White House that is probably unparalleled by any First Lady.  For all the spears thrown at Nancy Reagan, no one can doubt that she was deeply loved and respected by President Reagan.

Barbara Bush and Laura Bush championed literacy. Barbara was a prolific speech giver, while it took Laura longer to get used to the role. Laura seemed to also bring back a degree of genteelness and structure back to the White House after the Clinton years.

Michelle Obama has championed childhood obesity and it’s safe to say she has the ear of the president.  I’m sometimes put off by the way she seems to call him out publicly for his personal quirks. Not cool, especially when you have a public husband.

The most heartwarming line of the debates last night was when Rick Santorum called his wife Karen his hero. You knew he meant it.  How a man speaks of his wife is very telling. When a man cherishes his wife, it makes him a better person.

Just look what happened to Newt.

This was originally posted on CrackerJaxBlog.com