As the new first family gets ready to move into the White House, comparisons to the Kennedys swirl. But all I have to say is: Who cares what she wears and how she decorates? The stupid ones who compare Michelle O to Jackie O miss the point. Camelot is so far in the past it’s another history. And even the Kennedy Camelot wasn’t a paradise, as we’ve come to learn. The Obamas have their own agenda, and the only real question is whether the Washington swamp will suck them in and ruin things.
Our next president is not only eloquent but elegant in the way he carries himself. And his wife is a wonderful mother to their daughters—as well as much, much more. But I’ll always have a soft spot for Laura Bush, whom I once criticized for wearing colored sneakers when she visited Nantucket. She sent me a note that read, “Every time I open my closet I see those sneakers dancing around the floor.” Isn’t that the role of a first lady—to have a sense of humor and be charming?
My only advice to the Obamas—if I can be so bold—is: Don’t go for the lowest common denominator. Raise the standards—from education to the country’s infrastructure (speaking of which, before the pooh-bahs at New York’s Port Authority hang the president’s picture in the international arrivals hall at JFK airport, they’d better clean the place; it’s so filthy, it’s fourth world).
So good luck to the new first family and to the U.S. And now let Europe and the rest of the world eat crow.
