{"id":45121,"date":"2013-06-05T03:17:17","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T03:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/?p=45121"},"modified":"2017-03-02T20:57:45","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T20:57:45","slug":"first-ladies-get-to-learn-how-to-do-it-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/theanchoress\/2013\/06\/05\/first-ladies-get-to-learn-how-to-do-it-well\/","title":{"rendered":"First Ladies get to Learn how to do it well UPDATE: AUDIO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a>
Hey, a great dress is a great dress. I love.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
\u201cOne of the things that I don\u2019t do well is this. . .Do you understand?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Whaaaa?<\/strong><\/p>\n
That was our First Lady<\/a>, not having one of her best moments while dealing with a heckler<\/a> at (what else?) a fundraiser.<\/p>\n
Obama was addressing a Democratic Party fundraiser in a private Kalorama home in Northwest Washington when Ellen Sturtz, 56, a lesbian activist interrupted her remarks to demand that President Obama sign an anti-discrimination executive order.<\/p>\n
Obama showed her displeasure \u2013 pausing to confront Sturtz eye to eye, according to witnesses.*
*\n\u201cOne of the things that I don\u2019t do well is this,\u201d she said to applause from most of the guests, according to a White House transcript. \u201cDo you understand?\u201d<\/p>\nA pool report from a reporter in the room said Obama \u201cleft the lectern and moved over to the protester.\u201d The pool report quoted Obama as saying: \u201cListen to me or you can take the mic, but I\u2019m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Obama\u2019s suggestion that she would leave were not included in the official White House transcript<\/a>.***
***\nThe audience responded by asking Obama to remain, according to the pool report<\/a>, which quoted a woman nearby telling Sturtz, \u201cYou need to go.\u201d<\/p>\nSturtz was escorted out of the room. She said in an interview later she was stunned by Obama\u2019s response.*
*\n\u201cShe came right down in my face,\u201d Sturtz said. \u201cI was taken aback.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIt\u2019s not that shocking,<\/strong> I guess, for this administration. Joe Biden once had a journalist locked in a closet<\/a> when he spoke at a fundraiser. Team Obama doesn\u2019t seem to love the first amendment, whether its rights are being exercised by people giving them money, people giving them glorious press<\/a>, or people honoring them and praying for and with them<\/a>. They\u2019re funny that way.<\/p>\n
Not funny, ha-ha. Just\u2026funny.<\/em><\/p>\n
Was the heckler out of line? Sure. But it\u2019s the heckler\u2019s nature to be out of line, and that\u2019s when a bit of grace or wit puts things aright. Saying \u201cI can\u2019t deal\u2026\u201d that\u2019s a deficiency the office can\u2019t afford.<\/p>\n
That line killed me, though:<\/strong> \u201cOne of the things that I don\u2019t do well is this. . .Do you understand?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
Work<\/em> on it, Mrs. Obama. Really work<\/em> on it. Because free citizens are allowed to question, to mock, and even to heckle, as long as they\u2019re not inciting violence. And you\u2019re the First Lady of a nation that, we are told, still honors this idea. Oppressed peoples still come here, because whatever else America has been, it is still the place where even poor presidents, even disliked presidents, have experienced heckling and responded to it by either answering with substance, or grace, or wit, or by reminding the assembly that it\u2019s alright to speak up in America, even to the biggest man or woman in the room. <\/p>\n
Do you<\/em> understand?<\/strong> You don\u2019t really get to say, \u201cI don\u2019t handle this well\u201d as though it\u2019s an option \u2014 something you can leave off your First Lady plate. You get to learn how to handle it well, because it is an immense privilege to serve a citizenry that has put you into power. The service begins with listening \u2014 and in responding to people in a way that well-may-be better than they seem to deserve specifically because you, yourself, have been placed into a position so honored, so privileged, that you can afford to. <\/p>\n
Yes, yes, the peasants are revolting. But in America, they still get to hoist up their slacks and bellow their questions. And you get to answer them like a lady. Like the First<\/em> Lady. <\/p>\n
Not, however, like the queen.<\/p>\n
UPDATE:<\/strong>**
**\nWashington Post has the audio<\/a>. You have to listen closely, to hear the whole \u201c\u2026but I\u2019m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.\u201d<\/p>\nUPDATE II:<\/strong>***
***\nEd Morrissey says nah, Mrs. Obama did alright!<\/a><\/p>\nRelated:<\/strong>***
***\nChoosing Words Wisely: Insights on Improving Communication Skills<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/a>
Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"***
** ***\u201cOne of the things that I don\u2019t do well is this. . .Do you understand?\u201d Whaaaa? That was our First Lady, not having one of her best moments while dealing with a heckler at (what else?) a fundraiser. Obama was addressing a Democratic Party fundraiser in a private Kalorama home in Northwest Washington when Ellen […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4853,396,1345,4877],"class_list":["post-45121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-free-speech","tag-grace","tag-hecklers","tag-michelle-obama"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Ladies get to Learn how to do it well UPDATE: AUDIO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cOne of the things that I don\u2019t do well is this. . .Do you understand?\u201d Whaaaa? 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