Michelle Obama's trip to Spain.

Who is jersey?

I think the shock was in Michelle....during the election a lot of people took the read on her that she has commoner sensibilities, so for her to not have figured out how bad the optics would be on this trip was unexpected. What I disliked most is originally this was sold as a fun mother-daughter get away that was none of our business, and when that went south the White House rebranded the trip as a restorative for one of Michelle's unfortunate friends. This was phony baloney plus it is not nice to use your friends hard luck to try to get yourself out of trouble.

No just an example of how Fox News has turned conservatives against Spanish people... Newt Gingrich calling Spanish, "a ghetto language..." That was the day I lost all respect and admiration for Newt... Shut of his err, ummm "news letter..." No more Newt in my email inbox... Newt can take his think tank and, well, think all he wants. This only goes to show that some people get it and some don't, Michelle gets it and you and your ilk "Finn" don't...

She said she wanted to expose her daughter to Spanish culture... Is that so hard to understand? She is bringing her children up to love other cultures while Fox news and the conservatives are still hanging on to their cultural hatreds.

My father was a sea captain on super tankers and traveled to nearly every port in the world. Both of my parents exposed me to cultures from all over the world. My mother was a jade importer and she also imported hand carved Chinese furniture. Our house was filled with things from India, Africa, China, The Middle East (Arab and Jewish) European and Polynesian artwork and literature.

This is one of the greatest things they did for me to give me a healthy love and respect for cultures for all parts of the globe, so for me to listen to Fox News and hear all of the constant selective hate for other cultures promoted, well, has caused me to shut off their network and cut it out of my daily routine. Rupert Murdock, being from Australia having its own rich culture I would think he would understand this first hand... But look who has the err, commoner sensibilities...

So if you disagree with Michelle exposing her daughter to Spanish culture well, it is not your life but Michelle's and you are not her daughter's mother or father. I am surely glad you are not my parent too Finn dAbuzz!

The trip was probably about love of Spanish culture and the restorative effects a healthy love of culture can have on one with a hearty appreciation. Just as Barrack was chastised for wearing a Muslim head turban while he is probably mostly a self professed Christian. When in Rome... We have a wonderfully HIGHLY cultured President and first lady and, it's about time...

GW Bush spoke Spanish and also seemed to demonstrate a love for the language...

You can call this poor White House optics or the arrogant and warped optics of a cross section of the American culture brought on by people like Newt Gingrich (your average Fox News contributor...)

Michelle said she wanted to expose her daughter to Spanish culture... OK? Is that so hard to fathom? I understand it completely! I don't need more optics to have a healthy appreciation for all cultures.

Spanish music, Spanish cuisine, Spanish architecture and art, Spanish language. There is so much to love about Spain... That doesn't mean I don't love English culture too, I neither need my optics adjusted nor to have multicultural appreciations spelled out to me like I have "commoner sensibilities"...

RR, Well stated, and I agree 100%. I have traveled the world extensively, and have visited 150 countries. I love all peoples and cultures, and literally have friends all around the world.

Many Americans still ignore the fact that our country is a country of immigrants. We still haven't learned that the makeup of this country is what makes it great. People still discriminate based on religion and politics, and absolutely no understanding of our Constitution. Many want to control other people's lives based on their prejudiced beliefs - while their own lives are restricted and limited to their own bigotry.

It seems to get worse with every 365 days.

and if you are wealthy enough to take your kid on a hoity-toity trip to Europe so that they "can experience the continent" most people are going to say more power to you. However if you are the First Lady doing that during the Great Recession which is still in danger of becoming a depression when everybody knows someone who is a good worker who cant get a job/has or will be losing their house/is or has completely run out of money and lost everything they had built over a lifetime maybe it would be more smart to go somewhere closer to home and more poor on your homeschool field trips....to not rub it in how good the Obama's have it.

Oh, get off it, captain Doom and Gloom. Nobody gives a **** about this at all other than professional complainers such as yourself.

Cycloptichorn

please document your claim that no one cares other than the chattering class. I have found no poll numbers. Criticism as well as support for Obama was all over the media and net so we know that the Chattering class cared a great deal.

It's August- silly season. Congress ain't in session and they don't have **** else to talk about.

Cycloptichorn

It has just now been made clear that the economy has stalled again, we are sliding towards deflation, and the DEM look to be taking a huge beating in less than 90 days, we have Rangle and Waters demanding to be thrown out of Congress because they will not leave on their own...........Your assertion is Bullshit on the face of it

Having been to Spain, I have no problem with Michelle going and taking the kids with her.
As I said earlier, my only complaint was the entourage and all of her friends that went, on (I thought) the taxpayers dollar.
Having learned otherwise, I say more power to her. Spain is a great country, with beautiful old towns and wonderful people.
More people should go there.

Yes, but those things are boring. The pundits like interesting things to talk about- sex scandals etc. A Michelle Obama scandal is good ratings, because it brings out the professional idiots like yourself, the right-wing mouth-breathers, and the like - all of whom scream 'let them eat cake!' while having very little actual historical perspective or information about the trip itself.

Cycloptichorn

I don't know that this is a big controversy since the only place I hear about it here, but this is a reasonable argument. I can't recall a sitting President or first family vacationing outside the US. I went to Spain last year and probably dropped $5K. Ms. Obama is probably going to drop more like $100K by the time her entourage is included. I can understand some people saying "we have perfectly good vacation spots in the US, we need the money and the press attention wouldn't hurt either." I loved Spain, I highly recommend it, and I'm all for politicians having a private family life, but I can understand the argument.

It is not, we have too many serious problems to waste time on this, but it is disappointing. I expect the reaction to show up in her public perception numbers. It will matter when Team Obama rolls her out next year to start campaigning if I am right.

One thing you fail to understand with your myopic unfair and unbalanced mentality is if we have a depression, there will be no hoity-toity nothing... all countries will follow us down, perhaps Spain and the euro first... I certainly would not characterize Spain's economy as hoity-toity... The world is interconnected no matter how "fix the news" and yourself would like to segregate themselves from the rest of the civilized world...

Now is a time to reach out collectively to the world (with the audacity of hope) and not follow the republican path of alienating our neighbors... I am reminded of G W Bush's arrogant walk out of Kyoto... I hated him for that and had 9/11 not happened I would have not supported him one bit. I think the recession fears are caused by rich repugs trying to ruin our economy on the eve of an election... I put nothing past many of these sly and sinister repugs... I have had News Max sending me doom and gloom economic reports ever since Obama set foot in the White House. I haven't had the nerve to unsubscribe because they published a quote of mine in one of their magazine issues of me praising Bill Gates for his philanthropy efforts...

RR, It's not the rich repubs who are responsible for the doom and gloom message; it's those robots in the middle class and the poor who don't understand economics or politics.

Yes it is the rich repugs that feed the middle class and the poor with misinformation playing off their fears all simply for political gain. Where is all this patriotism now which the repugs seems to think they were the only ones who cared about this country... They would steal the bread from a beggar if it would get them a vote... Little moral fortitude when it comes down to it, such a shame...

Bullshit.....nearly everyone has come to the conclusion that Washington no longer works, and that there is no plan to fix what is wrong with the American economy. This opinion crosses all classes. THe wealthy however have options, in the new global economy they can move and take much of their wealth with them, the rest of us are stuck here.....this is what accounts for the wealthy being relatively peaceful, that and the fact that they still control Washington, though they must understand that this will end soon.

MOVE WHERE? To where currency is even weaker, you are crazy... Washington certainly worked much worse while the republicans were in charge... Obama has had little over a year to repair the damage done by the republicans...

hawk, Washington fails to work, because the GOP has turned into the No Party.
Are you able to digest that? I doubt it.

EXACTLY! If it were not for the democratic majority and a few conscientious republicans we would be an a full blown recession right now... and the republicans for the most part would gloat... I don't think we are headed for a recession, America is too resilient to allow that to happen... Oil and cost of energy is our worst problem, I am hoping Obama's green energy plan has enough strength to make a positive impact on our energy deficits and vulnerabilities.