ANALYSIS: Michelle Obama Moves on From FLOTUS to Voice of Influence
As Obama leaves office, she'll be leaving behind shattered expectations.
— -- There isn’t much that’s certain about Washington these days, but there is this: one of the most fascinating question of the Obama post-presidency has got to be, 'What’s next for Michelle?'
She might have started as a reluctant political spouse, but Michelle Obama evolved into one of most formidable voices of her husband’s administration. Her early work often existed in tandem with her husband’s. Her "Let’s Move!" campaign, for instance, sensibly bolstered the Affordable Care Act’s emphasis on prioritizing wellness and preventative care, not just insurance coverage for big health emergencies.
Obama had to define the role of first lady for herself, and while doing so, she appeared to remain cautious about how her decisions as a black woman would be interpreted. Unlike Betty Ford, she was never going to have the leeway to strike an insouciant pose atop a table in the Cabinet Room; the mere sight of her bare arms sent some sputtering into rage. Had Obama displayed Eleanor Roosevelt’s penchant for shamelessly flouting the wishes of her husband, as Roosevelt did with her campaign to end lynching, half the country and cable news could have erupted in faux outrage.
It wasn’t until Hillary Clinton was sold as part of a "two for the price of one" deal that a woman in the modern era of politics challenged how we saw the first lady, and the country didn’t like it. Michelle Obama was only the second first lady, after Clinton, to hold a law degree. She’s the third, after Clinton and Laura Bush, to hold a graduate degree, period.
At the start of her tenure, Obama declared herself "Mom-in-Chief," an anodyne moniker designed to circumvent controversy but which ended up inviting it anyway. In Politico magazine, Michelle Cottle declared her a "feminist nightmare." She had been a high-powered executive in Chicago, drawing a six-figure salary as a hospital administrator and now she was just going to be ... Mom?
Moms, like first ladies, aren’t considered threatening because we don’t perceive them as having real power. And after a campaign in which her patriotism was called into question and both Obamas were painted as closeted radicals, fully embracing such a role seemed like a necessary step.
The gag was that Michelle wasn’t confined by it. Even when he let loose singing a few bars of Al Green, or Amazing Grace, President Obama remained his professorial self. But Michelle got to be so much more. She owned her role as a cheery, experimental fashion plate and reveled in opportunities to champion artists and open the White House up to Americans of all stripes. She was a mom dancer, friend and role model to Beyoncé, Carpool Karaoke rock star and hostess to camping Girl Scouts. And even next to her husband’s brilliant oratory skills, Michelle repeatedly proved that her own speeches packed quite a wallop, too.
Eventually the role of Mom-in-Chief gave way to something more glamorous, culminating in the first lady’s appearance in a gold chainmail Atelier Versace gown, which she wore to the Obamas' final state dinner.
Now that she’s no longer constrained by the many rules of Secret Service protocol or the stakes of campaigning for political office, Obama is free to speak her mind and do as she pleases. This new freedom was evident in a recent exit interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the first lady pointedly declared, "Now we’re feeling what not having hope feels like," referring to the election of Donald Trump.
Miraculously, the former first lady, who just turned 53, seems to have spent the last eight years aging in reverse and emerging as a pop culture super star in her own right. Will she write a book? Host a talk show? Become a national voice for the feminist movement? Embark on a new and exciting project with Winfrey? We’re all waiting with baited breath to find out.
Soraya Nadia McDonald is a senior writer covering arts, entertainment and culture for The Undefeated. This analysis was adapted from Michelle Obama moves from Mom-in-Chief to White House MVP.
Opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of ABC News.