Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
The latest in the mainstream media's love affair with the Obamas--which I thought had cooled down a little bit until now--came last night, via Forbes. Forbes released its annual list of "Most Powerful Women," and topping that list this year was none other than the first lady herself, Michelle Obama. Angela Merkel took the title last year.
What has Michelle Obama done over the past year that causes her to merit this title? Let's see: she oversaw the opening of the White House's vegetable garden, she took a lavish vacation in Spain, and she gave a few speeches on child nutrition. That sounds more like the affairs of a housewife than of an amazon--and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as we acknowledge it for what it is and what it isn't.
I think Sarah Palin, who comes in at number 16 on the list, is better deserving of the number 1 role than Michelle Obama is. Palin has managed to move and shake people in a way that no one (man nor woman) has done in the last year. Obama, by contrast, just seems to be indulging her whims as first lady in the White House.
Other notable women appearing on the list were: Oprah at 3, Hillary Clinton at 5, Lady Gaga at 7, Nancy Pelosi at 11, Janet Napolitano at 13 (!), and, as mentioned, Sarah Palin at 16.
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Jul '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Lady GaGa at number 7?
Let this be a lesson to Claire Berlinski.
I told her to wear a meat-dress and fishnet stockings, but nooooo....
Edited on Oct 7, 2010 at 6:00amJul '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
You'd think it would be Dilma Rousseff.
Aug '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Who did they ask? How is this 'power' measured? 'Power' over whom, and to what ends? Can she create a job, heal the sick, soothe a rebellious teenager having a meltdown, or change her husband's mind about anything?
These kinds of polls and articles are stupid and insidious, to the degree they mean anything at all. It's insulting that Forbes - a magazine with a decent reputation until now - would think so little of its readers that they would pass off this tripe as worthy reading..
Sarah Palin has far more influence and generates infinitely more genuine respect than Michelle, who has never accomplished anything worthwhile in her life. Her image is deceptive; designed to mislead and misrepresent who she really is at heart.
She's an entirely malevolent force in the world, married to the most sinister and dangerous leader America has ever produced.
Edited on Oct 7, 2010 at 6:48amRe: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Kenneth, I'm discreet about my power. It's like being a lady; if you have to tell people you're powerful, you're not. But just between you and me, Gaga's my puppet.
Jun '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
People in the mainstream media love power. They like to stand near power so that they can share the glow. They flatter powerful people so that they are welcome in the circle of power. And they are willing to spread falsehoods in the maintenance of power. Sickening really.
I'm in a very dark mood today. Sorry.
May '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
I'm fairly certain that Kathleen Sebelius and Elizabeth Warren are going to rank much higher on this list next year (and Nancy Pelosi much lower). The bizarre juxtaposition of corporate executives with performance celebrities is just bizarre.
I'll grant that Lady Gaga could probably assemble nearly as large a group on the national mall (albeit a very different one) as Sarah Palin, but I would posit that the CEO of Temasek Holdings (which basically amounts to the full faith and credit of the Singapore government) is at least as powerful as Beyonce.
Stupid story but perfect fodder for reflection and debate -- thanks Emily.
Edited on Oct 7, 2010 at 6:46amMay '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Having just read a discussion of 'Mad Men', and how unbelievably sexist things were back in the time period of the show, it's amusing that two of the Liberals' 'heroines' in the present achieved the ultimate old-fashioned goal of marrying well.
And the consistently derided and mocked Sarah Palin, meantime, has achieved ALL the feminists pretended to desire.
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
I'm surprised that Christie Hefner, CEO of Playboy Enterprises, didn't make the list. Whatever you think of her, she probably is one of the most powerful women in the world. She did make an appearance on past Forbes lists.
Kenn Owen: Having just read a discussion of 'Mad Men', and how unbelievably sexist things were back in the time period of the show, it's amusing that two of the Liberals' 'heroines' in the present achieved the ultimate old-fashioned goal of marrying well.
And the consistently derided and mocked Sarah Palin, meantime, has achieved ALL the feminists pretended to desire. · Oct 7 at 6:34am
Jul '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
You know, if this had been People or US, I'd just laugh it off. But it was Forbes. For crying out loud, you'd expect better of them.
They've rendered the word "powerful" meaningless. Power is the ability to affect events. In what meaning of that word are Lady GaGa or Beyonce or even Oprah "powerful"?
This just confirms that obsession with celebrity clouds peoples' ability to think clearly.
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Kenneth:
They've rendered the word "powerful" meaningless. Power is the ability to affect events. In what meaning of that word are Lady GaGa or Beyonce or even Oprah "powerful"?
This just confirms that obsession with celebrity clouds peoples' ability to think clearly. · Oct 7 at 7:04am
I would say that power is also the ability to affect people. In fact, you might need to affect people before you affect events. In that case, I would say Oprah and Lady Gaga (though I'm a fan of neither) are very powerful figures. They have HUGE followings and their fans will practically do whatever they say. That's pretty powerful.
Both of those two have used their celebrity pop-culture status for political ends. Lady Gaga has with the issue of gay rights, feminism, and the war in Afghanistan. Oprah has with the Obama election, feminist issues, and countless others.
Edited on Oct 7, 2010 at 7:12amJul '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Emily Esfahani Smith, Ed.
I would say that power is also the ability to affect people. In fact, you might need to affect people before you affect events. In that case, I would say Oprah and Lady Gaga (though I'm a fan of neither) are very powerful figures. They have HUGE followings and their fans will practically do whatever they say. That's pretty powerful.
Both of those two have used their celebrity pop-culture status for political ends. Lady Gaga has with the issue of gay rights, feminism, and the war in Afghanistan. Oprah has with the Obama election, feminist issues, and countless others. · Oct 7 at 7:11am
Edited on Oct 07 at 07:12 am
Well, of course one needs to affect people to affect events within the social or political spheres. But honestly, with the possible exception of Oprah, who practices persuasion of the dim-witted, who really makes significant choices based upon the opinion of celebrities?
The last celebrity I can think of who actually wielded persuasive influence was Ronald Reagan, in the period before he entered actively into elective politics.
Aug '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
As People spun out of the old TIME magazine, Forbes is pretty active with their Lists of this and that. Probably gets a ton of web inquiry, so they're coming up with more and more. If it were a decade ago, they would have spun it off, but now dead tree is pretty passe.
Let's see where it goes: Forbes List of the 100 Most Obvious Payoffs ? Probably not.
Forbes List of 50 Top Union-Funded Politicians ? RCP will get there first.
Forbes List of 25 Top Lists......Forbes List of 65 Cabinet Level Czars ?
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
flownover:
Forbes List of 50 Top Union-Funded Politicians ? RCP will get there first.· Oct 7 at 7:34am
Now THAT is a list that I'd like to see. Or, the Forbes List of the 50 highest paid public sector employees, along with their salaries and pensions. Fred Barnes at The Weekly Standard wrote a great piece about this a few months ago. Salaries and pensions were well into the six figure mark.
Jun '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
This thread puts me in mind of a "powerful women" conference that was held in Vancouver a few years back. Every one of the powerful women that headlined the conference was "powerful" only because of who her husband was. Move along folks, no irony to see here.
Edited on Oct 7, 2010 at 8:38amOct '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Michelle Obama is powerfully preachy. Her speeches are banal, tedious, annoying, uninspiring, self-centered, humorless lectures. What the hell, Forbes?
Sep '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
I'm glad someone said it first. I'll sum up my opinions of Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama without, I hope, being gratuitously insulting:
Hillary has always struck me as the perenially frustrated, overachieving Ivy League killjoy (I base that on reading All Too Human by George Stepho), but she at least went out and got elected to something and I'd rather have her negotiating with the Russians than Obama. I know, I know, you could accuse her on coat tail riding, and I find the former First Couple as oddly Shakespearean as any American first couple I've ever seen.
But, that said, Michelle Obama has always given me the vibe of being that same perenially frustrated, overachieving Ivy League killjoy who never did get what she wanted and instead relentlessly pokes you in the chest with her extended forefinger and reminds you incessantly that she never did.
Yeesh. Good thing they bought a dog; that house is no place for a cat.
Edited on Oct 7, 2010 at 10:05amMay '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
I agree with that #1 ranking. Show me a guy who doesn't obey his wife when she is absolutely determined to have her way, and I'll show you a pending ex-husband.
May '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
I agree with Emily that the First Lady has Oprah's ability to command her followers, who love her mainly because she's married to The One. More importantly, though, she's the wife of the President of the United States. Duane's right. More than anyone else, she has his ear.
I always hated the feminist history taught in public school about women being utterly powerless until a century or two ago. Men bend over backwards and drive themselves to ruin to secure a woman's love. Maybe it's different in other parts of the country, but I can't recall a single married couple around here that doesn't occasionally joke about the wife being the one who's really in charge. Since my best friend got married, the only time we hang out is when his wife sets him free.
Forbes might not be wrong. Mrs. Obama almost certainly affects the decisions of the world's most powerful political leader. President Obama's decisions are vital to business decisions (unfortunately), so the First Lady's influence also affects corporate earnings and the economy at large.
Jul '10
Re: Michelle Obama: Most Powerful Woman in the World
Com'on guys. She is at least as qualified for that as her husband was for the Nobel Prize. (Gag, gasp, puke!)