First Lady: A Job Worth A Paycheck

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: First Lady: A Job Worth A Paycheck
By Lauren Stiller Rikleen
Friday, December 26, 2008; Page A23

First lady. First mom. Mom in chief. No -- none of these titles works. And therein lies the problem.

When Michelle Obama moves into the White House, she will inherit a title with no job description as the world watches to see how she performs. So far, media coverage has focused on what she will not be doing -- she is taking a sabbatical from her paid career. Obama has described her major role upon entering the White House as that of a mother wanting to help her daughters adjust to their changed lives as children of the president of the United States.

Media reports have focused on her Ivy League pedigree and her distinguished career as a lawyer and hospital administrator. By giving up her paid position, the argument goes, she has relinquished the opportunity to be the role model in chief for working mothers. But this thinking underestimates the intricate role of first lady, which will call on all of the skills she has developed as a working professional.

The very debate about whether Michelle Obama is sacrificing her career shows that we must develop a proper perspective about the position of first lady, including a job description for the spouse of the president. Surely the person in one of the most visible roles on the planet deserves a proper title and salary to go along with the intense demands of this most nebulous position, which is, in essence, a job....

***

With another highly credentialed spouse preparing to enter the White House, it is time to negotiate a clearer role for the first lady -- one that has a job description and a salary appropriate to the range of responsibilities that come with being the president's spouse. Compare the responsibilities of the nation's first lady with those of the spouse of the president of a major university. Increasingly, colleges and universities are compensating their first spouses for the enormous contribution of time and talent these people devote to their role. The Association of American Universities has even adopted guidelines that urge governing boards of universities to recognize the spouse's role and to consider a titled position with a job description and salary and/or benefits. Certainly the spouse of the U.S. president deserves no less.

Michelle Obama has impeccable credentials that will not be diminished by her decision to discontinue her paid work outside the home. Like other first ladies before her, she will have an office, a staff and even a budget. What other positions with staffing and budgets have no job description?...

(Lauren Stiller Rikleen, a partner at the Massachusetts-based law firm Bowditch & Dewey LLP, is executive director of the Bowditch Institute for Women's Success and the author of "Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law.")

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/25/AR2008122500664.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[snot]

1. sorry, but isn't this a staff pick w/ responsibilities etc. w/in discretion of the Prez?

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. I don't get the controversy of Michelle deciding to be a stay at home Mom.

As for being a role model for working women, how many working women have First Lady duties on top of being the mother of two school aged kids? And how many jobs could Michelle take that wouldn't somehow represent a conflict of interest, with her hubby being the Prez? The rightwing would just love that. They didn't seem to care that Cheney was still raking in big bucks from Halliburton, but they would absolutely skewer Michelle if she took a paid position.

[Mind_your_head]

3. Valid points, especially when you're talking about someone like Michele Obama in that role, BUT.....

What if the nation were saddled with someone like "first-dude" Todd Palin in the 'first lady' *ahem* roll? (It could've happened!)

Some first-spouses would bring more to the table than others. How does the nation figure that into the equation? :shrug:

Even though the article in the OP brings up a good point, considering what I wrote above leaves me thinking that a simple, fair solution would be difficult to arrive at.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. We can add this to the BOTTOM of the list of things the Obama Administration has to resolve.

[tomreedtoon]

5. We don't vote for First Lady.

Whatever Mrs. Obama believes or does is her personal business. And yes, it's nice when a First Lady dedicates herself to promoting causes (using her popularity, if she has any, since she has no real power). It's not as good when the causes are stupid (remember "Just Say No," anyone?)

But I know of no nation that requires the spouse of the leader to actually do anything. Since so many people here like France, can you tell me if the French President's wife and mistress get paid anything?

[grasswire]

6. honestly, I think that the perks of being First Lady...

...far outweigh any monetary compensation that could be offered. There is an ample allowance for entertaining, more for travel, there are all manner of ways to elevate oneself in society and in the world, there are incalculable rewards seen and unseen.