By Megan Tripp, Staff Writer, Emerson College
John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie were well loved during his presidential term because of their youthful image and nuclear family. JFK, despite being the first Catholic president, was a welcome breath of youthful air after presidents like Eisenhower, and JFK’s Republican contender in the 1960 election: Richard Nixon. Jackie became a fashion and wifely icon for the nation and sixties housewives idolized her.
The Obamas, in this sense, are this century’s Kennedys. Politics aside (although there are a lot of similarities there too), the overall national image of the Obamas echoes the nation’s love of the Kennedys.
Let’s start with Michelle. Most previous First Ladies have opted for the motherly, and sometimes matronly, image, which was far from Jackie’s glamorous persona. Both Jackie and Michelle have become so idolized that they seem to be more celebrity than political wife. Jackie was a fashionista and so is Michelle. Her gowns at the Inaugural Balls and the White House Correspondent’s Balls were headline worthy much like the red carpet celebrity outfits. Michelle’s “Let’s Move!” campaign championing healthier living has reached not only kids (she had commercials and interviews on Disney Channel!) but also young mothers, the same demographic that idolized the way Jackie raised her family.
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John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie were well loved during his presidential term because of their youthful image and nuclear family. JFK, despite being the first Catholic president, was a welcome breath of youthful air after presidents like Eisenhower, and JFK’s Republican contender in the 1960 election: Richard Nixon. Jackie became a fashion and wifely icon for the nation and sixties housewives idolized her.
The Obamas, in this sense, are this century’s Kennedys. Politics aside (although there are a lot of similarities there too), the overall national image of the Obamas echoes the nation’s love of the Kennedys.
Let’s start with Michelle. Most previous First Ladies have opted for the motherly, and sometimes matronly, image, which was far from Jackie’s glamorous persona. Both Jackie and Michelle have become so idolized that they seem to be more celebrity than political wife. Jackie was a fashionista and so is Michelle. Her gowns at the Inaugural Balls and the White House Correspondent’s Balls were headline worthy much like the red carpet celebrity outfits. Michelle’s “Let’s Move!” campaign championing healthier living has reached not only kids (she had commercials and interviews on Disney Channel!) but also young mothers, the same demographic that idolized the way Jackie raised her family.
Read More Here