Obama鈥檚 life story is dominated by strong females 鈥� from his mother and grandmother to his wife, daughters, sister, and mother-in-law, who lives with them at the White House. The president jokes about how he and Bo the dog 鈥済o to the man cave鈥� and 鈥渢urn on 鈥�SportsCenter鈥� 鈥� just to get away.
But the truth is that Obama鈥檚 extended female family is a political plus. And they will be central players in his reelection campaign, as he and the first lady seek to show women voters that he 鈥済ets it鈥� about what many have gone through and what the next generation needs.
鈥淗e is the son of a single mother who struggled to put herself through school and pay the bills,鈥� Michelle Obama said May 5 in remarks introducing her husband. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 who he is.鈥�
She also spoke of how his grandmother, who helped raise him, hit the glass ceiling in her job at a bank, as 鈥渕en no more qualified than she was were promoted up the ladder.鈥�
Romney, born to wealth, can鈥檛 compete with that narrative. And his wife, Ann, while scoring high in polls on likability, has also been caught in the 鈥渨ealth trap鈥� with a $990 shirt and two Cadillacs. Romney can, and has, talked about Ann鈥檚 struggles with health problems more commonly faced by women. But when talking about the challenges many women encounter in seeking educational opportunity and professional success, Romney has to go outside his own family鈥檚 experience.
Yet Romney has already shown he won鈥檛 hand an easy issue to Obama, when he said he supported legislation preventing the interest rate on federal student loans from doubling.
But Obama also has to be careful. Depending on how the explosive conservative reaction to 鈥淭he Life of Julia鈥� plays out, Obama may have to dial back the message that government is in our lives from cradle to grave.
