Who says being First Lady isn’t working?

Today’s New York Times quotes former British first lady Cherie Blair (whose juicy tell-all I cannot wait to read):

“It is something of an irony that in these days of pushing for equality those of us married to our political leaders have to put their own ambitions on hold while their spouses are in office and keep their views to themselves,” Mrs. Blair continued. “I, at least, had my career. That is not an option for Michelle Obama.”

All the debate about whether Michelle Obama is giving up her career to become “First Mom” really misses the point. First, what about being First Lady is not “work”? I doubt any First Lady sleeps in and relaxes much (although I was wistfully stunned to read that FDR awoke each day at 8:00 am, can you imagine?). How is being one of the most visible and influential Americans on the planet not “work”? Why was her time at U Chicago Hospital more important than being first lady of the US? Because she’s not earning her own paycheck as First Lady? That is temporary, and she is indeed doing important work right now.

From the Times piece, “‘I miss my colleagues, I miss my work, I enjoyed what I was doing,’” Mrs. Obama said on CNN in February. “’But this is really pretty significant. My view of career is that I can always have whatever career I want. That’s why I, I don’t question that I can go back to that job or go back to something else interesting.’”

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