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His name would be printed in bold letters upon scoring a spectacular victory at the 2008 race to become the first Black tenant at the White House. The succeeding eights years would thus be a memorable chapter in the golden book of American history, to be read by generations upon generations to come. But far from the man, Barack Obama and his administration, one element stood out tall in the era of the maiden Black President in the world’s most powerful nation. Michelle Obama!
For some obvious reason, America’s First Lady, from 2008 to 2016, observers had held, was an incarnation of excellence. Strongly molded with beauty and brains, Michelle smartly grabbed the show from the popular man-at-the-helm, her husband, leaving the former president with no choice, than to overly hail her at every single outing.
The First Lady would soon become too charismatic to resist – her keep fit displays, her dexterous dance on TV shows, her cuisine skills on TV, her interaction with kids – the moments were aplenty. Just as would be the case with any other wife of a President, Michelle would be seen in the softer areas of life, providing needed smiles on the faces of citizens.
However, Obama’s wife wouldn’t fail to prove she is a genius who is able to jack in everything, yet master all, even in politics, for which her husband was well reputed. Her speech to the 2016 Democratic Convention assembly would lift spirits and position her in the realm of crowd-pulling personalities. Many were those who wished it were Michelle, opposing the winner of the 2016 election to the White House, after that memorable address. “Michelle in Hillary’s place would have dealt a hard blow on Trump, I’m convinced about that,” Felix, an Apex 1 Radio listener in Columbus had told the station.
Almost four years down on, such Michelle Obama sentiments seem to be returning. Prior to the Super Tuesday to select their presidential nomination, a poll carried out, showed overwhelming support for former First Lady Michelle Obama as a running mate on the Democratic ticket in November. Done by Stanford’s Hoover Institution in conjunction with Stanford’s Bill Lane Center for the American West and YouGov, the poll which was conducted on 1,507 registered voters across California from February 26 to 28, had Michelle Obama scoring a 31 percent win over California Senator and Bay Area native Kamala Harris, 19, Klobuchar, 18, Stacy Abrams, 13 percent and Steyer, 10 percent (Source: CBS)
Since then, the thought of the former First Lady returning to Washington has regurgitated with folks taking to social media to express themselves. Rhetorics such as these ones were read prior to this write-up: “What if Michelle Obama becomes Joe Biden’s running mate…” “Would Trump survive a Biden-Michelle architecture?” “Assume Biden wins the Democratic nomination, how about Michelle as running mate?”
Earlier on Thursday, Apex 1 Radio sampled some opinions on a possible Michelle Obama entry into the race as running mate for the Democratic candidate. Our interviewees responded from four cities in Ohio – Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Bryan.
BARACK OBAMA IN DISGUISE
“Michelle is a replica of her husband. If she becomes Vice President, it would be Barack, returning to the White House and that would be my greatest desire. I was and am still a fan of the former president. He cared about the middleclass and so too will be Michelle, if she gets into the next administration. I’m looking forward to seeing her run alongside the Democratic nominee.” Sandrine, Bryan
SHE CANNOT STAND TRUMP
“When I recall how Trump mercilessly knocked out Hillary both in the debates and at the polls, I fear for Michelle, should she run alongside the Democratic nominee. It’s no doubt that Trump will inflict hard verbal punches on her and I think Michelle is too good to be dragged in soiled waters. I wouldn’t endorse her participation in this election and even future ones. She was a great First Lady, so be it. Let her forget about the Vice President position, for, it is nothing bigger than her legacy.” Cletus, Columbus
MICHELLE IS A HEAVY WEIGHT
“Michelle is not only popular, but she is loved by Americans. She is smart, knows the four corners of the White House and the politics of this country. She would be an added impetus to the Democratic campaign and woe betides Trump. With Michelle around, Trump is history as from 2021. I hope she becomes running mate to Biden.” Andin, Cleveland
NOT THIS TIME
“I’m a Michelle Obama fan and have been since her husband became President in 2008. I’m one of those who have always dared to say she will be President of the United States someday. However, I wouldn’t want her to be part of a team that would not make it. Donald Trump cannot be beaten in an election, at least this time. So, Michelle’s fame would be rubbed in mud if she is pitted against the current president because she would lose obviously. Let her postpone it.” Boris, Cincinnati
GREAT FIRST LADY, NOT NECESSARILY GOOD VP
“Michelle was a successful and much loved First Lady. However, will that necessarily make her a good Vice President? I do not think so. Politics is different from what we see from a distance. She lived at the White House as wife of the President and was not the one running the country. What makes people think she would be capable of running the affairs of the United States from the high office of Vice President? To me, Michelle should reject any such offer, even if the polls want her.” Paramont, Cincinatti
As true as it could be, that communication in contemporary times is more of visual, radio, pioneer in the electronic media landscape, has stood its grounds, why not the test of times. The strength of radio was and is still such that the power behind the voice, generates implacable images on the mind. In the process, we visualize the stories with absolute ease. This feeling is the handiwork of people whose faces, for long and until revealed by contemporary concepts (Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc), had always been a mystery – call them radio hosts/presenters/broadcasters. Until you feel what they do, it’s hard to understand the aroma that comes with passion for radio. But more to that, the contribution radio and its hosts make to the development of the community (proximity radio in this case) and to society at large, is unquantifiable. As these professionals reflect on how to keep this age-old form of broadcasting waxing on, let us wish them a happy World Radio Day. Happy World Radio Day therefore!
NB: Join us on Apex 1 Radio – www.apex1radio.com this Saturday at 7:30am EST (1:30pm in Buea) for a special radio show dubbed RADIO & RADIO PEOPPLE (Radio for radio people and by radio people!)
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