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Annie Gabillet: How the Obamas Taught Us What Family Values Really Mean
I came of political age during an era of “family values.” I cast my first vote for president of the United States in 2004, the year so-called values voters helped pass laws banning same-sex marriage in 11 states. In the political language of the time, family values meant opposing gay marriage, opposing abortion, opposing stem cell research. Many politicians publicly position themselves as respectable public servants who put God and the traditional family first — especially after President Bill Clinton’s sex scandal in the late ’90s. But over the last seven years, we’ve witnessed a president who showed us what family values really look like, rather than tell us in campaign commercials. In President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, we’ve witnessed a consistent example of mutual love and respect that’s both practical and inspiring.
Both Barack and Michelle have worked hard to strengthen other American families with initiatives that focus on families and children. With Let’s Move!, Michelle Obama put herself and her dance moves out there to encourage parents to make good choices about family health and nutrition. With My Brother’s Keeper, a program launched in 2014, the president made efforts to encourage responsible fatherhood and close opportunity gaps faced by young men of color. And with Let Girls Learn, Michelle took the cause global, stressing that girls’ education is about more than gender equality: it’s essential to economic development. Again, the first couple is putting family values into action. We don’t hear much about family values anymore, but we have seen them on display during the Obama White House. I credit the Obamas and their actions for reminding us what family values really look like.
More here
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hi TOD
Thanks a million Nerdy!!!
:)
Beautiful post! Beautiful people!
:)
ALL of this! The Obama family exhibiting true family values in how they live, not only through what they say. The so-called family values projected by the GOP was all about hate, prejudice, exclusion, and a prideful holier-than-thou attitude.
This is a lovely tribute; thanks for posting it NW.
Is this am or pm?
PM
That’s what I thought but I had to ask. Use to them traveling to different time zones. Don’t have to worry on this trip.
THIS IS SO AMAZING…I AM VERY HAPPY FOR THEIR EXPERIENCE..SUCH AN AMAZING ADVENTURE…………………. WANTED TO WISH THEM WELL BEFORE I GO TO CHURCH…WILL TUNE IN LATER TO SEE WHAT PIX I CAN FIND!
This is a great, great post. It articulates something I have been feeling all along. What a model of family, and family values in the trust sense our first family gives America!
“in the truest sense”
:)
This article and post brings tears to my eyes. This family has been in the spotlight for more than 8 years. There has not been one scandal touch them. They are family values. This is what the Repubs have talked about but never live. We have been so blessed to be with them for this time. We here at TOD have been part of it all this time. We are so blessed.
So well said marilyn. After seeing the best ever family values in the White House the GOP has decided Trump is the family values they like the best. They truly have no values.
I get so sick when I hear them talking about marriage, etc. They are hypocrites. The whole world sees what is happening and are appalled by it.
GE MTM.
Found this article interesting about why Mormons pretty much detest Trump:
Tweet with link to article:
I wondered why WY went solidly for Cruz, but GOP held a sparsely attended caucus there, so I figured it meant very little.
WY has the 3rd largest population of Mormons; “In Idaho, the country’s second most Mormon state, Trump lost the primary by 18 points” — and this week UT holds its primaries.
From the article:
“His blatant religious illiteracy, his penchant for onstage cursing, his habit of flinging crude insults at women, his less-than-virtuous personal life, and widely chronicled marital failures — all of this is anathema to the wholesome, family-first lifestyle that Mormonism promotes.”
The article also says that Mormons think that immigrants strengthen the country (are not an overall burden). UT Governor Gary Herbert was the only GOP Governor to welcome Syrian refugees to his state.
This ^^^! Thanks mtmarilyn.
BLESSED INDEED…<3
So very well said. :)
Thank you Nerdy for front paging this article with pictures. It needs to be seen by MILLIONS of people. My husband and I used to sit and discuss this very thing…….why did none of the Republicans give this wonderful family credit for demonstrating and LIVING family values? The others made a mockery of the term. There has never been a family in the White House who lived such a consistent, loving, positive life. No scandals, no eruptions in public, all the stupidity the tabloids tried to drum up in the first term have gone away, because people know those were all lies. I LOVE this family, and detest all those who have obstructed him, and have reviled Michelle. I know it’s been seven years, but it seems to me that the chickens are coming home to roost for the degraders, and the Obamas are being seen by more and more people for what they are: a shining light, and real, loving people.
THIS x 1000, Carolyn. Thank you.
Beautiful, carolyn. So glad you were able to share so much of that with your husband, and that you two agreed on this topic. Also so glad to be here among people who feel the same way I do.
May I share that around St. Patrick’s Day, I saw a joke ~ “Irish Alzheimers: Forgetting everything but the grudges.”
I’ve tried throughout my life not to hold onto grudges. With a couple people I’ve known in my personal life, I’ve failed at times, off and on, but I keep trying. And after President and Mrs. Obama leave the White House next January, I’m also going to try not to hold grudges against their detractors. Not because I’m so good or have it all worked out, in my heart and mind. But I’m going to try not to hold grudges because I’ve been holding onto those grudges (part Irish, here!) since 2008.
I’ve held onto the negative words and deeds and implications and degradations against President Obama, from lesser beings in our country, for eight years and counting. They’re a part of me. I can’t dismiss all that from people who wouldn’t know goodness and light and grace and intelligence, if they tripped over them, or were personally introduced. People who wouldn’t know what the phrase “We are our brother’s keeper” means, even if it were explained to them for days and days. People who have never “turned the other cheek” out of a broader goal, that of the common good. People who will never allow themselves to appreciate Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States.
I have held grudges since 2008 against all of ’em. It’s been hard sometimes to keep at it, because it’s self-destructive and exhausting, but I’ve made it my mission not to just leave it up to somebody else to speak up about it or fight back against it. My one voice isn’t going to make much difference, but it’s all I have had - other than my prayers and good wishes for the President and his family. So, after weeping on Inauguration Day, January 2017, I shall be almost grudge-free, or at least on Day One of trying to reach that lofty goal, myself. Pray for me.
Until then, I’ll remember the grudges. In the meantime, one thing I know for sure: It’s been a helluva ride, and I wouldn’t have missed it.
^5.
<3
JO’B, I “feel” what you mean and will be right there with you on Inauguration Day, 2017.
<3
“It’s been a helluva ride…” Hasn’t it been! I feel BLESSED to have lived in the Age of Obama. So happy that five generations of my family were around to experience it with me. For my granddaughter (generation four) and some of her cousins (generations 4 & 5), PBO is the only President in their lifetime…
My 2017 Christmas gift to the family will be a copy of my 2007 - January 20, 2025 POTUS Journal with pictures, articles, favorite speeches, etc. Want to ensure that when they study the Obama era in high school, they have factual documents and first hand accounts of the era. I refuse to let the coming attemps to re-write history go unchallenged.
Oh, what a beautiful, beautiful gift to your family! That’ll be around for several generations, I’m sure. Love it.
Alycee, that will be a precious gift to your family. What a labor of love!
I so agree Carolyn. When have a had such a family in the White House. No Republican has lived up to their own so called family values.
Beautifully said, Carolyn. Agree with every word.
Bravo, Carolyn!
ouch
GREAT find, LP!!
Thanks, Chips! Hope you & everyone at TOD have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you, LP, for sharing this video clip about Judge Merrick Garland’s tutoring of Elementary school kids! I think the Judge’s volunteer work in the Northeast D.C. School, to help elementary school youngsters succeed, make him an exemplary person who would be an excellent Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court!
I taught teenagers for over 30 years and observed that most of them go through a period when they are no longer physically affectionate with their parents, especially in public. It is so beautiful to see that PBO and MO with their arms around the girls or holding their hands or how the girls lean into their parents and we know from something MO said during the Christmas season a few years back, that they still sat on her lap. My current favorite recent child-parent photo is the one of Malia in the Oval with PBO when she is standing in front of him, keys in hand, as she wipes something from his face. This photo tells so much about their relationship.
HOW DID I MISS THAT PHOTO???? Did you save it? Can you share here??? Pretty please…
Here it is Jazz
THANK YOU!
AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM IS A DEMON DRESSED IN SELF IDOLATRY!
Beautiful pictures of first family. That video with Panfilo was hilarious. Bravo to Judge Garland. those are the reasons he was chosen. He cares about people and what happens to our youth.
Nerdy, thank you for this post. The beauty and goodness of the Obama is actually an antidote to the political ugliness of this primary season. When you look at them you see the very best that this country can be.
:)
So true.
Excellent composition, NerdyW - Your choice of pictures thoroughly complement the post (and vice versa)! No matter where we are in the world, we each of us know it, we have been blessed by the lives and actions of the Obamas, even when they abstained from action.
Aside from PBO’s accomplishments as CiC, for me personally it has been a revelation to see *up close* what is meant by a *real man* { a *family* man, a father, a loving husband AND someone who is not ashamed or afraid to show his emotions (not like the Boehner of course)}.
:)
to the american voters
Thank you so much, Nerdy, for this beautiful post.
:)
Wonderful heart-warming article & pics. Thanks Nerdy for posting this gem. :)
:)
Thanks so much for this beautifully illustrated post about true family values. SO looking forward to watching our First Family in Cuba.
:)
Another thought to share after reading everyone’s heartfelt gratitude and appreciation: many, many people (maybe some of us) also forget or overlook or downplay the astonishing fact that in the face of all he has done, has taken on, President Obama also quit smoking as soon as he was elected, keeping his promise to Michelle. So let us add that to the incredible determination and discipline of the man, taking on the hardest job on earth, and shining with the Light of One Thousand Suns! <3 :bear: <3
Good reminder, MP. He is indeed a man of personal discipline as well as immense Aloha!
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/tricks-and-triangulation-not-new-to-gop-647895107737
Love this beautiful family! Mahalo NW for a wonderful post.
:)
Fabulous piece from Touré! So much good in there. Well done, and thanks for sharing that, YA.
Not to comment much on it, for those who haven’t read it yet … but I do see one small problem with trying to get whites to grow from joining a White Lives Matter movement, with the positive outcome Touré described. Many whites who are paying attention today are SICK TO DEATH of some of those other white people, those strange fools who don’t know how to play well with others on the color wheel we feel we must use to describe ourselves, and never will!
Maybe I can just sign a petition to encourage some whites to study up on improving on their “self-love” - without feeling the need to put down other races to accomplish that - because I wouldn’t put money on some of this changing until Trump, his supporters, and the rest of their sub-species die off. Hoping at least one of my great grandchildren will be a grand marshal that day in a celebratory parade!
That written, Goodnight, Yardarm, and TODville! Gotta get some beauty sleep before “we” all travel to Cuba tomorrow!
GN jc.
Whew!
Good evening TOD!
Thank you for the Early Bird congratulations!
I am sorry that I did not have time to reply. I was off and running to see the most uplifting, inspiring play ever!
“Flying” The Tuskagee Airmen.
I was actually doing that when I left the theatre.
It was a jolt in the arm that I needed.
It is so apropo to what we are experiencing right now due to the” hate” MSM, GOP and DT have allowed to fester in the minds and hearts of those who are too ignorant to think for themselves. And those who are too privileged to care.
I sat there throughout totally mesmerized and blown away.
The absolute of ABSOLUTE was the song at the end my favorite by Donny Hathaway “Someday We’ll All Be Free.”
I did what I always do when I listen to this song….
I cried……
Good (late) evening TODVille!
Beautiful faces from my OBAMA Family!
and there are many more speaking out against him so…..
P.S. Thank you so much for this post.
I am going to certainly miss this family.
Damn! Here I go crying again…..
:)
In my humble opinion, Ted Cruz is as bad as Donald Trump. Cruz may even be worse than Donald Trump!
I agree, in some ways Cruz scares me more than Trump. His religious beliefs really frighten me. He is so slimy. I still wonder about his Canadian birth. I think it will be a problem.
Good night TOD …..
Bravo to the protesters of all hues who are literally risking their lives & limbs with these violent and vicious kkklowns. They just need to carry this momentum right up to the voting booth. I truly believe that the racist dreck’s appeal is rather narrow and limited despite the fifth columnist media’s spin.
Cuban dance party time!
Thank you much!
I’m so happy our first family will be enjoying this soon!
Indeed, Susann! Thank you so much for sharing this. Cuban culture is so warm and vibrant! It’s shame most Americans know very little about the diversity and vibrancy of Cuban culture.
Great tweet, NCLB! I am so glad more and more people are coming forward to speak the TRUTH about the deliberate and organized plans by Republicans to obstruct everything President Obama proposed or tried to do. Both Donald Trump and Ted Cruz were made possible by the Republican haters of President Obama, both in Congress and in the vast right wing media. As the good book says: “Ye shall reap what you sow”!
wow! these ladies!
Thank you so much Susanne for sharing this! The ladies were absolutely wonderful! I love Cuban Music!
My pleasure! :)
Love this one!!
:-)
Isn’t it fantastic?!
Wow! Wow! Susanne! I really, really loved this! The Cuban people, of all races, are amazing! It’s really so sad that the anti-communism of U.S. Politics prevented Americans from knowing the real Cuban people with their vibrant and diverse cultural creativity.
I think the president must feel an affinity for this island nation- the warmth and beauty.
I am sure he does, Susanne! I am so glad he is being accompanied by FLOTUS and his lovely teen-daughters! Malia and Sasha are at an age when they will be able to appreciate “the warmth and beauty” of the diverse Cuban people. I must confess that, from the time I was about 17, I fell in love with Cuban culture, but especially Cuban music.
great writer “drift glass” takes on one of today’s great scam artists - david brooks of the new york times. wow!:
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2016/03/david-brooks-sword-and-shield.html
“Ah, but David, when was your job ever to “report accurately on this country”? You’re not a journalist. You tell lies for a living. Your lies are not as hot and violent as Trump’s, but you and he are basically in the same racket. You make a princely living trafficking in fairy tales about “real America” that comfort and flatter the thousands of Beltway insiders and cosseted plutocrat rubes you hustle every week, and Trump is paving a path to the White House by telling millions of low-information rubes the flattering, reassuring lies that they want to hear.
Same scam, different chumps, except Trump’s chumps are ecstatic, rage-drunk and armed with mighty weapons which you helped to forge, while your chumps are freaking out and terrified because the Plutocrat Potemkin vision of America you sold them is being overrun by hordes of rage-drunk, invincibly-armored visigoths you told them did not exist.”
I’m glad someone finally is. He pretends to be all above-the-fray-neutral-mild-sophisticated-thinker when really he’s just waiting for the morning’s talking points to be delivered.
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/03/18/proof-surfaces-tv-networks-working-donald-trump.html
A new report confirms that five television networks cut a deal with Donald Trump that has effectively turned their coverage over to the Republican frontrunner and turned the networks into Trump propaganda arms.
According to a report by Buzzfeed, five television networks allowed Trump to take control of their coverage of his campaign:
Two network sources also confirmed the unprecedented control the television networks have surrendered to Trump in a series of private negotiations, allowing him to dictate specific details about placement of cameras at his event, to ensure coverage consists primarily of a single shot of his face.
….
Under the Trump campaign’s conditions, camera crews would not be able to leave the press pen during Trump’s rallies to capture video of audience reactions, known in the industry as “cutaway shots” or “cuts.” Networks would also not be able to use a separate riser set up to get cutaway shots. The terms, which limit the access journalists have to supporters and protesters while Trump is speaking, are unprecedented, and are more restrictive than those put on the networks by the White House or Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which has had Secret Service protection for its duration.
Facing the risk of losing their credentialed access to Trump’s events, the networks capitulated. They did, however, get one concession: When Trump finishes speaking, one person with a camera is allowed to exit the press pen to capture him shaking hands on the rope line while he exits. That footage is then shared among the networks.
Bought and paid for and no use to the public.
Imagine if PBO tried this with the media - they have no stamina - no morals and no brains. Frightening to watch Trump wipe out the 1st amendment.
Good morning TOD
Wishing all of you a joyful day as we celebrate the First Family’s arrival in Cuba!!
bbl ….
The power of ONE…
Morning!
http://theobamadiary.com/2016/03/20/early-bird-chat-697/