Opinion: Why Jill Biden’s trip to Eastern Europe is important

Most famous is Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Syndicate columnist Someone who wrote or talked about some of the biggest problems of the day Racial injustice.. Because of her candidness, she underwent a vicious attack throughout the 1930s, from her appearance to her relationship with left-wing politicians.

“I have been accused of being rude by Mrs. Roosevelt.” I wrote a newspaper columnist Westbrook Pegler said, “When I just said she was rude, arrogant, intriguing, and withdrawing from public life at this point was a great public affair.” And Pegler was just the tip of the iceberg.

However, the first women, including Roosevelt, still persisted and often made strategic overseas trips to support their husband’s work. In 1943, at the height of World War II, Roosevelt traveled the South Pacific on a one-month journey. In Sydney, Australia, she made many speeches about the role of women after the war and the home front. Conclusion: “Perhaps here is the bud of the idea that post-war women are encouraged to participate in all activities of citizenship.”

In November 1990, George HW Bush’s wife, Barbara Bush, joined her husband on a Thanksgiving trip to Saudi Arabia in the midst of the Gulf War. She was a party life, fascinated her soldiers and made everyone laugh with her keen sense of humor. “I rarely hug a gun.” She said When her arm hits a rifle on a soldier’s arm.

“President Bush did not come to Saudi Arabia with guns and missiles today, but he had a much more effective secret weapon, Barbara Bush.” Written by a columnist At the Washington Post. Similarly, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump traveled abroad to help her husband push the political agenda during his presidency.

The first women were also essential to the political campaign. Lady Bird Johnson in the fall of 1964 Take a 1,628 mile tour He met with political leaders in eight southern states and spoke in support of Lindon B. Johnson’s record. Even when she met an enthusiastic crowd about her husband’s signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Michelle Obama is one of the clearest and loudest critics of the 2016 Donald Trump campaign, providing some of the most powerful speeches and commentary on the bets faced by the country in his prospect of taking office. bottom.And at the 2020 Democratic National Convention she Torn by playing cards As a person who is “obviously overhead”.

The first women have played an important role in policy-making deliberations. 1993, President Bill Clinton Named Hillary Clinton To be the head of the task force that designed his health care plan. As expected, she became a vicious target of conservative attacks and ridicule in the media and spoke of her in words comparable to Eleanor Roosevelt. During the healthcare battle One cartoon One adviser whispered to the other, featuring Clinton sitting in a high chair and floating above her husband in the Oval Office. Although her plans were defeated, Clinton’s work helped unveil a new model of health care reform. Became a foundation For the Obama administration’s reform of the medical insurance system.

The first woman also became an important cause champion.Lady Bird Johnson Famous supporters Of the environment and the beautification of the highway. Betty Ford Amendment of equal rightsIt put her in direct opposition to right-wing activists like Phyllis Schlafly People who were mobilizing Defeat it.Meanwhile, Nancy Reagan Famous campaign He opposed the use of drugs and said to young people in the country, “Please say no.”

And, of course, the first woman can sometimes act as an advisor in a dramatic way-as when Edith Wilson went in 1919. Secretly step up After her husband Woodrow Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke.