I was going to make this an Ethics Quiz, which is typically what I do with issues I believe can generate multiple and diverse ethics verdicts from the analytical and perceptive readers here, and often with matters I am not certain about myself. However, Michelle Obama’s custom designed skirt she decided to model as she appeared on a stage at the new Obama Presidential Center in Chicago this week before “stakeholders” (Translation: Donors) was so indefensible by anyone who has not been permanently Obamafied, the crippling mental state where one is incapable of criticizing anything either Obama does or has done, ever, that my building a quiz around it would be dishonest.
As you can see, the former First Lady “wore a pencil skirt adorned with a large portrait of her late mother. The custom Acne Studios design was a tribute to Marian Robinson who died in 2024, aged 86.”
Ethics Observations:
Ethics Alarms 
I would say Hilary’s conduct is mitigated by the fact that she is a legitimate political figure in her own right. She has her own limelight and no longer needs to stand in Bill’s.
Thus, her bad conduct this week was not as a former First Lady, but as a failed Presidential candidate. She may still have the worst character, but, in this competition, Biden and Obama have to be worse.
-Jut
My vote for the worst option is “Dr. Jill”.
I had not considered the upstaging potential of the skirt and just thought it looked dumb. However, I am not a clothing person and pay little to no attention to what people wear unless they really make me do so. In addition, because getting dressed for these events is not an immediate thing, Barack could have spoken up at any time and changed the script. He chose not to. Therefore, I cannot vote for Michelle.
Hilary, while just a horrible person, has always been a horrible person and for her ridiculous statements about why the Democratic party lost, gets the Julie Award from me. Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, Hilary has to tell the people that they were wrong to vote for who they voted for, and do so in a tasteless way. I dislike her and find her a horrible person, but attacking someone else for the problems she identifies is her modus operandi and I don’t think people take her that seriously.
Dr. Jill betrayed her husband, publicly and humiliatingly on stage in the worst of all ways, especially given his health. Michelle’s betrayal could have been stopped by her husband at any time. Hilary is not the wife to anyone that she attacked. Jill is showing the world what elder abuse can look like and getting praised for it. That seems more egregious than the other former FLOTUS’s.
That being said, I am not sure I’d cross the street to interact with any one of these women.
Sarah wrote, “Dr. Jill betrayed her husband, publicly and humiliatingly on stage in the worst of all ways, especially given his health.”
Agreed. Jill wins, hands down. I would add to it that she treated her husband like a slobbering preschooler – “You answered all the questions! Who loves her little boy? Me! I love my Joey! Kiss, kiss!” Not only did she betray her husband, she betrayed the nation by not stopping the train. She was enamored of the power and would do anything to retain it. But, Jill did not act alone. She had legions of people in her camp pushing the nonsense that Joe was capable of running the country.
As for Michelle, though, I have to confess that I did not see this controversy at all – perhaps because I don’t expect anything from the Obamas that is not steeped in narcissism and self-importance. When I saw the photo, I thought, “who is that on her skirt?” Then I found out it was her mom and I thought, “Oh, that’s a nice tribute.” But, then I saw it was for the inauguration of the Obama Presidential Library, and I thought, “what a terrible thing to do to her husband, who was supposed to bask in the moment of his legacy.”
While I think Pres. Obama was a terrible president, he acted presidential and generally defended the office itself. He has a right – as all former presidents do – to promote what he believes is his legacy. He is one of 47 presidents, which is a very small group of leaders of the most powerful economic and political entity on the planet. Is his library impressive? Don’t know. I hope so because it should be. George Bush the Elder’s library on Texas A&M’s campus is impressive. I haven’t been to others so I can only judge by that one.
Michelle, though, decided that the event should be about her and her lovely mom. What a jerk.
jvb
ACNE Studios? Used Bud Light’s old consulting firm for their branding, did they?
Is family/memorial clothing a black thing? I have a (white, red-hair, Scottish sur-name) first cousin once-removed who used to pick up black family reunion T-shirts at Goodwill and wear them while attending Georgia Tech. It embarrassed his mother, but apparently got no push-back at school.
When I first read it, I thought it was the ACME Anvil Company, LLC, where Wylie E. Coyote serves as the CEO and Chairman of the Board.
jvb
Yes, memorial RIP t-shirts are absolutely a thing in the black community (at least in Texas, where I live).
I can’t imagine why anyone would donate such family-specific articlea of clothing, but your cousin is WILD for buying and wearing them.
I have to say it’s simply a dead heat. All three of these women have been insufferable as first ladies and ruined the brand. Way to go, ‘sixties feminists!
It’s my understanding that the Robinsons (isn’t that Michelle’s maiden name?) never approved of, never mind embraced Obama as a son-in-law and husband of their daughter. After all, his mother was white and he’d been raised by his white maternal grandparents. He’s simply not a brother. I think the skirt draws attention to the honoree’s parentage in a very divisive, condescending way. She’s saying, “I had an authentically black mother!” I bet there were a fair number of authentically black people in the audience who got the message. She might as well have led a chant of “Who’s your Mama?”
I hadn’t considered that the skirt could upstage Barack until you mentioned it. My thought when I saw it was that it was not attractive at all. Who would wear a skirt with a giant human face on it, no matter who it is? It’s just kind of ugly. I don’t understand the people who are oohing and aahing over it, but then there are a number of current fashions that I find peculiar.
In light of your comments about the skirt and how it seems like an effort to refocus attention to Michelle, I moved her up from 3rd place to second place in your quiz.
I still think Jill Biden is the worst. I couldn’t believe that she said that her husband got the best medical care when they clearly failed to identify either his cognitive decline or his prostate cancer.
Hillary is being Hillary. She’s a big disappointment to anyone who hoped that she would be a creditable Presidential candidate.
My listing:
“Who would wear a skirt with a giant human face on it, no matter who it is? It’s just kind of ugly.”
Bravo India November Golf Oscar!
But…just kind of?
PWS
Meaningless quiz. Meaningless answers. Lots of nonsense here. Every circumstance is different. Who believes for one second that Hilary wouldn’t have tried every trick to preserve Bill’s power — and hers vicariously — under similar circumstances? Unlike Jill, however, Hilary would have thrown Bill under the bus if it would get her even more power. And Michelle is only proud of this country for the years she spent in the Whitehouse, nothing more. Her dress was just a subtle way of rubbing that fact in our faces — not simply upstaging her husband (although that too). Although we did get a defense of Obama’s past, current, and future bragging rights, which, in context, was absolutely relevant and necessary.
They knew about both, of course. His cancer was Stage IV when announced. His PSA must have been elevated, quite elevated, for a long time. Presidents have routine physicals, they had to have seen it. Ditto for the cognitive decline. On the campaign trail he was challenging people to ‘take it outside’ and push-up contests, calling people liars and “dog-faced pony soldiers” on camera . He was only coherent 6-7 hours a day. Jill and Hunter did nothing so they could roll him and Kamala over the finish line. The dementia issue horrible enough, but to ignore cancer? Can’t let a cancer diagnosis get in the way of the first female President!
I’m going with
1) Hillary …for pure evil, conniving lawlessness, and enabling Bill for decades.
2) Lady MacBiden…for cupidity extending to elder abuse.
3) Mooch…Racist and divisive, but relatively harmless beyond causing kids to hate their school lunches more than ever.
All three – power hungry, evil, wicked, conniving, selfish bitches.
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned BO’s body language in the photo. Supposed to be his special day. Well, maybe not….