I like to read what my grandkids are reading, but Madam President by Lane Smith took me by surprise. It appears to be a cute picture book about a little girl who imagines what it’s like to be president. Page one isn’t remarkable; she’s in bed reading a book called The Presidents and saying, “A president has many duties.”
But pages two and three made me laugh out loud. First, “there are executive orders to give”; she’s sitting at the breakfast table saying, “More waffles, please.” Then there are “daily briefs to review”; she’s brushing her teeth while looking over her schedule for the day. “Waffles” is checked off. As she leaves for school with her brown bag lunch, it says, “one lunch to approve.”
Come on!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROFLLL … I quick checked the publication date. 2008. Then I noticed the outfit the girl wears looks a WHOLE lot like the see-through number Barbra Streisand shocked viewers with on Oscar night umpteen years ago.
In November 2007, Hillary Clinton countered Barack Obama’s big Oprah coup by trotting out her own legendary diva, Barbra Streisand. “Madame President of the United States,” Barbra mused. “It’s an extraordinary thought. We truly are in a momentous time, where a woman’s potential has no limitations.” In June 2008, Barbra (who had been a guest at the Clinton White House) jumped ship and started fundraising for Obama.
Page four, with the president’s disdainful use of the military for a photo op, just confirmed my suspicion that the author-illustrator was an ardent Hillary supporter who was totally p.o.d about how she got treated in 2008.
Another clue shows up on the cabinet page, where all the toys playing the roles are things you’d find in a kids’ room … except Texas. Texas? And it’s not like the author couldn’t have come up with a normal toy for Secretary of State. The Secretary of the Interior is really clever … one of those Visible Man model kits, where you can see all the bones and organs inside.
If I still had the slightest lingering doubt about what this book was really all about (which I didn’t), this page would’ve killed it.
Sources:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/obama-streisand.html
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