They did not appear as just wives of presidential candidates but rather as women with identity, ideas, capability and decisiveness with which to contribute to the future, with their own vision of the world and life.
Michelle Obamas genuineness was moving, as was her frankness, which can become discomforting. She was the granddaughter of slaves and grew up in the poor suburbs of Chicago. Her father was a plumber, although she graduated at Princeton and Harvard; she came across as a living example of the American dream that her husband proposes to reclaim if he becomes president. No half measures, she clearly stated her commitment to helping make opportunities for a better life the norm rather than the exception in her country, so that the huge population living in poverty and without hope, hidden by North American affluence, but made visible by Obamas electoral campaign, find the path to a promising future.
Michelle took the floor with ease and conviction, and in a truthful, simple manner asserted her position as a working mother who, on a daily basis, faces the balancing act of responding to her responsibility as a senior official at the University of Chicago Medical Center, being the mother of two children and supporting the political aspirations of her husband.
The same can be said for Cindy McCain, who, until her appearance at the Republican Convention, was mistaken for a cute barbie, constantly smiling and made-up. She unashamedly acknowledged her position as the heiress of a fortune in the beer distribution industry in Arizona. The circumstances of having grown up in a state bordering with Mexico led to her knowledge of the situation of the impoverished immigrants with whom she shared her childhood; she knows what they lack. This experience is reflected in the position of her husband, John McCain, when, going against his party, as senator he committed to a new migration law in 2007, with the support of Edward Kennedy.
Behind the blue eyes, crowned by very blond hair, a woman appeared who was full of sensitivity, concern for others and committed to numerous humanitarian causes in her country and the rest of the world. Alongside her, like a silent testimony of this commitment to life, was her adopted daughter, an orphan child who she rescued from death in a Mother Teresa of Calcutta orphanage in India. The ethnic impact was striking.
The world and its future is different through the eyes of committed women who contribute a view which grows and gains strength when it is made public, as is the case with these two North American women. How it would have helped in Colombia if my friend, Lina Moreno, had done so. She is an independent woman with solid views that the country should get to know better. What a difference it would have made, for example, when it came to easing tensions and contributing to calming the waters in these ill-fated days of train crashes and terrible fighting, full of bitterness and heartache, such as those that her husband, President Uribe, takes responsibility for, with everything he is up against. Linas voice would have a special echo. Because first ladies, united daily, manage to make the difference when they decide to.
No aparecieron como simples esposas de candidatos presidenciales, sino como mujeres con identidad, ideas, capacidad y decisión para aportar al futuro, con una visión propia del mundo y de la vida.
Michelle Obama conmovió por su autenticidad y una franqueza que puede llegar a ser incómoda. Nieta de esclavos, creció en los suburbios pobres de Chicago. De padre plomero, pero graduada en Princeton y Harvard, se presentó como un ejemplo viviente de ese sueño americano que su marido propone rescatar como presidente. Sin medias tintas dejó en claro su compromiso de ayudar para que las oportunidades de una vida mejor no sean la excepción sino la regla en su país, para que la inmensa población pobre y sin esperanzas que esconde la opulencia norteamericana, visibilizada por la campaña electoral de Obama, encuentre el camino hacia un futuro promisorio.
Michelle tomó la palabra con soltura y convicción, de manera sencilla y con verdad reclamó su condición de madre trabajadora que enfrenta diariamente los malabares de tener que responder a su responsabilidad como alta funcionaria en el sistema hospitalario de salud en la Universidad de Chicago, madre de dos hijas y en el apoyo a las aspiraciones políticas de su marido.
Igual lo hizo Cindy McCain, quien hasta su aparición en la convención republicana se confundía con una cuchi-barbie, siempre sonriente y maquillada. Reconoció sin vergüenza su condición de heredera de una fortuna en el negocio de la distribución de cerveza en Arizona. Las circunstancias de haber crecido en un estado de frontera con México la llevaron a conocer la situación de los emigrantes pobres con los que compartió su niñez; sabe de sus carencias. Una vivencia que se reflejó en la posición de su esposo, John McCain, cuando en contravía de su partido, se comprometió como senador, de la mano de Edward Kennedy, en una nueva legislación migratoria en 2007.
Detrás de unos ojos azules coronados por un pelo rubísimo, apareció una mujer llena de sensibilidad, preocupada por los demás, comprometida con múltiples causas humanitarias en su país y en el mundo. Allí estaba, como testimonio silencioso de este compromiso de vida, su hija adoptiva, una niña huérfana que le arrebató a la muerte en uno de los orfanatos de la Madre Sor Teresa de Calcuta en la India. El contraste étnico impactaba.
El mundo y su futuro, con la visión de mujeres comprometidas, es distinto. Aportan una mirada que suma y que se potencia cuando se hace pública. Como lo han hecho estas dos norteamericanas. Cómo ayudaría si en Colombia lo hiciera mi amiga Lina Moreno. Una mujer independiente con posiciones firmes, que el país debería conocer mejor. Cuánto aportaría, por ejemplo, a la hora de suavizar tensiones y contribuir a tranquilizar las aguas en estos días aciagos de choque de trenes y peleas destructivas, llenas de amargura y sinsabores, como las que emprende su marido, el presidente Uribe, contra todo el que se le atraviese. La voz de Lina tendría un eco especial. Porque las primeras damas, compañeras del día a día, cuando se deciden, logran marcar la diferencia.
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