FAMILY SOFTENS EVERYTHING
Judith Timson explores the political power of the family,
It was a short family jaunt to a warm destination, something we can all relate to — dad, mom, the teens, even grandma in tow. A walking tour of the old city, some foreign language interplay with older daughter translating for dad with a local restaurateur. What fun. And, of course, some great online photos. The one of younger daughter’s sleek summer dress and her older sister’s cool new white kicks definitely a keeper.
Only difference is that this was one for the history books — the first state visit of a sitting U.S. president to Cuba in nearly 90 years. So there were, of course, press conferences and speeches and some major diplomatic dancing.
And another item for the history books? Barack Obama’s trip to Cuba was billed on Twitter by his press secretary and the State Department as “the First Family’s historic #CubaVisit.”
Family wasn’t just along for the ride, it was emphasized.
During a joint press conference the president made sure pretty quickly off the top to mention to a rather grumpy (don’t talk to me about human rights) Cuban President Raoul Castro that “my wife, Michelle, and I have brought our daughters. And by the way, they don’t always want to go with us. They’re teenagers now . . . But they wanted to come to Cuba because they understood and we wanted to show them the beauty of Cuba and its people.”
Ah, the power of family during an official visit. A photogenic family has long been used as a political prop, but there may be a deeper benefit for leaders taking their brood along on important international visits. In the arena of geopolitical tension, family softens everything, makes things more real — and certainly more humane.
And, of course, it does guarantee the photographers will keep snapping away. Or as People magazine enthusiastically put it: “Malia and Sasha Obama Wear All of This Season’s Trends on Spring Break in Cuba.”
We just witnessed our own prime minister charming his way through a Washington, D.C., official visit with, at one point, eight family members in tow.
Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, arrived in D.C. on March 9, deplaning with maximum cuteness provided by their three kids, Xavier, 8, Ella-Grace, 7, and Hadrian, 2, snuggled in his dad’s arms.
Later, the PM’s legendary mother, Margaret, also the wife of a prime minister, along with Grégoire Trudeau’s parents, Estelle Blais and Jean Grégoire, would attend a glittering state dinner at which Margaret received a standing ovation.
Michelle Obama talked several times about the warmth shared by the two families, remarking particularly on the “deliciousness” of little Hadrian.
On a deeper level of bonding, the outgoing president, no doubt conscious of how much has happened during his two terms in office, remarked a few times about how much the prime minister’s family reminded him of his own when he first entered office.
Anyone who was surprised that the Trudeaus would bring their very young children, who roared across the White House lawns and made a high-fiving appearance (Hadrian again) in the Oval Office are forgetting that Justin Trudeau, as a child, accompanied his parents on numerous official visits.
His own memories of a childhood in the spotlight (his dad was PM until he was 8) were no doubt the prompt for Trudeau’s poignant toast to the two Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha, all gussied up in formal gowns for their first state dinner, telling them he admired their “extraordinary strength and your grace” and predicting that their remarkable childhood would give them “wisdom beyond your years for the rest of your life.”
Of course there’s always a backstory — even with helpers, travelling with three rambunctious kids is no joke. As for the Obamas, I don’t have a memory of any family trip with teens that didn’t include at least one meltdown and a stern talk about attitude.
For the Obamas, those images from Cuba (and anywhere else these days) hold a special poignancy for the millions of Americans who twice voted Obama into office. The New York Times recently interviewed African Americans about what the Obama presidency had meant to them and how they felt about it ending. “We’re losing the visuals,” one woman said sadly.
What she no doubt meant was that watching a graceful, attractive and yet undeniably normal African-American family grow up in the White House may have changed how millions of Americans, even with their country’s ongoing acute racial problems, view that office forever.
So no matter how cynical you are about photo ops of a vibrant young political family, or an almost-grown one, there seems to be real magic in those state visits. Or to put it another way, they’re an answer to the question, “Honey, should we bring the kids?” It can’t hurt.
Judith Timson writes weekly about cultural, social and political issues. You can reach her at judith.timson@sympatico.ca and follow her on Twitter @judithtimson.