He Did the Right Thing - CNN Interview "When Michelle Met Barack"
Like so many other professional women focused on their careers, attorney Michelle Robinson wasn't going to 'go there' when a coworker insisted that they go out on a date.
A first year associate at the law firm Sidley Austin in Chicago, she resisted the romantic overtures of the first year law student assigned to her. She'd been chosen as his advisor because they had several things in common; both had attended the same law school (Harvard) and were minority students.
Yet Michelle had formed a specific impression of him even before he stepped foot in the office. She'd seen his file and dismissed him as a "very intellectual nerd." She was prepared to be polite -- nothing more.
But when Michelle Robinson actually met Barack Obama, she was pleasantly surprised.
She tells CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, "He was cuter than I thought he'd be."
"I just found him intriguing in every way that you can imagine. He was funny, he was self-deprecating, he didn't take himself too seriously. He could laugh at himself - we clicked right away."
But she didn't date him. She passed him off to friends. Because that's what professional women focused on their careers do. "I was taking my job as an advisor -- I was his advisor -- very seriously. And it was my first responsibility as an associate....I didn't see a relationship coming out of that."
Many women in her situation say that it doesn't feel right to date someone they supervise. Understandably, that's where Michelle was coming from.
But after working with him for a month, they developed a very solid friendship. So when he asked her once again for a date and she responded, "No, it wouldn't be the right thing to do," he said, "Who cares?" She finally agreed to spend the day with him, though she refused to acknowledge it as the 'D' word. But by the end of the day, as Michelle describes it, she was 'sold.'
What was that first date like? You'll have to see the clip on CNN for all the details. In short, he played it safe by covering every base; he mixed up the day's activities with a visit to an art museum and lunch at an outdoor cafe, they took in a showing of a controversial Spike Lee film, and ended the evening with drinks on the 99th floor of a skyscraper overlooking the city lights below.
Every step of the way, he did the right thing to win her heart.
Gentlemen, take note of the President-elect's dating style. After all, Valentine's Day is just over a month away.
Barack and Michelle Obama in June 2008
Photo © Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Comments
“Gentlemen….”? Puh—leeeeze!! You lost the effect of the whole message with that anachronistic word.
Can you say “tongue in cheek”? After all, Obama was elected for his political views, not his romantic skills. I wouldn’t presume to hold Barack Obama up as an example for all men to follow, just as I wouldn’t expect there to be one female image or representation that all women should adhere to.
It’s a joke. Nothing more. Thus the use of the anachronistic term ‘gentlemen.’ I didn’t really want to spell it out….
Wonderful and inspiring love story. Maybe there’s a movie here. Let’s keep an eye on this drama.