WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama has a new look, both in person and online, and with the president’s re-election, she has four more years as first lady, too.
That’s got many people wondering: What will she do with them?
Take on a new cause? Travel more? Trace the path of another first lady and keep the Obama political brand alive by running for office?
The answers are to be determined.
The first lady is trying to figure out what comes next for this self-described “mom in chief” who also is a champion of healthier eating, an advocate for military families, a fitness buff and the best-selling author of a book about her White House garden.
For certain, she’ll press ahead with her well-publicized efforts to reduce childhood obesity and rally the country around its service members.
“But beyond that, the first lady is exploring ways that she can make a real difference for Americans, not just for these next four years, but for years to come,” said Kristina Schake, Mrs. Obama’s communications director.
Here are five areas to watch.
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NEW ISSUES
Will she take on a new cause? It’s possible.
When Parade magazine asked last year whether she’d take up any new issues, Mrs. Obama identified women’s health issues. “How do we strengthen families and make them healthier, an issue not just in America but around the world,” she said.
Her marquee causes — the “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity and the “Joining Forces” effort to help military families — took a back seat last fall as she campaigned doggedly for President Barack Obama’s re-election.
Look for her to begin publicizing those efforts anew.
Do not expect to see Mrs. Obama push more contentious issues such as gun control or immigration, both second-term priorities for the president. Her public approval rating was 73 percent in a December poll by CNN and she’d like to keep it there.
Some feminists remain unhappy that the Ivy League-educated lawyer hasn’t used her position to champion what they view as more substantive issues.
Robert Watson, an American studies professor at Lynn University, said he hopes Mrs. Obama will use her popularity to pivot away from the “velvet-glove” issues first ladies typically embrace and say, “I’m swinging for the fence.”
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MALIA AND SASHA
Obama’s daughters are older and will be in full teenage mode by the summer of 2014. Malia is already there at 14; sister Sasha is 11.
Both the president and first lady sometimes talk about the girls’ busy lives and how they don’t want to spend much time with their parents anymore.
Could having older, more independent children free Mrs. Obama to pursue other interests? Some first lady watchers say that’s unlikely. After all, the teenage years are often full of angst about dating, proms, learning how to drive, going to college and so on.
“Michelle has made such a public statement about being the ‘mom in chief’ that it’s hard to see her saying, ‘Go ahead girls, here’s the limo,’” Watson said.
Malia will graduate from high school during Obama’s final year in office, in 2016, and probably trade the White House for a college dorm. She and her parents will have to navigate the college application process and campus tours. Sasha will be in high school.
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