Are we ready for flawed family values in the White House? --- uuh yes.
The New York Times Magazine tackles "First-Family Values" in a piece by James Traub, who writes, "In 2009, for the first time, we could have a president and spouse who live like the rest of us."
Are we ready for that? Probably.
I suspect voters learned a long time ago the so-called Perfect Couple is an illusion, whether they live in the White House or down the block.
Traub writes, "Those many Americans who have been knocked around by life (43 percent of first marriages end in divorce within 15 years) might appreciate a White House couple with a few dents and dings."
Traub describes the current First Couple as "a throwback couple like Rob and Laura Petrie from 'The Dick Van Dyke Show'." So let's have some fun. Laura and George Bush are to Dick and Laura Petrie as Barack and Michelle Obama are to Bob and Emily Newhart?
Can you think of any other political couple/sitcom couple match-ups?
Julie Kirtz Garrett is a writer and television reporter. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and three children.
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