View Point by Nicole Holmes

I found it bad taste for Oprah Winfrey to host the “White House Christmas” television special.  We are in the middle of a major recession; states have no money, people continue to become homeless, jobs continue to shrink, people are starving right here in the United States, and homosexuals may soon be executed in the Republic of Uganda.

But wait…. let’s show the American people what their tax dollars are really paying for…… a mansion covered with hundreds of thousands of dollars in decorations (not to mention the cost of food and staff).

It was enough to make you long for the good ole’ days when U.S. First Lady Jackie Kennedy simply gave the American people a tour of the White House on CBS.  That was 1961, pre-social networking, pre-we have to know everything about everyone’s life. Ms. Kennedy preserved the history of the White House by acquiring objects and works that were historically significant funded by private donations at the direction of a Fine Arts Committee.

Fast forward to 2009 and you have Oprah hanging out with her pals chatting them up about whether they can really believe they get to live there.  Greeting the first couple with a kiss and a hug, the three of them seemed almost giddy.  Bo made an appearance that made us regular dog owners green with envy. Perfectly groomed, shiny coat, with holiday bells on.

During all the fun, I suppose there was no time to ask Obama about repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” or any of the other campaign promises he made to the LGBT community that he has failed to deliver.  As far as the new hate crimes law, we have deceased Senior U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy to thank for that! (previous story)

The Obama’s made a decision not to parade the kids around on camera having made that mistake during the campaign. I am very sick, and very tired of hearing about how smart and beautiful and healthy and happy they are.  I’m sure they are, but who wants to know about their sleepovers and that their daughter Sasha is flying her friends in Chicago? What about all the children in this country who are poor and hungry, who are abused and neglected, and whose parents are out of work.

And we could have done without the gift giving chat where the President claimed to give better gifts than he receives. The First Lady objected but then had to admit that the spectacular pearl necklace she was wearing with the diamond clasp, an anniversary gift from her husband, wasn’t bad at all, urging him to keep up the good work. And as to the Christmas season in the White House, the First Lady said there were a lot of parties.

“There was of course President Obama’s sweeping rhetoric, the way he could make us believe in things that have always seemed just out of reach, the way he gave us hope in the midst of our collective despair. Frankly, I don’t want to know what it is like for him to live in the White House and look out his window at the girls’ swing set from the Oval Office or that his wife occasionally looks at him sitting behind the presidential desk and wonders what he’s doing there. I would rather imagine what all that is like for him. What we need from him is seriousness, earnest contemplation, and reassurance that everything is going to be ok.”  -  Trish Kinney, Author of Silver Platter Girl and Documentary Filmmaker

A more formal look at the White House itself, its Christmas traditions and its breathtaking history would have been more appropriate at this time, more patriotic. And a little journalistic decorum never hurt anyone. But to throw a limited amount of serious political talk, almost token talk, into such a personal format felt off. A little touch of war, a little touch of peace prize, and a little grading of his own performance so far was just too lightweight, considering our current national circumstance.