The First Lady’s Vacation

I have to agree that the first lady's ____1____ (假期) trip to a pricey(昂贵的) resort(度假胜地) in Spain in a week when we are ____2____ (使想起) that nearly 1 out of 10 Americans is still unemployed — well, that is not a good look.

Is that unfair? Sure it is.

There are people in this country who will not accept that the Obamas should ever have a day off in the White House because they cannot accept that they belong there to begin with. Because they cannot accept that any black people can have something they cannot have or can do something they cannot do. Some of these people will not be happy until Mr. Obama cuts the White House lawn himself and Mrs. Obama cooks and serves the food at the state dinners.

But having said all that, can I just tell you? This trip was a bad idea, and it will leave a sour taste in the mouths of any number of people who wish the Obamas nothing but the best.
It was a bad idea because Mrs. Obama is the "Mom-in Chief," as she so named herself. And while she meant that term(术语，短语) to ____3____ (描述，形容) her duties to her family, she also has, and usually seems to understand, that she has a duty to her husband's constituents(选民) as well. And part of that duty is, like the mom she is, to understand what hurts even when she can't fix it.

What hurts right now is that there are millions of people who cannot put new clothes on their kids' backs, let alone designer duds(高级定制服装). Or keep a roof over their heads no matter how hard they try, let alone jet off(飞离) to pricey vacation spots.

What hurts right now is that too many people are getting deeper and deeper into a financial hole that they did not create and cannot get out of on their own. Sure, some people helped their own slide(下滑) by buying houses they couldn't ____4____ (承受) or even, you could argue, failing to complete their educations when they had the chance. But it makes it no less traumatic(痛苦的) right now.

And you can agree that this ____5____ (内阁) is doing all it can within the political constraints(限制，约束) it faces to help people cope and if it had not acted, things would be worse, and still grasp that the ____6____ (情形) many people face are truly dire(可怕的) and it is not over yet and may not be for some time. Even if hiring picks up(振作起来), it will take years to regain all the 8.4 million jobs lost during the ____7____ (经济衰退). More than a million homes went into foreclosure(丧失抵押品赎回权) last year alone, and some of these people will never regain the financial stability or the emotional stability that they have lost.

What does all that have to do with where the Obamas' vacation?

Nothing.

Except that these personal choices are another way for them to show that they grasp(理解) what others are going through and are willing to share our pain.

By any measure the Obamas are wealthy now. But that is a very recent ____8____ (现象) in their lives. Neither of them benefited from the kinds of intergenerational(两代间的，这里指上代人给的遗产) wealth that results in beautifully appointed second homes hidden behind high hedges(篱笆，围墙), such as several of our recent presidents enjoyed. But that is exactly why many people voted for President Obama. If the voters wanted somebody with seven houses to chill in, they could have voted for John McCain(麦凯恩).

And while I don't think anybody expects the Obamas to sleep on the floor at Grandma's for their August break, it wouldn't kill them to show a little more ____9____ (敏感) to the people who so much want them to succeed and at the moment have very little to show for it but hope.

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