Sorry, I don't see this as respect for another culture. I see it basically the same way Michael Goldfarb does:When, earlier this week, I saw the pictures of the first lady sitting on a pink couch bracketed by, well, you couldn’t quite tell what they were, because they're wearing head-to-toe burqas, I thought she was making a powerful statement. Americans don't force their women to wear those ridiculous outfits, and by all rights they shouldn’t be forced to do so just because they are visiting a Muslim country. We live in a free country--if Muslims (or anyone else trying to go incognito) want to wear those things over here, that’s their prerogative. By the same token, any American woman wishing to brazenly flash a little ankle is also free to do so.
Most Americans traveling the Middle East have little recourse but to don the black sheets, but the first lady certainly does. She can dress as she likes....
And what will happen if Hillary wins the White House in 2008? Will she be expected to don the burqa on her trips to Saudi? One would hope not. Sitting presidents don't take fashion commands from foreign dignitaries, and neither should first ladies. Where are the feminists when we actually need them? (emphasis mine)
The feminists? LOL That's a joke, surely? They've been AWOL for a long, long time now. And they are far too culturally sensitive to want to offend the poor victimized misogynists of the Middle East.
I'm really disappointed in Laura Bush.
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