ABSTRACT
The presidential election of 2008 emerged in the media, in the academy, and in the popular imagination as a watershed moment, a tide that turned toward a new kind of politics because of the inclusion of a woman and an African American as viable contender for a major party ticket. In light of the above challenges to his candidacy, in an effort to make Barack Obama more intelligible to the American public, adherence to traditional, heteronormative gender roles became pivotal in his campaign communications as well as his administration's policies. If Obama's father's background was outside the mainstream, his mother's family story fit neatly within an idealized version of Americana. If Barack Obama gained status as a true American through this maternal family, he further cemented that status through his marriage to Michelle Robinson. The marriage of Michelle and Barack Obama has become fodder for popular discourse.
