Читать книгу First Ladies For Dummies - Marcus A. Stadelmann, Marcus A. Stadelmann PhD - Страница 15

The position of First Lady isn’t mentioned in the Constitution. However, the position soon became attached to the presidency and received some informal powers.

The position of First Lady has been defined by culture and not the Constitution. There’s no job description and no laws regulating First Lady behavior. However, changing American culture has put both limitations and opportunities on the role of First Lady. Cleary, back in the 19th century, an active First Lady campaigning for her husband and trying to impact policy making publicly wouldn’t have been tolerated. Today, the American public expects First Ladies to be educated, to campaign for their husbands, and to even run for office themselves.

For this reason, the position of First Lady has considerable power today, and the First Lady has become one of the most powerful persons in Washington, D.C. From Betty Ford (see Chapter 16) who encouraged her husband to pardon President Nixon to Hillary Clinton who was put in charge of reforming healthcare in the United States, First Ladies have shown that they matter and can impact policy making.