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    Ty Owes Them Each an Apology and a New Doll

    Posted Tuesday, January 27, 2009 12:57 PM | By Bonnie Goldstein
    On this morning’s Washington Post op-ed page, my friend Ruth Marcus made a similar point as your mother, Jessica, on the upside of Ty’s opportunistic marketing of dolls with “beautiful names.” The marvelous and sweet effigies of the president’s daughters indeed provide long overdue racially correct toys for little girls to be proud of. Citing the troubling psychology experiments of dark-skinned children choosing white dolls described in Brown v. Board of Education, Ruth thinks the inherent social service trade-off might be worth it. The manufacturer of Beanie Babies has again created a direct connection to the imagination of a new generation. Even in this belt-tightening moment, I’m sure the dolls are selling like crazy and even lifting the economy. I’m not offended by the actual toys and can imagine which little girls in my life I would enjoy giving them to. My fear is that if the first family is mined as a commodity, there will come a time when their worth is depleted. Right now the public wants to embrace them like a cuddly toy. It’s time to get off the stage and get back to school.
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