Michelle Obama rocks the bureaucracy with her star quality

[babylonsister]

Michelle Obama rocks the bureaucracy with her star quality

For now, the first lady avoids policy issues, sticking to meet-and-greets with federal workers and citizens.
By Linda Feldmann | Staff Writer/ March 4, 2009 edition




It’s 7:00 a.m., and the line is already forming outside the Environmental Protection Agency. The attraction? First lady Michelle Obama, who is due to appear before an audience of EPA employees late in the morning – a crowd that would swell to 1,100, the White House said.

One by one, Mrs. Obama is dropping by federal agencies around Washington to give a pep talk and dispense hugs, a gesture that has sent local Obamamania in only one direction: Up.

When asked, workers can barely articulate what it is about Michelle Obama that has drawn them out on a cold morning and away from their desks (with permission, of course) to see the new first lady.

“She’s a star, and I thought it would be fun to see her,” said EPA contract specialist Ross Mill as he waited for last Thursday’s show.

Would he have come over for a past first lady? “Probably not,” he says. “I don’t even know why.”

Despite all the nation’s pressing problems, one bright spot for the Obama administration is the running narrative about the family – Michelle, the girls, the grandma in residence, the soon-to-be adopted dog – Portuguese water dog or Labradoodle? Still no decision.

Especially in such tough times, it’s pure escapist fare.

more...

http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/03/04/michelle-obama-rocks-the-bureaucracy-with-her-star-quality/

[firedupdem]

1. She calls them coworkers too. I'm sure they appreciate that. I

would wait in line to see Michelle myself. :)

[Booster]

2. I'd wait in line too. I've waited in line to see people I don't

respect a lot more than the respect I have for Michelle. She really is a rock star.

[Phx_Dem]

3. She's a total rock star. Class, compassion, brains and beauty.

What more could anyone ask for?

:patriot:

[sandnsea]

4. EPA To Monitor Air Quality Around Schools

I thought I'd throw this in here because it sank like a rock the other day. There are lots of positive little signs that "change" has come.

"Lisa Jackson, administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, announced a new initiative to further measure levels of toxic air pollution near many schools across the country for better protection. EPA and its state partners will prioritize and monitor schools for more extensive air quality analysis, looking closely at schools located near large industries and in urban areas.

USA TODAY spent eight months examining the impact of industrial pollution on the air outside schools and discovered that the levels of toxins in the air near hundreds of schools are so bad that the cancer risk is 50 times higher than acceptable norms. The model maps and ranks 127,800 schools using 20,000 industrial site emissions reports. Research by the University of Cincinnati found that one in three schools are in an “air pollution danger zone” and 30% are within 400 yards of a major highway. Childhood exposure to diesel exhaust has been linked to asthma as well as respiratory diseases later in life."

http://www.obama-mamas.com/blog/?p=189

[Captain Hilts]

5. Nice! nt