"For me, this is not just politics. It's personal."

[bigtree]

October 13, 2008 - 9:24 PM

Michelle Obama looked out at a St. Paul field house filled with supporters of her husband Monday afternoon and told them: "For me, this is not just politics. It's personal. It's personal for me, it's personal for all of us now."

And with that, Democrat Barack Obama's No. 1 campaign surrogate put the presidential race in the most personal terms possible.

During her appearance at Macalester College, and an earlier one in Rochester, Michelle Obama stuck closely to the campaign's tight focus on the economy, mostly filtering it through her experiences as a wife, daughter and mother.

Obama repeatedly boiled down her message to a simple formulation: "Don't we deserve leaders who get it? I've been campaigning for 20 months with the sole task of telling you Barack Obama gets it. That's all I know. I can't speak for anyone else."

[az chela]

1. I love this GIRL

[katandmoon]

2. I cannot WAIT until she is First Lady!!!

[Lugnut]

9. I am so looking forward to it.

Barack and Michelle will bring dignity and grace back to the White House.

[blue sky at night]

3. give these two a few years and both houses.....

and there may be hope afterall....you know when the shit hits the fan and you are down to your lowest point, that is all you have left is hope...and love, man I love these guys.

[MNBrewer]

4. St. Paul and Minneapolis love her to.

Glad she came here, to get the awful image of that woman from the Lakeville McCain rally out of my mind.

[The Brethren]

5. A smart first lady....to be.

I'm hoping she becomes our next first lady.

[Triana]

6. Like all of us (and they are one of US) the Obamas very much have a personal stake..

...in this election. They want their girls to have the same opportunities they had. And those opportunities have dwindled and are slipping away in the past 20+ years. We need to get back to being the Land of Opportunity where if you're willing to work hard and do your part, you can have a decent life.

We've lost that. If we don't get back to what America was meant to be for everyone, then their kids, and everyone else's kids will have nothing. They won't have a decent planet to live on and no matter how hard they work and strive, they may not ever have a decent life - not if we continue on the course we're on now.

Time for CHANGE.

[bear425]

7. Hmm. It's hard to see, but is that a tiny little peace sign on her necklace? n/t

[Union Thug]

8. And it should be personal for all of us...

People have asked me why I take political discussions so personally (well, I'm a short fuse and don't really have discussions). It's very simple - political decisions ultimately affect me, my family and my children over a broad range of issues - whether or not I can afford to pay the mortage, whether I make enough money to ever consider a vacation, let alone retirement. It determines whether I can get my children the healthcare they need. For many of us, it's life or death. And it's damned personal.

[The Brethren]

10. When I was growing up

one of the slogans I use to hear (on the news) was: The political is personal and the personal is political. I believe that to be true. No matter which election it is and who the candidates are how our leaders do their jobs always affects us.

With this election the stakes are even higher. And very few Americans can escape what is going on with our economy, job losses, the housing crisis....and the 700 billion (plus 150 billion "pork") Wall Street bailout/rip-off. Not to mention supporting 2 wars, etc.

It's all personal, including what new bills they pass that will affect everyone.