Michelle Obama: White House rebel

[Drunken Irishman]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_newsroom/20110608/pl_yblog_newsroom/michelle-obama-white-house-rebel

he most recognizable woman in the world routinely ducks reporters to have what she calls a "normal" life. Hiding beneath a baseball cap, the first lady of the United States has picked through sale racks in the frenetic Tysons Corner, Va., mall with girlfriends, bought supplies for her dog at Petco using her own credit card, and dined at some of D.C.'s hippest eateries largely unrecognized. So secretive are her outings that when Washington Capitals hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin tweeted a photo in April with his arm around her at a busy Washington restaurant, media organizations were convinced it was a fake.



...

She was supposed to be a different kind of first lady—an Ivy League-educated, fashion-trendsetting professional who blew up the conventions of the job. No one could have imagined back in the heady days following the election that she'd declare that she would work only two or three days a week, choose a couple of politically comfortable issues, and stay out of the glare of the political spotlight. The result has been a low-key tenure that some have found to be disappointingly conventional.

But is it? What the chattering class has missed is that Michelle Obama, in an understated way, has in fact been transforming the job but on her own terms. She may have disappointed the Georgetown salon set with a casual disregard for social convention and annoyed the old political-wives club by not indulging them. But she has also spent untold hours with the other Washington--consciously extending the reach of the White House into D.C.'s black community, mentoring students, and choking up when she reflects on her own success to offer hope and dreams. Later this month she will make an official trip to South Africa and Botswana to further expand her commitment to students and young leaders, education, and wellness.

[ClarkUSA]

1. Excellent read. As someone who has met and spoken to her, I can only agree.

She's down-to-earth, playful, doesn't mince words but is effortlessly charming and warm. Oh, and she loves kids.

[CakeGrrl]

2. Good on her!

And I'm sure the "Beltway Establishment Elite" are grinding their teeth at the idea that she's not trying to be "in" with them - and especially that has no need to be.

:)

[dotymed]

11. Too bad her husband

Can't join her on some of these junkets. It would do us a lot of good to have a President mingling with the "low class."

[givemebackmycountry]

3. Talk about someone I'd like to have a beer with.

She's the real deal.

[jenmito]

4. That is so cool! K&R. n/t

[Cracklin Charlie]

5. Michelle is my hero!

Most genuinely real First Lady ever.

[Historic NY]

6. I'd love to have a coffee & conversation with her....I'll be back in May.

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. One in a million. Rec.

:thumbsup:

[boppers]

8. She's not a princess, or a queen, but a person.

Camelot is dead for a good reason. That kind of royal-leader-worship is too impossible to be real.

[shireen]

9. "She really wants to go to Target,"

:rofl:

Best first lady ever. love her! :)

[lunatica]

10. I'm delighted to read this! I was worried that she was too restricted in her

activism because of being First Lady. I have to say it again. I love Michelle Obama.

[DavidDvorkin]

12. Aren't the restaurants, malls, etc. that she goes to

filled with Secret Service people guarding her? That should be conspicuous.

I'm surprised that she manages to do this without reporters catching on.