L in the Southeast

L in the Southeast
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Birthday
November 04
Title
Retired PR Director
Bio
I am a retired Public Relations professional who now writes purely for fun and catharsis. I covered most of my memoir-type pieces in the first three years here. Lately I have dabbled in politics, current affairs, pop culture and movie reviews. Life is my muse.

MY RECENT POSTS

L in the Southeast's Links

MY LINKS
Editor’s Pick
SEPTEMBER 5, 2012 2:39PM

Michelle...Our Belle

Rate: 42 Flag

 

Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble  -- The Beatles

Michelle Obama at 2012 DNC

Our elegant, statuesque, brainy First Lady knocked ‘em dead last night.  I’m still not clear if she was using the prompter or if she was speaking extemporaneously, but one thing I am sure of is she spoke from her lovely heart.

Gee Whiz…I love that guy – Carla Thomas

I had a conversation with a friend this morning about how anyone could have ever referred to Mrs. Obama as an “Angry Black Woman.”  This woman isn’t angry.  She is in love.  She is in love with her husband, thank goodness, but she is also in love with this country.  To fail to see that is to fail to open one’s eyes and ears.

Michelle Obama is in love with her daughters, her oft-stated raison d'être. Her priorities are well-ordered and well-known.  Money?  I’m sure she thinks it’s nice to have it, but it does not seem to rank all that high on her list.  What does rank high are things we all care about (or should): health, family and other people.

There were people watching who actually zeroed in on her manicure and wondered on Twitter what the brand and shade were.  Really?  On the news this morning, I heard someone speculate that her shoes were from J. Crew!

But while the vapid were judging her wardrobe, I was moved to tears by her words and her delivery of words like these:

“Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are – it reveals who you are.”

One of the words that appeared most in her speech was “opportunity.”  To me, that one word is the linchpin of the American Dream we have heard so much about these past few weeks.  Most Americans don’t expect to get something for nothing, contrary to the beliefs of so many on the right.  Most Americans simply want a fair shot at achieving that dream.  They want a real opportunity to work hard and pull themselves and their families up into a decent life.

Ann Romney, in my opinion, also did an exemplary job at delivering her address at the RNC.  As a woman – a woman who is always looking for and acknowledging other women who excel – I was proud to hear myself think that Ann Romney speaks with authority and conviction.  In fact, she does so far better than her husband, the candidate.   I simply didn’t believe the words she spoke as much as I believed Michelle’s.

Whichever way this election turns out, these men who would be President in 2013 both have powerful campaigners in their life partners.  They are both smart.  They are both great mothers.  They are both beautiful.

In these times when money-grubbing television executives prefer to make millionaires out of truly angry black women by exploiting their loud, obnoxious, street-based antics – NeNe Leakes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta comes immediately to mind – it is gratifying and pride-inducing to see a black woman from humble beginnings work and choose her way to a true role model for women of any and all colors and creeds. 

I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand –
Helen Reddy

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Recipient's email address:
Personal message (optional):

Your email address:

Comments

Type your comment below:
I too - was moved to tears. Every word was gracious & meaningful - a great 1st Lady! R
In my most humble and uninformed opinion, she is the very best asset that the President has. She owned the house last night and she gave a damn good speech. One of the commentators made the remark....speaking about the First Lady and Romney's wife. He said it was evident that both men had "Married Up".
I wasn't initially watching, I was in a neighboring room on the computer, but I came in because she was obviously doing so well. Given the amazing delivery, I wondered who wrote it for her and was even more blown away (not in terms of delivery but in terms of content) to find she'd written it herself.

Hell, with writing like that, she'd get EP's here.
Barack Obama needs to deliver one heck of a speech Thursday night or she is going to end up winning the election.
Marilyn: I agree!

David: I heard that said, too. I thought the commentator was on the money.

Kosh: For sure, she wrote it? I told my friend I thought she did, but I haven’t had time to check it out. EP? She might even get an RP! :D
She gives girls everywhere someone to look up to for a wide slate of outstanding reasons; chief among these is her unselfish love and compassion.
I can't compare the two because I did not watch Mrs. Romney. But, why would I want to compare them? ... Michelle is divine. I can't imagine anyone besting her in any way. She is smart, beautiful, well-spoken, well-educated, well-informed, buff, a great mom and wife, a savvy professional, an American of whom we can be proud, and, to top it all off, she is married to a great man.

Rated for Michelle's sake.
Deb: As I watched and listened to Ann Romney she struck me as someone who would be all up in his grill when she doesn't agree with him. She comes across strong and confident, Barbie-doll looks notwithstanding.
What makes me sad is that in the Republican Convention, Irin Carmon reported one of the female delegates exclaiming, after Ann Romney's speech, "We need a a First Lady who looks like a First Lady!" All I want to say to her is, "Lady, Michelle Obama looks like a First Lady to me!"
Every detail of the First Lady is scrutinized and she is always fascinating and erudite. I just love her. I want her arms. I want her man and family. I want her brain. She humbles me and makes me want to be a better person. She is funny too and makes fun of Obama's ears. I like that.
I adore her. And I am standing and applauding you for this wonderful piece of writing. ~r
She is awesome. She kicked ass in style...with class...and damned hard!
Dr. Freeborn: I totally agree.

ccdarling: Did you miss the dog whistle message that delegate was sending? If so, good for you.

Zanelle: Her sense of humor is one of her most attractive assets. I love her, too. (Pssst – I had a dream about “being” with her man once..shhh)
Joanie: I adore her,too. Thanks for the compliment.

Frank: She sure did!
She has made a wonderful 1st Lady and I don't know how anyone could point out any deficiencies unless they were manufactured.

I missed this as I don't have cable, (cost cutting), so thank you much for this post!
I adore her too - charming, intelligent, beautiful, and simply cool.

I tried to rate this, but the "rater" didn't work. But, great post.
asia: If you have time, find the transcript of her speech online –it’s there. It won’t be the same without hearing her deliver it, but it’s better than not knowing it at all.

Bonnie: Thank you for reading and trying to rate.
I know 1/2 a dozen people who know her. 1 who knows her well. And the cool thing is---that is what she is REALLY like! She is as solid, grounded and classy a human being as one could be.

Best part? She will be really difficult to attack. It will happen. But it won't work.
Chi: That comes as no surprise. She always seems so genuine. Thanks for that.
L - nope, sure didn't! That's why I'm saying Michele Obama looks like a First Lady to me!
Everybody already used up all my adjectives. She made me proud to be a woman, to be a liberal, to value those same things she values, with all my heart. She rocked it. All those people hanging on her every word, getting on their feet when she delivered that killer line about how being president reveals who you really are.

Julian Castro did great too, and so did our faboo governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, who took Mitt's place, and is helping us to forget him.
Michelle exudes class - she makes me proud to call myself American.
Amen sister! Wish I would have seen last night, live. Actually have a laptop hooked to the TV now with live-streaming DNC coverage and looking forward to Clinton's speech. I fondly remember the guy, and those years of peace and prosperity.
greenheron: I thought Julian Castro was terrific, but I couldn’t listen as closely as I would have liked because I was mesmerized by his boyish grin. He reminds me of a very close family friend when he was young. I missed Mr. Patrick, but I already know he is faboo.

postmormongirl: That makes me happy.

tr ig: Bill Clinton is and will always be The Man.
Hi Lezlie. I just made the following comment on Steve's blog. Full marks for the speech but I don't like the idea of candidate spouses playing such a big role. It shifts focus from issues onto soft emotions.

I wouldn't want to think that votes are swayed by whose spouse speaks best but I'm sure that some are.
Abra -- I've had that thought myself, Abra, but the fact is that such seemingly insignificant things DO influence some people. Just like the color of the woman's nail polish is totally irrelevant to the job their husbands aspire to, so, too is what the candidate's spouse thinks of him. But in fairness, the role of the First Spouse has risen over my lifetime from fairly innocuous to pretty damned important, like it or not.
I sat in my pickup truck to listen to Michele Obama.
I had been at the farm, and then I visited neighbors.
I like how Michelle Obama claps and do shakes hands.
`
She grasp hands better than most blue collar mechanics.
I shook her hand twice. She's warm. She is caring. Real.
She grabs Barack Obama by the ear. She loves Broccoli.
She grabs Barack Obama by the ear. He get cauliflower.
I call the White House Pastry Chef. I say:` I Vote Her.
`
Honest . . .
`
P.S. On Friday Joan Walsh will sign her New Book.
Joan Walsh will be at ` Politica and Prose in D.C.
I use to comment on occasion at her Salon Blog.
She sure was a victim of the nasty vitriol spews.
`
bebop-o
clownsense

goat gouda blueberry
GoodCelery!
`
all 4- avatars were deleted.
Maybe I'll get a new book?
Joan wrote a new book.
`
`
Title: `WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH WHITE PEOPLE
WHY WE LONG FOR A GOLDEN AGE THAT NEVER WAS-
`
I recall visiting the CATO Institute when they hosted Salon's
`
former columnist ` Glen Greenwald. He left for @ GUARDIAN.
I thanks CATO for Great Hospitality. Cato served a Free Lunch.
Glen Greenwald signed a book ` bout Hospitality? I tease`gin.
G.G. wrote ref:, Hypocrisy. (acting a theatrical part) heehaw.
`
I may visit D.C. and buy Joan Walsh's book. Politics and Prose.
`
When Greenwald was at CATO the Pope Benedict was in D.C..
Honest.
I swear.
I sleepy.
`
I go to listen to night crickets. Tree Katydids soothe.
The daily news do Babble. O, agitate human Psyches.
I stopped off at my neighbors to enjoy Hospitalities.
`
I Hope Michelle gets Jacob Ladder Sheep to graze.
The Sheep are brown and white. Milk for cheese?
Buy Sheep Cheese at `White House Farm Market.
`
Google?
`
Everona Sheep Cheese.
Dr. Pat is Pure Organic.
Monsanto Hate Purity.
`
`
Um Toxic chemical folk.
The CEO do hates Purity.
No Be Fooled by Creeps.
`
My respect to honesty.
I view frauds and barf.
I do go conk and snore.

This isn't a bad mood.
I almost No view Blog.
I am Glad I did. Ay Joy.
Title: `WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH WHITE PEOPLE
WHY WE LONG FOR A GOLDEN AGE THAT NEVER WAS-


BRILLIANT, Art! I love it.
Found the live stream on CNN and now we are watching. I knew there had to be a way... I imagine Michelle's speech is archived here.

Some excellent speakers on tonight.
I was awed by Michelle Obama's speech - she's my idea of a star and agree with everything you said about her. Thanks to you, I'll also check out Ann Romneys speech.
She's the most appealing first lady yet. They are such a special couple-- just true elites in the best sense of that word.
I like Anne Romney too. Don't like her husband, but she seems perfectly fine.
The really cool thing about Michelle and Barack, is that they feel no need to apologize for being Family first. We had the Camelot era, OK? That party's over -- a new one has rooted itself.
We, now, have the real deal -- what you see is what you get. We need this to continue. The seeds planted in these last 4 years may not be harvested for a while. But we need to do this .... let's get this done.
Thanks for your find post. R>>>
Asia, I'm glad you aren't missing all the GREAT speeches!

Maria: thanks for being here.

fernsy: they two impressive women.
Our news people down here in Fla la land didn't even bother to mention her speech. All they care about is " The Dems left God out of their Convention!" It's unfortunate that Florida once again will help elect a bleeping repug. If you don't believe me, just go to TBO.com and look at all the comments from the locals. Morons, assholes, and racists!
Well, I did wonder about her manicure - she has the most beautiful hands! She was marvelous. Je l'aime.
Kenny: NO coverage ???? Florida is a big problem!

Sweetfeet: Je l'aime, aussi
Our first lady was amazing, so powerful and came off as real and sincere. After she spoke, I was wishing she was running for president. Maybe someday!
Kevin: she'd be great, but I don't think she's interested.
Fair enough Lezlie and that's why the parties do it. But it just seems to pander to this trend of voting on gut feel where people can't even articulate why they think Candidate X's proposals are better than Candidate Y's. I guess I'm being curmudgeonly here.

Good speech by Clinton tonight.
Just think, we've had first ladies like Hillary Clinton who had brains, education and experience and clearly were an asset to their husband's policy development. We've had first ladies like Jackie Kennedy who had style.

I don't think we've had anyone who could wow the tuned-in with their rhetoric and wow the tuned-out with their manicure.

Way to hit it out of the ball park, Michelle!
She was just named (by me) Honorary First Lady of Italy! Assolutamente Magnifica!
I think that both the president and first lady are about as fine as we will ever have. I have a feeling that years from now, this will be fully acknowledged by just about everyone except crazies. But like you, I appreciate them right now.
Oh, you sweet, innocent, gullible guppy. If you've ever observed MO without a teleprompter, you'd have no doubt whatsoever about its presence at the Convention. She lards her speech with more "you know's" than Caroline Kennedy, and that's saying something!
She was flawless. Her appearance, her apparent ease and comfort were perfect. Her words (bet at least some of them were hers) were well chosen and delivered with sincerity and excellent style. I did not watch all of Ann Romney but clips did not make me want to see the rest. She was plastic and silly and self-indulgent. And she called us "you people"...cannot forget that. Even Michelle's wayward little flip in her hair made her more sincere. I have not seen many criticisms of her speech, but my fave was John Sununu saying he thought the dress cost more than they said. That was all he could he could find???
Gordon: You know what, you're right, now that I think about it. Can this guppie be promoted to adulthood now? I am aware that you are far from a fan.
Michelle Obama is just the coolest First Lady ever -- and yes, that Tracy Reese dress she wore is stunning. The nail color, not so much. One of my favorite things about Mrs. Obama is that she manages to pull off that brainy side with a fashion sense. While that may sound trivial, it gives a rare and important opportunity for us to see a whole woman who embraces it all: brainy and beautiful, strong mothering with strong civil spirit, loving wife and mother as well as smart CEO-type.
She's just great and so was her speech.
ps -- Those "Real" Housewives make me shudder!
They are so not real at all.....the worst sign of decay in our country yet, in my humble opinion....and I've not actually even watched one of those shows, just have seen the women elsewhere on TV and....*shudder.*
Lezlie..i adore how you write! Your passion matches Michelles passion on wednesday night! She WAS amazing - i sure hope it works! Please dear - if it's not too much trouble - please either post your articles on my wall - or message me that you wrote one. I don't get to viewshound much these days - and like i said - i adore how you write!
She is a great speaker but, her romancing her history is pretty scary. Prep Schools for both then and Ivy League Law Schools is not exactly a tough upbringing. Lived in a house immediately after graduating Law School-lived in a Mansion three years later. If a Republican sang this song you would rip there heads off.
Remember that this was a woman who despite all the advantages she has received in life said upon her husband being nominated"For the first time in my life, I am proud to be an American".
No where else in the world could this story happen-even if it ended before he became a Senator; and et she hated this country. Now she is a darling as all things have gone her way.
Yes, she is a great speaker-scary good.
I didn't see the speech, Lezlie. I had hoped to be able to watch it as well as Bill Clinton's last night, but don't have the patience anymore to sit through all the piddly stuff and I can't stay awake anymore as long as I used to. I watched the nun last night and was impressed by her presence and her speech but I went to bed after that. I'm not feeling too chipper this evening, so I don't expect to stay up for the president's speech, either.

But you brought me near tears right now with this eloquent report on "Our Belle's" speech Tuesday night, which I now wish I had seen. And I cannot imagine any Republican being as gracious to Mrs. Obama as you are here to Mrs. Romney. You've demonstrated once again that you are a class act, Lezlie, and I am proud to know you.
JT:? Those women who make fools of themselves on those shows are a disgrace to the rest of us.

imkarn23: I sent you a PM

Jay Richer: You have got to be kidding. I wouldn’t rip anybody’s heads off for succeeding in spite of their obstacles. Michelle Robinson was raised in the same kind of family I was. Money was not abundant, but their plans for me were. I knew from the time I could understand the word that I would need to earn scholarships in order to go to college. That’s what I did, and I’ll bet that’s what both Michelle and Barack did.
You must be pretty desperate to bring up that old misrepresentation of her. How do you go from “For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country,” which is the actual quote and I heard it live, to “and yet, she hated this country?”
You are scary-good at regurgitating the time-worn Southern Strategy without regard for fact-checking. Oh, wait…I forgot. You don’t want to be dictated by fact-checkers.

Chicken Maaan: I’m sorry you’re feeling down in the dumps, but I am so flattered by your kind compliment.
LSD: I really tried to give Mrs. Romney the benefit of the doubt with that "you people" crap. But it rankled, believe me.
Great speech, great lady, great woman.
I thought Michelle was absolutely WONDERFUL! (Of course I've always liked her, so I might be a little biased.) There were no cliches or cheap shots in her speech, she didn't have to protest about "having a real marriage." She exemplified what she meant, her love for her husband was obvious throughout, and that speech was completely from her heart. Quite honestly, I thought she blew Ann Romney out of the water and beached her speech several miles onshore from a rhetorical standpoint. You are a nicer person than I am, Lezlie!

Visiting the sartorial standpoint for a moment, I thought Michelle looked FABULOUS in that lovely dress!

rated
Thank you L for this wonderful post,also suggesting to look for Michelle's speech.I found it,heard it and placed it on my FB profile.
As many here,I could not hold my tears back,but then,why should I?
Michelle's words reach each one of us.
Rated
L_

"How do you go from “For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country,” which is the actual quote and I heard it live, to “and yet, she hated this country?”"
She was not proud of her country until he was nominated-read what you wrote again. -Our First Lady was not a proud American until she became one of two people who might become First Lady!
I did the fact checking. She bought a house the same time those student loans kicked in-Why because her and her husband got paid huge salaries as recent graduates in law firms.
She might have grown up poor but, she got to prep schools and the Ivy League and she admitted she was not a proud American.
She worked for a hospital and made $363,000 before taking a leave of absense for the run for President. She was never replaced. So she had a job in a country that she thought little of, making all that money, and never felt she was part of the dream
Barack was upstaged by his wife. Michelle is elegant, eloquent, and comes across as a woman genuinely in love with her husband and her country. She held her won with Bill Clinton and that is a major feat. I like the fact that Michelle isn't just a smiling face content to swirl in the wake of her husband. r
Shiral: I thought the dress was fabulous!

Jay Richer I graduated from Ripon (WI) College, the Birthplace of the Republican Party. The logic I learned at that terrific institution must be different from the one your school taught.

Aside from the remark you are misconstruing, what I have to say to the rest of your retorts is "So what?" Is this an attempt to have the "who struggled the most?" argument with me; or are you actually holding against the Obamas what you preach that all Americans should do? Perhaps you want a President who has to borrow a tux to wear to the Inaugural Balls?

I will not be responding to any more of your comments on this post, but you are welcome to repeat the same allegations to your heart's content.

Lezlie
Two beautiful women, two different stories. You don't have to hate the Romney's or the Obama's to write about politics.
L- my point is that this country has been very good-if not great to her. She got advantages (no interest loan on her 1.75 million Mansion) that a republican would get excoriated here for getting.
As her husband moved onto the national political stage, Michelle Obama began to enjoy a lavish lifestyle at taxpayer expense, directly and indirectly. When he was elected to the U.S. Senate, he obtained a $1 million earmark for the University of Chicago Hospital--and his wife’s salary as Vice President for Community Affairs jumped from $121,910 to $316,962. Her job: pushing poor, uninsured patients to other hospitals. That is a fact, I work in that industry.
They also never gave to charity until 2007, despite huge salaries, book deals and an 'amazing community conscience' she was not proud to be in this land that gave her amazing opportunity. Except of course donations to Rev. Wrights church.
Now she spends like another first lady from Illinios Mary Todd Lincoln during another time of peril for the union.
Jay,
I know you have as much capacity for embarrassment as you do for fact-checking, but in case others wonder...

You're wrong about the home loan, wrong about the Obama's financial earnings history, wrong about the hospital grant and Michelle's salary, and wrong about the student loans being paid off by suddenly appearing law company salaries--Barack's book sales paid off their student loans.

You are wrong about so many things, amplified by your laughable insistence you diligently fact-checked and turned into an absolute hoot by the "I work in that industry" canard. I guess it's okay if some people are Goober-like suckers for anything that shows up in their e-mail box, but you should dial-back the claims of due diligence. The Rwing tabloid media is playin' you for a fool--with your full cooperation.

There are other hobbies besides politics. Have you considered model airplanes or knitting?

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/money.asp

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/05/michelle-obamas-salary/
Paul,
I hope you are not driving this weekend if so, adjust your meds appopriately.
From your source:
Michelle Obama had been promoted in 2005 to vice president for community and external affairs after three years as the executive director for community affairs. It’s true, as the e-mail (and National Review column) says, that she received a sizable pay raise that year. She went from earning $121,910 in 2004 as an executive director at the hospital to making $316,962 in 2005 as a vice president, according to tax returns filed by the Obamas for those years.
I never said her employer paid off her student loans-that would not have bothered me at all. I wish mine had been paid off.
I did say she did not struggle as she and Barry got paid very well right out of Law School.
She just made their history more hard scrabbled than it truly was.
Jay,
I consider you to be a political dink with nothing relevant to say, but your implication was the salary was tied to a 1 million grant to the hospital, which was debunked.

"Easton said the nearly $317,000 figure is "misleading" anyway because it includes more than just her salary. He said the figure "also includes a performance bonus, a one-time signing bonus (she had other, competing offers at the time), and a one-time mandatory payout from a terminated retirement plan." This is reflected in the fact that her 2006 earnings were less than in 2005."

Are you trying to say your credibility is restored and your conception of politics has suddenly become adult-level because you were partially correct (she made that much 1 year, but it wasn't all salary) on one slim element of a fact you implied was part of a bribe? Does that mean all of your "facts" cited that were easily debunked somehow no longer reflect on your gullibility? Are your arguments empowered by your multiple errors?

Anyway, you're tedious and irrelevant. I'll move on to other things and leave you to splash in the political kiddie pool.

If there's a Hobby Lobby in your area, they sell a wide range of model airplane kits.
The Amish take a tractor inner-tube down to the Potomac Creek`
Ay, the Potomac River.
`
I almost went to D.C. .
I changed my Mind.
Joan Walsh is Nice?
`
She's selling her book.
I almost roamed to D.C..
Then -
I view Nature. Glorious.
I no enjoy Loath-Hates.
GOPs/DEMs Impugn.
`
Dark critters ` Project.
Self-Hate finds` Goat.
Scapegoats get` Dead.
`
Folk Who Loath?
They Project Ill.
I just Saying. Oy!
`
I No Go to D.C..
I buy book later.
Ay, Hospitality.
Great post about a great lady!
Paul,

Anyone who can write" I consider you a political dink" has issues, thank you for the laugh. I will be at that facility and yes, both her and David Axelrod worked there and started a program diverting indigents to other community hospitals. It came under fire from directors on a national level. Her published salary was much higher than she collected because she switched to part time. This has nothing to do with politics, it just is what happened.
You think these people operated in the cesspool that is Chicago politics, climbed to the top and associated with sharks like Tony Rezko,Rahm Emmanuel and Bill Ayers and were totally pure? Really--I am the political Dink?
I had thought that everyone found themselves supporting the first lady and her efforts. I did not know anyone had objected to a speech until I read this article.
Great post, Lezlie, I rated before. R
Yes! She definitely helped in this coming election. Again, great post. R
I listened to part of Michelle's speech during a lesson with one of my advanced English students. I'm glad we didn't listen to the whole thing, because in just those few minutes, I was tearing up! What a moving discourse, and you're right, she seemed so sincere.
Curious French lyric you quoted there. It almost sounds like the one from the Beatles's song Michelle. You know, "Someday monkey play piano song, piano song."
she is easy to love. It's funny, I never was all that partial to Barack, he just doesn't move me, but Michelle does.
I wish we could get some of these smart driven women in office instead of having to keep settling for their husbands. (and yeah, I'm voting for him)
I was laughing until I cried listening to Michelle's speech, but now I am just crying without a laugh. To believe her story, someone should be stocked in the fourth grade 'till the end of their lives! Do you really believe that this woman would get into the car she described?! With the wholes in the floor? Do you really believe that she would date a man who could hardly walk , because his shoes were one size smaller that he needed?! What's wrong with you, people? Didn't you feel ashamed? She doesn't respect American people so much, it's painful. When they met, Obama already graduated from HARVARD! He worked for a year in New York in some financial company as a researcher. After Harvard (!!), the only job he could get, was this one. No one offered him anything better. But still, he worked. He was paid for his job! His grandma was a vice-president of the bank in Hawaii. He never struggled! She never struggled! The moment Obama became a Senator in Illinois, the hospital she worked in received a quite substantial grand, and soon after that, Michelle got a new position and a new salary. BTW, after she left, this position was closed forever. She was famous for sending poor people who came to that hospital to other hospitals, because they couldn't pay for the services. She even was investigated for those practices. So much understanding of how poor people live. Are you so clueless? Seventeen vacations in less than four years? And what vacations! She has an army of people who serve her in the White House. She takes all her friends, and friends of her kids to these vacations. We pay for most of her bills. Please, give me a break! Grow up!