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EXCERPT Now, some critics are questioning whether using her own daughters as examples is fair to them. "Was it hurtful to her girls?" asked one blogger who focuses on Mommy issues. Psychology Today even questioned the first lady for using the word "chubby" to describe her daughters. While her heart is in the right place, Michelle may not have considered or been familiar with the delicate balance between preventing obesity and triggering eating disorders. She mentioned that she put her children on a diet after her pediatrician and their father felt they were getting “chubby.” Words like “chubby” don’t cause...

AP: First lady Michelle Obama says President Barack Obama "has done a phenomenal job," but that people have a right to criticize him. In an interview broadcast Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America," she said getting things accomplished in heavily politicized Washington is "a constant struggle."

Here is video of First Lady Michelle Obama reacting to criticism by Sarah Palin and others by saying she believes "my husband has done a phenomenal job" during his first year in office. She was reacting to Sarah Palin's question to Americans, "How's that Hopey Changey stuff working out for you." Michelle Obama also said she is very "proud" of her husband and the job he is doing. . . . (VIDEO)

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT SIGNING OF MEMORANDUM ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY Oval Office 9:16 A.M. EST THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. I am so proud of the work that the First Lady, along with the Cabinet Secretaries behind me, have done in trying to tackle one of the most urgent health issues that we face in this country, and that is the increase of childhood obesity. And because of the outstanding planning that they've done, they are going to be rolling out a terrific plan of action that involves the private sector as well as government agencies coordinating much more...

WASHINGTON (AP) - By now, it is abundantly clear that Michelle Obama loves french fries. The first lady talks about this "guilty pleasure" all the time, trying to ward off any notion that she is a nutrition nanny even as she cajoles Americans to eat better. Now, her conversation with the public about the nation's health and fitness is about to get a lot more pointed. After laying the groundwork for nearly a year, she launches a campaign on Tuesday against childhood obesity that she hopes will change the way millions of Americans eat, exercise, look and feel. < snip...

Michelle Obama defended her husband against some of his most vocal critics, saying President Obama did a "phenomenal" job this year and that change is a long-term process. First lady Michelle Obama responds to Sarah Palin's recent biting remarks, saying her husband has done a "phenomenal job." I think my husband has done a phenomenal job staying on course, looking his critics in the eye, coming up with clear solutions against staying the course," Michelle Obama told Robin Roberts in an exclusive morning television interview on "Good Morning America." "That's what leadership is. But people have the right to criticize...

First Lady Michelle Obama is planning an elaborate unveiling on Tuesday of the anti-childhood obesity drive she is leading. Mrs. Obama's East Wing said she will be "joined by members of the president's cabinet, as well as media, sports, entertainment, and business leaders," plus mayors, member of the medical community and others at the White House event. On Tuesday evening, Mrs. Obama will sit down with CNN's Larry King for an interview about obesity and her first year as first lady. She will take questions from viewers. "Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled; nearly...

Michelle Obama has earned accolades for making healthy living and eliminating childhood obesity a priority as first lady. But when it came down to personalizing the issue in relation to her daughters, the remarks touched a nerve with some, and praise from others. The first lady made the issue of healthy eating personal last week at an event in Alexandria, Va., where she kicked off a campaign addressing the issue of childhood obesity. "We went to our pediatrician all the time," Obama said. "I thought my kids were perfect -- they are and always will be -- but he [the...

When she moved to the nation’s most prestigious address, Michelle Obama’s husband told her that rough times were ahead. The country was in recession, people were out of work, the political parties were in open warfare — and the man who was going to be blamed for it all was President Barack Obama. But you won’t hear the first lady utter a peep of complaint. “The truth is, there are a lot of folks who are hurting. And there’s no way I’m going to sit here and complain; I’m sitting in the White House,” Michelle Obama told TODAY’s Matt Lauer...

Behind every seemingly good deed in the Obama White House, there's a deep-pocketed, left-wing special interest. Take first lady Michelle Obama's crusade against childhood obesity. Who really benefits from the ostensible push for improved nutrition in the schools? Think purple -- as in the purple-shirted army of the Service Employees International Union. Big Labor bigwigs don't care about slimming your kids' waistlines. They care about beefing up their membership rolls and fattening their coffers. Mrs. Obama earned a State of the Union address shout-out from her hubby for taking on the weighty public policy issue of students' physical fitness. The...

Yes, more important things came out of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Wednesday (Jan. 27) night than what his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, was wearing. Still, Chris Matthews has the attention-grabbing, out-of-context statement "I forgot he was black" covered. And the American citizens are full of responses to his 70-minute speech that ranged from everything to the economy to health care, national security to getting rid of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. So, back to secondary things: What was Michelle wearing? A tasteful aubergine dress with three-quarter-length sleeves from designer Isaac Mizrahi. ...

This isn't a gratuitous remark. This mug is really disturbing.

First lady Michelle Obama said Tuesday the president's 2011 budget will include a record $8.8 billion to support military families. The largest sum, $1.9 billion, would be spent on counseling and other support services. An additional $1.3 billion would go for military child care.

INVITED: First lady Michelle Obama's guests at the State of the Union Wednesday will include Fort Hood heroes Sgt. Kimberly Munley and Sgt. Mark Todd, White House official said. Another guest, Trevor Yager, is an openly gay business owner in Indianapolis, who co-owns the ad agency TrendyMinds. The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce had recommended him as a potential guest. PLUS -- EARLIER: One of second lady Jill Biden’s guests at the State of the Union will be a community college student who served in the military until recently, according to a Biden aide. The aide said Biden...

I thought I would be in a better mood in 2010. I mean, you can't do much worse than 2009. But after only 24 days, I'm deeply cranky about several things on the food radar. Watercress-gate: Earlier this month, Food Network aired an episode of "Iron Chef America" starring White House chef Cristeta Comerford competing with Bobby Flay against Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse. The hook: The chefs were to use vegetables harvested from the White House kitchen garden started by Michelle Obama. Only they didn't. Sure, they showed the four chefs tromping through the garden picking and snipping and...

Whether she's turning heads with her latest fashions, being mom in chief to her two young daughters, or even training a very playful puppy, by all measures, first lady Michelle Obama has had a busy first year in the White House"We've gotten a lot done," she told a group of print reporters last week, listing moments like her work with military families and her youth mentoring program, as being part of the year's accomplishments.But the issue she has become the most passionate about is ending childhood obesity. "The statistics never fail to take my breath away," the first lady said...

With the nation still mired in a deep recession that has millions of Americans experiencing economic ruin, the Obama administration marked Barack Obama's one-year anniversary as president by displaying a photograph of First Lady Michelle Obama wearing a $2,763 designer coat as the 'White House photo of the day' on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov.First Lady Michelle Obama greets a young visitor touring the White House during a surprise visit in the Blue Room with family dog Bo on the anniversary of the inauguration, Jan. 20, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)Nola Weinstein, Fashion Editor for Glam.com noted...

She doesn't look a day over 45.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has treated first lady Michelle Obama to a surprise birthday party at a tony Washington restaurant known for its commitment to organically grown food. Surprising the birthday girl Saturday night at Restaurant Nora in Washington's Dupont Circle neighborhood were her mother Marian Robinson and friends, including Attorney General Eric Holder, White House Adviser Valerie Jarrett and Jocelyn Frye, who is a domestic policy adviser to both the president and first lady. Mrs. Obama walked into the restaurant in a dark, knee-length frock. President Obama was dressed casually with no tie. Michelle Obama will turn 46...

In previously unseen footage, Michelle Obama has described how she had to consider her family's future and be sure her questions were answered before she supported her husband's bid for the US presidency.

Patty Lupone sings Rainbow High from Evita. Granny Jan's Apple a Day face serum is available for all conservatives gratis. Leftists have to pay the full retail price of $355/oz.

[snip] the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public: $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)$140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)$113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)$102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY) Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)$90,000 - Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)$84,000 -...

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is using first lady Michelle Obama’s image in a new ad campaign, dubbed “fur-free and fabulous” without the White House’s permission. The first lady’s office says that they did not give PETA consent to use Michelle Obama’s image in their ad campaign, which this week popped up on buses and metro stations across Washington, D.C. The ads feature Obama’s official White House portrait, as well as photos of Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood, and Tyra Banks under the words “fur-free and fabulous.” The first lady’s office has contacted PETA and informed them...

As his emissary, Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan, hit the Sunday morning talk shows to discuss White House anti-terror efforts, Obama, still on island time, had his usual workout the nearby Marine Base and then went for a 6+ hour round of golf at the course on the base. His afternoon included a family visit to Punchbowl, the Department of Veterans Affairs-run National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Obama's maternal grandfather is entombed there. And then a swing by the Honolulu Zoo, where Obama made his first appearance of the day. There the First Family--First Lady Michelle and daughters...

Photo: Huffington Post.Photo: New York Magazine. Barack Obama enjoys living like a king, so why shouldn't Michelle Obama live like a queen?The First Lady was photographed last night in Hawaii wearing $635 per pair designer shoes by Maison Martin Margiela.The shoe style is called "Leather open toe flat pumps." It features a "thin nude leather strap across the top of the toe."A woman lucky enough to have a job in this economy and working for the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would have to work 88 hours (without taxes taken out) to make enough to pay for Michelle...

Fawning over First Lady Michelle Obama has been over-the-top, but considering her a "deity" a "goddess," and "a woman not to be contended with so much as worshiped from afar," is a bit much.

First Lady Michelle Obama's obsession with very expensive designer shoes is starting to bring up the specter of Imelda Marcos, the shoe-hording former First Lady of the Philippines.Marcos, who was the wife of Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos, became a global laughingstock when news spread of the more than one thousand pairs of shoes in her closets when the Marcos regime was overthrown by the People Power revolution led by Corazon Aquino in 1986.The mainstream media has pretty much ignored Michell Obama's designer shoe collection, save for when she visited a soup kitchen wearing garish $540 silver colored sneakers.A few bloggers...

She's on vacation now in Hawaii, so what does she care? But as the first calendar year of the new White House regime draws to a close, First Lady Michelle Obama is experiencing the same drop in poll numbers as her husband. She's not elected, of course, and not charged at least officially with making the tough executive decisions that come out of the Oval Office. As a result, first ladies have typically fared better in different public opinion polls than their more controversial husbands. And now even as the female Harvard lawyer in the family and the one with...

Michelle Obama and Barack Obama are staying in an 8 million dollar house that costs $4000 a night for the holidays. The Hawaii White House is located on kailua beach on the island of Oahu. This is a special place for President Barack Obama because this is where his grandfather would bring him as a child. The beach is also very popular with Hawaii royalty. Just so you know there are many more affordable places to stay in the area. The Presidential beach house is 7000 square feet and is owned by Dave Zimmel of Paradise Point Real estate. The...

THE YEAR IN STYLE Wrapped in Their Identities By CATHY HORYN December 24, 2009 ROLE MODELS Working women can identify with Sarah Palin's style. Michelle Obama's closet includes high fashion and dresses like this one from Sophie Theallet. More Photos » Multimedia Sarah Palin comes across as a businesslike everywoman. More Photo [See URL] At least the fashion world had Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin to help avoid the impression that, you know, nobody cares about clothes and big dangly earrings. It’s hard to see now why so many columnists got their tights in a twist over Ms. Palin’s spending...

By the time you've see this video 10 new outfits were born.

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama arrives with a sack of toys as she visits the Marine Corps Base Quantico Toys for Tots Campaign warehouse in Stafford, Virginia, December 16, 2009. In support of the program, Mrs. Obama delivered new and unwrapped toys and gifts contributed by the Executive Office staff.

The First Lady made her entrance at the Neighborhood Ball on Inauguration night wearing a custom chiffon gown by then 26-year-old Jason Wu.

(Bush vs. Obama Christmas Card): The Bush card: "multitudes of heaven worship you" Obama: "Have a joyous holiday season" (Photos)

After seeing the nausea inspiring dress Michelle Obama wore to the Nobel reception for her Zero, I am forced to admit something disturbing. As the great Christopher Walkin would say, I got a fever and the only prescription is more boob belt!

Not everyone thinks Michelle Obama is the epitome of style. "Everyone compares her to Jackie O -- she is not the next Jackie O," sniped designer Douglas Hannant SNIP A spy said, "There were some gasps in the room." Note: The Huffington Post published a statement from Hannant's publicist:"I did say 'Michelle Obama is not another Jackie Kennedy and I do not consider to be a style icon.'(sic) But in addition, I also said 'She has so much more to her and has mass appeal. I admire her as a role model and think she will achieve great things in...

"A security guard stands next to a large screen showing U.S. President Barack Obama, as he awaits the start of the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony at Oslo City Hall December 10, 2009."

Michelle Obama was even more fascinating than her presidential husband in 2009, according to Barbara Walters. Walters named the first lady the year's most fascinating person, in her one-hour special "Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People," which aired last night on ABC.

WASHINGTON - -- President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have chosen an elegant greeting card that announces to recipients: "Season's Greetings." "May your family have a joyous holiday season and a new year blessed with hope and happiness," the card reads.

. Obama wanted “non-religious Christmas”? 7 December 2009 28784 President Obama and the First Family were planning a “non-religious Christmas,” according to Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. Ms. Rogers reportedly told a gathering of former social secretaries that the Obamas did not intend on putting the Nativity scene on display – a longtime East Room tradition. The account was reported in the Fashion and Style section of The New York Times. The White House confirmed to the Times that there had been internal discussions about making Christmas more inclusive – but in the end – tradition won out – and the...

If you can’t fool Big Bird, who can you?

Finger on the Button President Barack Obama gets some help from his first ladies, Sasha, Malia, and Michelle, when lighting the national Christmas tree in D.C. today. Image via AP

I'm Dreaming Of A White House Christmas: Michelle Obama Shows off Her Lavish Decorations Mail Foreign Service 03rd December 2009 For most people, a single Christmas tree, a string of lights and some baubles are enough. If you're the Obamas, however, decking the White House halls with boughs of holly was always going to require a little more work - 3,400 man hours to be exact. The US President and his wife are celebrating the festive season with recycled ornaments, natural materials and, of course, a gingerbread White House. Spectacular: An 18ft Douglas Fir, is positioned in the centre of...

Matthews: Let‘s move on. Clearly, the Secret Service is taking a hit here. But is this a White House issue, too? Where were the White House staff the other night? And why weren‘t they stationed at every checkpoint, like they used to be? ROBERTS: ... misidentified them, but I didn‘t think so. And I said, Can you tell me why they‘re not on the list? And she said, I don‘t know, but I‘ll try to find out. And I didn‘t hear anything for the rest of the evening. And the reason I think that‘s important is that even after they...

The White House pulled out all the stops in preparation for President Obama’s first state dinner on Tuesday night, hiring a new florist, selecting a renowned guest chef and even inviting a number of high-profile musicians to perform. But one person the White House apparently neglected to hire was a spell checker. The special dinner menu — a lavish mélange of Indian and American favorites as well as several excellent wines — was rife with typos.

Google Won't Remove Distorted Michelle Obama Image From Search Engine November 24, 2009 A crudely altered photograph of Michelle Obama, which often comes up as the first result on a Google image search of her name, will not be removed from the company's search process despite protests that the depiction is racist and repugnant. "It's offensive to many people, but that alone is not a reason to remove it from our search index," Google spokesman Scott Rubin said. "We have, in general, a bias toward free speech." The image, which depicts the first lady as having monkey-like features, is posted...