Michelle Obama flair makes few waves in Moscow

AFP ^ | July 7, 2009

[presidio9]

She's wowed crowds in London and Paris but the trademark flamboyance of Michelle Obama, wife of the US president, was nowhere to be seen this week in Moscow, where leaders' spouses get little attention.

After descending from Air Force One on Monday behind her husband and with their two daughters, Michelle Obama virtually disappeared from the public eye as Barack Obama filled Russian television screens, websites and newspapers.

"Russian protocol apparently sought to contain news about Barack Obama's wife so as not to break with Russian political tradition," said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a social and political commentator.

"In contrast with the West, where Michelle Obama draws practically the same media interest as her husband, Russia remains a patriarchal country, at least on a political level," Kryshtanovskaya said.

Shortly after her arrival on Monday, Michelle Obama was given a Kremlin museum tour by Svetlana Medvedeva, the wife of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The excursion received little media attention, although a brief blurb and small photograph of the two first ladies walking side by side was published by the popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.

On Tuesday, the US first lady visited a local school and orphanage before attending a music and folk-dancing concert, along with her daughters Sasha and Malia and over 500 Russian children.

Dressed in an ivory and black sheath dress, she also attended a speech that her husband gave for graduates of a Moscow economics school.

But her programme in Moscow was subdued and received scant media attention in Russia, by comparison with her high-profile shopping excursion in Paris and visit to a London pub earlier this spring.

The snippets of television news footage showing her on the first day of the US-Russia summit were confined mainly to her accompanying Barack Obama as

[traumer]

what ‘flair’.... ?

[buccaneer81]

Flair? A cow slogging through a muddy field has more poise and a smaller posterior.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Maybe they’ve had their fill of communist.

[presidio9]

You know, I keep waiting for somebody besides myself to notice that our fashion model FLOTUS has a ginormous caboose.

[Jmouse007]

Russian and Ukrainian women have more fashion sense and flair in their little pinkies than MO has or will ever have. They are beautiful, the same can not be said of MO no matter how much the fawning state run press says otherwise.

[Cvengr]

Potato sacks must now have become all the rage in Moscow.

[Tamar1973]

"Russian protocol apparently sought to contain news about Barack Obama's wife so as not to break with Russian political tradition," said Olga Kryshtanovskaya, a social and political commentator.

"In contrast with the West, where Michelle Obama draws practically the same media interest as her husband, Russia remains a patriarchal country, at least on a political level," Kryshtanovskaya said.

I think it's refreshing that the Russians leave the wives out of it. The wives of politicians have a right to a private life, just as the spouses of celebrities have that same right. They have a right to a private life.

[DoughtyOne]

There is a reasoned chance she's the wife of an illegal immigrant.  That's the long and the short of it.  So acting like she's a princess?  Sorry, no sale...

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Ladies, there were 15 lifeguards over there a few minutes ago.  (I'm beginning to feel a bit guilty... heh heh heh...)

[Clara Lou]

That’s been noticed numerous times. And, in my opinion, so what? The problem is that she has no fashion sense. When she looks good it’s because someone else told her what to wear.

[JoanneSD]

I noticed that as well.. only the last few photos have shown a side view of FLOTUS. all the others I have seen were either frontal or from the back.. these side views are revealing...

[Travis T. OJustice]

They called it flair at Chotchky's, but I would expect Michell 0 to call it bling.

[VicVega]

What about her mom? How much is costing us to send her all across the world?

[Travis T. OJustice]

She looks like a linebacker in a dress. Well, more like a guard.

[SampleMan]

She’s still one big dude.

[Fred]

The moo moo is now in courtesy of Mrs. Obama

[Lizavetta]

Flair my ass.

To quote Hildy, I cannot stand the sycophantic press telling me that my eyes are wrong.

Flamboyant? Try tacky and tasteless, i.e., a see-through plastic belt worn in public during a state visit to Russia, as if she's going to the mall.

[manc]

flair

what flair

she has grace and flair like a pig at feeding time.

It really is hard to believe that there are some in this country who actually think she is classy and believes the state run media

[parisa]

On Tuesday, the US first lady visited a local school and orphanage before attending a music and folk-dancing concert, along with her daughters

It must be killing lady macbeth! So righteously entitled and so ignored.

Utterly d-l-i-c-i-o-u-s :o)))))

[McLynnan]

Unbelievable that the Russians aren’t wowed by a big plastic belt with interchangeable buckles.