Boy, is it ever! And good ole buddy Lynn Sweet plays their cards just like a mind numbed automaton she is.
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She vacationed with two women, one of them a longtime Chicago pal, Anita Blanchard, who is the obstetrician who delivered Sasha and Malia. Blanchard is married to Marty Nesbitt -- President Obama's buddy and the treasurer of Obama's presidential campaign fund.
There was one other woman. Total: four daughters among the three women. They paid for their hotel rooms and other personal and travel expenses.
The trip involved six White House advance staffers and two East Wing staffers, deputy Chief of Staff Melissa Winter and Mrs. Obama's personal assistant, Kristen Jarvis, according to Mrs. Obama's spokeswoman Catherine McCormick Lelyveld.
Mrs. Obama does travel with significant security -- and in a trip like this, three shifts of uniformed and plain-clothes agents and military personnel flew with her on a big Air Force 757. No matter where she goes -- domestic or international -- any first lady gets protection and she does not decide how many agents are needed.
So why did Mrs. Obama go to Spain at this time? She's not tone-deaf politically. What was behind the "mother-daughter" vacation?
A White House source told me that Blanchard's father passed away and Mrs. Obama was not able to make the funeral at the beginning of July. Blanchard had promised her daughter she would take her to Spain for her birthday. She asked Mrs. Obama and Sasha to come with.
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Kaine Defends Michelle Obama's Spain Trip: 'She's A Mom'
Excerpt:
Kaine said, "She's a mom." He said this was an opportunity for her to take nine-year-old daughter Sasha to a part of the world she hadn't seen before. Kaine said President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are "focused on being good parents."
JUST GIMME A BREAK !!!!
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And this was Politico's front page ..with a HUGE picture of her ..early this am. They've since moved it WAY down the front page, with NO photo, but that photo still headlines the article below.
Michelle Obama's star power in demand
Excerpt:
Michelle is "still a reminder of what people liked about President Obama," added Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer. Unlike her husband, the first lady "can retain some of the image and the excitement from the campaign because you're not pushing policy, you're not angering members of Congress.”
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Sidebar - Blago trial update: Jury's back in -- Day 9
By Natasha Korecki on August 9, 2010 10:53 AM, Reporting with Sarah Ostman
Jurors deciding the fate of Rod and Robert Blagojevich are back at it his morning, beginning day 9 of their deliberations.
Lawyers gathered for a 10:30 a.m. court status but Judge James Zagel's staff said there was no business this morning.
That means the panel of six men and six women hasn't sent any additional notes to the judge asking for guidance.
On July 30, they asked Zagel for all the transcript testimony. He denied the request but said he may give them specific witnesses.
Jurors haven't followed up.
But -0 and posse were in Chicago just last week.
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Meanwhile yesterday, during all this shameful ostentation, the arrogant prince of DC, along with Education Secretary Arne Duncan played with Chicago Bulls players Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose, as well as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Hall-of-Famers Bill Russell and Earvin "Magic" Johnson.... but it was for the troops. Video
Right ..
ROFL and eyerolls!!! Ooh, the rich WH spin, the willing, unprofessionally biased reporters and pundits who carry their water, and the insane myth of any popularity. They really think folks are that stupid.