Free Republic

She was only 15 minutes late. That's amazing! After all, she is the First Lady of the United States. She has a busy schedule. She was scheduled to speak to the Girl Up Leadership Summit at 11:15 a.m. And by 11:27ish she was in the house. "You all look amazing," Michelle Obama told the 200-plus activists who represent some of the world's 1,000 Girl Up clubs. They'd come to Washington, D.C., to bond, to learn about girls' issues and to lobby Congress. But she also made two subtle and important points about activism. Point No. 1: Activism should be personal....

IM Global and producers State Street Pictures have launched production in Chicago on “Southside With You,” the romantic dramedy inspired by Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date. The film is focused on the 1989 date when a young Obama — portrayed by Parker Sawyers — was trying to woo lawyer Michelle Robinson (played by Tika Sumpter) on a summer afternoon and evening. The date took place at the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by a screening of Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” and their first kiss outside of an ice cream parlor.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)During a passionate address at historically black Tuskegee University Saturday, Michelle Obama said she refused to let the "sting" of racial bias define her. "Over the years, folks have used plenty of interesting words to describe me. One said I exhibited a little bit of 'uppityism,'" the first lady said. "Cable news charmingly referred to me as 'Obama's baby mamma.' "All of the chatter, the name-calling, the doubting, all of it was just noise," she said. "It did not define me, it didn't change who I was, and most importantly, it couldn't hold me back." Conjuring up the incidents in...

Now that the midterm elections are over, Michelle Obama is joining forces with some new partners…penguins. The first lady is seen chatting with one of the waddling, computer-animated stars of the upcoming DreamWorks movie, “Penguins of Madagascar,” in a clip released Wednesday by Got Your 6, a non-partisan military veteran empowerment campaign. “I want to talk to you today about a group of people that inspires me everyday: our troops, veterans, and their families,” Obama says directly to the camera, before being interrupted by the tuxedo-colored aquatic friend. “Excuse me, Mrs. Obama. We’re a little tired of the Seals getting...

<p>There was a surreal moment after the debate last night. On CNN, the polling went overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney among debate watchers. Basically two-thirds of the American public who watched the debate claimed Romney won. A majority claimed Romney was with them on taxes, the economy, healthcare, their views of government, etc. He dominated.</p>

As Michelle Obama does the television show rounds this week, it is not just her new book that she is showcasing. The First Lady, notorious for her demure, arm-baring outfits, also appears to be showing off her wardrobe, making the most of costume changes between each television appearance. On Tuesday, Mrs Obama appeared on both Good Morning America, The View and The Daily Show to promote her new gardening book and to discuss her healthy eating campaign.

First Lady Michelle Obama, accepting an anti-war petition at a fundraiser in San Francisco last week, told the CodePink member who presented her with 20,000 signatures, ”Keep up the great work,” the organization’s co-founders say. CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin wrote a blogpost today about the First Lady’s visit. In it, she related what she said happened behind the scenes when Kristin Hull, a CodePink supporter – one who paid to get into the $500 a head fundraiser – personally met up with Michelle Obama at the California Academy of Sciences last Friday. After Hull handed Mrs. Obama a petition urging...

President Obama's most valuable fundraiser - first lady Michelle Obama - landed Friday in San Francisco, where she urged 350 supporters at a high-dollar re-election campaign event to get involved because too much is at stake in this election. She reminded the audience not to forget "how my husband appointed those two brilliant Supreme Court justices." "For the first time in history, our daughters and our sons watched three women (sit) on the Supreme Court," she said. "And we're now feeling the impact of those court decisions that will affect our children's lives for decades to come. On privacy, on...

...the trip is already provoking disappointment from Africa advocates who argue that President Obama, whose father was Kenyan, hasn't devoted enough time to the continent since winning the presidency. Mwiza Munthali, public outreach director of TransAfrica Forum, argues that U.S. officials "are not seeing Africa as a big priority. There has been some ambivalence." The president has made just one trip to sub-Saharan Africa since his Jan. 2009 inauguration and has chosen not to accompany his wife on her journey. This isn't the first time the First Lady has come under fire for travel plans. Below we review some of...