FLOTUS's star power in demand

[Casino67]

Politico.com:



With midterm elections looming, the White House has started debating how to unleash an untapped political weapon: Michelle Obama.

And just as the Bush administration used Laura Bush on the mid-terms stump, all signs say the White House will likely deploy Obama to help Dems keep the majority in both chambers.

“We’re waiting for direction on what the fall will look like and how this will all evolve,” a White House aide said, adding that “long-term planning” will occur in August while the first family is away.

It's quite a reversal from the heated 2008 campaign, when Michelle — accused of using a terrorist gesture to fist-bump her husband and famously quoted as saying the campaign made her a proud American “for the first time in my adult life” — was almost politically toxic.

“There’s just something about the first lady that defies party politics,” said pollster John Anzalone. “You can dislike George Bush, but love Laura. You can disagree with Barack Obama’s policies and like Michelle’s work on childhood obesity.”

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.”

To date, the first lady has kept politics at arm’s length, although she headlined a Democratic National Committee women’s leadership event in April that raised more than $1 million. But over the summer she returned her focus on ending childhood obesity, her signature issue.

If that changes, expect the East Wing phone to be ringing off the hook. “She would be an enormous asset to any campaign,” said Illinois-based Democratic strategist Eric Adelstein.

Here are five races that could use Michelle’s Midas touch:

The Pennsylvania Senate race:

Some have quietly lobbied for the first lady; Rep. Deborah Halvorson (D-Ill.) and Democratic Senate candidate Elaine Marshall of North Carolina publicly asked for her. Last week, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) shouted it out loud: He’d rather have FLOTUS than POTUS.

If the White House gave him a wish list of surrogates, "my No. 1 choice ... is Michelle Obama,” Sestak told reporters after a speech at the Pennsylvania Press Club. “I told them it’s a woman’s nation. Women are more employed than men for the first time in our nation’s history.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0810/40796.html#ixzz0w3cb6nMX

[clearvision]

Maybe she can show slideshows of her summer trips for her adoring fans?

[Casino67]

FLOTUS returns. Still looking as classy as ever.

 

Marie

 

I am curious, how much hair does she really have?

[nickydog]

Her hair is pulled back very tightly with a bun in the back, Casino67. This is what you do if you haven't had time to get it styled, like when you have just come home from a vacation abroad.

[Casino67]

Her hair is pulled back very tightly with a bun in the back, Casino67. This is what you do if you haven't had time to get it styled, like when you have just come home from a vacation abroad.

 

Does she wear a lot of wigs too?

[AceRimmer]

I just saw Dana Perino DEFENDING her for her trip to Spain. Needless to say I was shocked, but after hearing her reasoning, it made a little(I emphasize "little") sense. But this trip displayed the complete tone-deafness and arrogance of this White House.

[nickydog]

Her hair is pulled back very tightly with a bun in the back, Casino67. This is what you do if you haven't had time to get it styled, like when you have just come home from a vacation abroad.

 

Does she wear a lot of wigs too?

I don't know about wigs. I doubt it, but wigs are so well done these days it's hard to tell. My sister-in-law just finished a rigorous year of chemo for advanced breast cancer and she wore the cutest, sassiest wig after she lost her hair and there was no way to tell it was a wig. In fact, now that her natural hair has grown back she is having it colored and styled like the wig!

[AceRimmer]

Best wishes for your S-I-L and a quick and full recovery.

[nickydog]

Thank you, AceRimmer. She's doing well so far.