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Michelle Obama Is The Mom Everyone Wanted
NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
A Fireside Chat, This Was Not
Tonight Show: Sasha And Malia Are The Coolest; Obama's "Special Olympics" Bowling Skills
Police Hold Goat On Suspicion Of Robbery • Caylee Anthony's Grandfather: Suicidal?
Your Inauguration Day Images: A Gallery
Obama Is Up By Nearly 20 Points Among Women Voters
Michelle Obama Co-Hosts The View, Discusses Racism, Sexism, and Toned Arms
Michelle Obama Pledges Not To Bring A Couple Of Slutty Lush Daughters Into The White House

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maude_flanders
11/17/09

In reply to Michelle Obama Is The Mom Everyone Wanted
I wonder what she thinks. I guess it no longer matters, that the family has enough troubles and she's just enjoying living in the same house as her husband, even if it meant moving out of Chicago and supporting a husband who has the most difficult job in the world. I would guess that she shares alot of the same views as Barack, but I might be wrong. Still, she gives the perfect "woman's touch" and sympathies to his causes, including healthcare reform... maybe she's the one giving speeches on military families and the significance of accessible healthcare for women in particular because she actually cares, and she knows the audience she can draw.

Does that really mean anything, though? The subjects are safe--service and military families deserve attention all the same, sure, but aren't these topics (Laura Bush had reading) always the First Ladies' domain? She takes something easy and softens her husband by association.

I find her interesting and I worry it's for shallow reasons...what meets the eye is an effortlessly cool, calm, collected, down-to-earth-yet-glamorous adult. Her cameo on Sesame Street just rounds it out....I feel like a gradeschooler again, basking in awe of a favorite teacher.

That isn't to say she isn't human, that she doesn't feel pressure in the spotlight, or that that couple never had difficulties in their marriage.

I've never followed an election closely before, so maybe it's typical for talkshows to seek out prospective First Ladies during the campaign, but between that--the interviewers who wanted to hear from HER, with or without her husband (though alot of the questions were safe...about the marriage, the kids, her parents, the stresses of the campaign)--and the mutual friends who talked about the couple and said that between the two of them, they thought Michelle would be the one running for public office some day....I want to know more. #michelleobama
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Cerridwen
11/17/09

In reply to Michelle Obama Is The Mom Everyone Wanted
When I was younger, I had this running joke with my dad where he would ask me, "Who's the greatest Dad in the world?" and I would say, "Bill Cosby!" I joked with him the other day that if he was to ask me that now, I'd say, "Barack Obama!" instead. #michelleobama
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J.D.Regent
11/17/09

In reply to Michelle Obama Is The Mom Everyone Wanted
I live in DC and I have noticed SO many people refer to the President as "Michelle's husband" (including Lil Wayne); I love it. #michelleobama
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Kivrin
11/17/09

In reply to Michelle Obama Is The Mom Everyone Wanted
To my knowledge, I have never seen another person wearing a belt over a cardigan. Anyone else? #michelleobama
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cellocurve
11/17/09

@Kivrin: Uh -- I went to high school in the 80's -- yeah -- it was a huge thing. #michelleobama
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
11/17/09

@Kivrin: Yes, I have. It's been everywhere lately. I've tried it, but the effect was unfortunate. I leave this one to the pros.

In related news, Michelle definitely seems like The Cool Mom. You know, like super-smart and put together, and intimidating but not so intimidating she'd be scary. Plus she and Barack both seem like they'd get up to some really nerdy hijinx and be hilarious and embarass the crap out of the girls. #michelleobama
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galena11
11/17/09

@Kivrin: That stupid new Old Navy commercial has several "model-kins" wearing belts over cardigans.
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Kivrin promoted this comment Edited by galena11 at 11/17/09 11:55 AM galena11 was starred galena11 was unstarred

Kivrin
11/17/09

@galena11: Ah, see, I look away in horror whenever those mannequin commercials come on TV; I missed the vital trend alert. #michelleobama
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SomeAuthorGirl
11/17/09

@Kivrin: I think it was J.D.Regent a few months back that had some inspirational things to say about belts that got me over my 80's-based loathing. Yeah, I do it now. It can look cute. #michelleobama
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Kivrin
11/17/09

@SomeAuthorGirl: I like some 80s stuff; I have totally embraced the return of the legging. But I know instinctively that this high-belt thing would not look good on me, so I fear it. #michelleobama
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SomeAuthorGirl
11/17/09

@Kivrin: I'm not doing the wide/high belt thing. I am doing the slim belt over a cardigan with skirts thing. I tell myself I'm workin' it.

Leggings are still verboten in my house. ;) #michelleobama
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lizyfizy
11/17/09

@Kivrin: yeah. I've been doing the belt/cardigan thing for a while now. In high school I did the belt/tank top thing. I also do the belt/dress thing. Basically I like belts. #michelleobama
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Clare116
11/17/09

@Kivrin: J. Crew loves belts over ANYTHING. I was looking through the Christmas catalogue this morning and they had a belt over a puffer vest. I really hate the belt-at-random-place trend. Some people can pull it off, but others just look like they don't know how clothes work (like they're going to wear shoes on their hands, or pants as a hat or something). #michelleobama
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Kivrin
11/17/09

@Clare116: Yeah, I gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of the belt trend. I have a very functional approach to belts: I use them to hold up my pants or cinch a waist, and that's all. Occasionally add a belt as pure decoration, but only when belt loops are provided. Can't get down with using 'em as random, unnecessary adornments. #michelleobama
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AndIAmTellingYou
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
The fateful intersection of white master-black slave did not just affect the Melvinias of the world. That the dehumanization of one group will too eventually take its toll on those in power, is a lesson America has not yet learned.
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thesciencegirl
10/09/09

@AndIAmTellingYou: Please check out the "cost of racism" series on the resistracism blog! I'll go hunt down links. They talk, in part, about the affect of racism on white Americans.
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thesciencegirl
10/09/09

@thesciencegirl:
[resistracism.wordpress.com]

[resistracism.wordpress.com]

[resistracism.wordpress.com]

[resistracism.wordpress.com]

[resistracism.wordpress.com]
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AndIAmTellingYou
10/09/09

@thesciencegirl: Thanks!
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If_I_Had_a_Poodle
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
slavery exploitation freedom triumph
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feministabroad
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
I know that it was very frustrating for me to study abroad and be asked where I am REALLY from. "Oh, I know your an American but where are your ancestors from in Africa?" I got so frustrated at the lack of knowledge of slave trade in America. I had friends that truly did not understand why I did not know where I came from in Africa. I had to break it down to them. And it saddened me.
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HidingInCanada
10/08/09

@feministabroad: Jesus, that just seems downright ignorant, on the part of the questioners.
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AndIAmTellingYou
10/08/09

@feministabroad: When I lived in Europe I got the same thing. I generally find Europeans more enlightened on the issues of slavery, colonialism and racism, but strangely detached at the same time. The constant quizzing, "But where?" frustrated me so much at one point that I responded, "You tell me." That ended that.
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raphaela
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
My great-grandmother cost $135, and her bill of sale was listed on her marriage certificate. I am not ashamed of that at all.
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If_I_Had_a_Poodle
10/08/09

@raphaela: how do black families teach slavery? how do jewish families teach the holocaust? how do white families teach history?
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hollygirl
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
The poignancy of her great grandfather becoming a community leader and going through such struggles, never to know what was in his family's future- I cried reading this at the office !
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likepenguins
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
A former teacher of mine was in the process of tracking his ancestry while I was in his class. He did pretty well up until about 1850, where he his a wall, because his great-great grandfather's legal name was "It."
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bowleserised
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
Fascinating that apparently, to some people, having "slave blood" is considered worse than having "slave owners blood."
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linnyt is a walking cliché
10/08/09

@bowleserised: i know people with my last name had slaves. i really hope i'm not related to them. the thought makes me queasy.
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ambitious
10/08/09

@bowleserised: I find the term "slave blood" pretty damned unsettling myself. It has a hint of re-essentializing slavery – as if 'slavey-ness' was in the blood itself rather than the policies that bound it.

I wonder how easily and readily we would note the "slave blood" of people from other groups with enslaved ancestors on their family tree.
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Edited by ambitious at 10/08/09 9:32 AM ambitious was starred ambitious was unstarred

staryberry
10/08/09

@bowleserised: I have slave owner blood. By great grandmother's family lost two plantations after the Civil War. It boggled my mind when I discovered this, because it is such a disconnect to who my family is and how they live.

When it comes down to it, I feel that it is wrong to judge someone by their ancestors, especially beyond a couple generations. Instead, family histories are just fantastic ways to show the American history. This is true whether it be from slave, to shopkeep, to lawyer and politician, or from plantation owner, to civil rights worker, to lawyer.
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If_I_Had_a_Poodle
10/08/09

@bowleserised: african american people with irish/english family names .... well, they're typically slave names. so goes history.
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hollygirl
10/08/09

@linnyt is a walking cliché: My middle name, a family name, is from a slave-owning SC family. my heart froze as I scanned for the name of michelle's ancestors' owner's name. not related to me. but in my work as a social worker I have met many patients with my middle name for a last name. my distant cousin edward ball wrote a great book on this topic, " slaves in the family", which is referenced in the article. Its part of our national discussion, hopefull more so now.
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kentuckienne
10/08/09

@bowleserised: I discovered a few years ago that some of my ancestors (in 17th- and 18th-century New York) owned slaves. Even centuries later, the discovery made me deeply uncomfortable.
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HidingInCanada
10/08/09

@linnyt is a walking cliché: A Canadian friend of mine recently discovered after reading through some old family wills that one of his ancestors from the South had willed to his descendants "a small plot of land, two wheelbarrows, and a negro girl".

He knew that there were Americans in the family, but he had no idea that they had been slave-owners. He was completely floored by the information.
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leftcoaster
10/08/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
I wish I could go back in time and tell Melvinia that one day one of her descendants would be in the White House. I wonder if she would care to know that; if it would have made her life any better to know she was the last generation to be enslaved and that great things were in store for her family.
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hollygirl
10/08/09

@leftcoaster: That is exactly what made me cry when i read this!!
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If_I_Had_a_Poodle
10/08/09

@leftcoaster: yes
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janetsdaughter000
10/07/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
I don't understand how "slave blood" could be an insult either. I remember as a kid watching the part of "Amistad" that depicts the voyage on the slave ship over. I don't remember the whole movie, just that part. Maybe I'm strange, but I found it so incredibly moving. I was so incredibly proud to have "slave blood". Do you know what "those people", some of them my ancestors, went through?! And they survived! I come from f**kin' survivors!
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kristinab
10/08/09

@janetsdaughter000: i know. if it hadn't come from the mouth of the likes of rush limbaugh, i'd consider "slave blood" a compliment. i'm from slave blood via puerto rico, and i'm like, fuck yeah, fatass. you think that they'd give you oxycontin if you were in shackles? think again. if you come from slave blood your ancestors helped to build this country and were some tough, smart, people to have survived it.
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Grim Reaper of the Forest
10/08/09

@kristinab: Not to defend Rush Limbaugh, because he is a racist asshat and most likely said other racists things about Michelle Obama, but at least in the link he was making fun of Charles Steele for suggesting the right was attacking Michelle more than Barack because she had slave blood and he didn't. In fact, I think Steele was onto the general feeling that Michelle was "an angry black woman" and Barack was "clean and articulate and actually bi-racial". But, neither one of them were in this instance saying that her having slave blood was bad.
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ronniedobbs
10/07/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
I hope people actually read the Times article. Latoya does a great job of quoting from it, but there are still plenty of commenters asking questions that are answered in the article itself.
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thesciencegirl
10/07/09

In reply to NY Times Reporters Trace Michelle Obama's Family History
Many of the comments remark that Michelle O has dozens of other great-great-great-grandparents. What they don't seem to realize is that most of them probably have similar stories.
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