Greetings all hope you are having a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Things have been slow around here intentionally because Aminah and I (I would be Gina :))are resting up for the start of Silly Season. That's when the media's obsession with First Lady Michelle Obama's "fitness" for the job kicks in and we become at serious risk for our eyes being lodged permanently in the backs of our heads from all of the eye rolling.
I've been telling Aminah for over a year that Silly Season would kick off somewhere around February 2011, I was off by about 6 months give or take.
The NY Times decided to regurgitate an article it published back in June 2008 by MICHAEL POWELL and JODI KANTOR. Did they get fired or did they refuse to write the same story twice? Back then Kantor and Powell argued that Michelle Obama needed a makeover to be "reintroduced" to the American people. Now a little over 2 years later .... Michelle Obama needs to be carefully "reintroduced" to the American public following her trip to Spain this summer. They even called the article "First Lady Plans Careful Return." In 2008, the article was titled "After Attacks, Michelle Obama Looks for New Introduction." Careful return? New Introduction?
OMG the sky is falling the sky is falling... oops sorry, that's just the NY Times opening their regurgitated story angle archive. Here is what I wrote for The Guardian back in 2008 its a timeless classic, unlike Sheryl Gay Stolberg, I won't try to deceive you into believing this post is novel or about some original idea or controversy:
Apparently Michelle Obama needs a makeover. No less than the New York Times says so. So let it be written. So let it be done. The most recent piece of fiction crafted by the mainstream media is that there is something wrong with Michelle Obama. In thewords of the Times, Michelle has a "strong personality". I don't think they meant "strong" in a good way - like strong bones, strong bridges, strong families or a strong national defence. In Michelle's case, being "strong" is a liability, not an asset. There is something about Michelle that the American media thinks is too much. Is it that she is too confident? Too eloquent? Too intelligent or too compassionate?
After declaring that she was just too much, on Wednesday, the New York Times followed up by inferring that Michelle needs to be made over into a softer version of herself, but I didn't see anything wrong with the original version we've grown to know. The Guardian
So I reurge my analysis of the NY Times from two years ago. YAWN ZZZZZZZ.
Now on to the really INTERESTING aspect of the latest NY Times, it looks as if some folks are preparing to abandon ship.
In addition to the regurgitated "The American Public Will Reject the First Lady if She isn't Extra Special Careful" meme they never really let go of, we also see one of the few cracks in the relative cone of silence surrounding the inner workings of the East Wing.
Now let's assume that anonymous sources from the East Wing actually exist, which based on the state of modern journalism, we can't be certain whether they do or not. Then let's assume that the anonymous sources cited by SHERYL GAY STOLBERG actually are privy to the inner workings of the East Wing and aren't some low level staffer responsible for replacing the stables in the supply closet. Assuming that these anonymous sources actually exist and actually know what they are talking about, this is the first public attempt to undermine the First Lady of the United States from inside the East Wing.
Sure, there have been plenty of leaks to help push Desiree Rogers out of the door, remember when Jackie Norris got the boot and then the flurry of daggers following the Salahi State Dinner incursion? Those leaks were clearly aimed at Desiree Rogers, but having the unfortunate distinction of reading about First Lady Michelle Obama almost every day for YEARS, this might be the First Time the daggers have come out for First Lady from inside the East Wing and that's notable because I thought we'd make it into 2011 before the parachutes and life preservers that usually precede aides trying to point the blame at their bosses for electoral losses. So ignore the majority of the NY Times article. Pay particular attention to the fact that SOMEBODY in the East Wing is trying to throw the First Lady under the bus....
Either that or the East Wing intentionally leaked this story to NY Times to indicate that though the First Lady knew she might get some flack for making the trip to Spain, she really wanted to spend time with a dear friend during her time of bereavement.
Dontcha LOVE politics!
Be careful this weekend and enjoy your friends and family!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 11:26AM 
Michelle Obama hangs out with the local kids in New Orleans, as the NFL and "Let's Move" team up together. 
