Michelle Obama today said a new book alleging that she influenced President Obama’s choices on policy and staff was part of a long running effort to portray her as an “angry black woman.”
The book, “The Obamas” by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor, reports that Michelle was critical of President Obama’s senior White House aides, regarding them as insular and insufficiently devoted to the president’s vision of “transformative” change. Michelle was in particular concerned about former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and believed the president needed a new team.
In an interview with CBS This Morning, Michelle said she had “never had a cross word” with Rahm but didn’t deny that she had found his leadership problematic and acknowledged that she in general made her views on matters clear to the president.
But the first lady also said the book’s author was trying to titillate by amping up the drama and was associating her with an unflattering racial stereotype.
I guess it’s more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here and a strong woman and a – you know, but that’s been an image that people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced, that I’m some angry black woman.
Michelle was magnanimous toward former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who cursed the first lady during a staff meeting, calling him a good friend and saying, “we could go day to day and find the things people wish the didn’t say to each other.”
Here’s the interview if you want to take a look-see.
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I don’t have to do,I? That would be worse than watching Skippy the Twerp:(
He will be along soon–you know you love him….LOL.
I can’t due to medical reasons I am blind in one eye and fear watching
Skippy could cause me to lose sight in my one good eye. I have a note
excusing me from watching:)
Me, too. One eye. But Skip doesn’t scare me… Maybe a little…
Is Skippy married?
Some gal at ABC.
Best thing she could have done for herself is keep her mouth shut. I’m so glad she didn’t! :)
What these fools don’t get is that many of us have a couple of working brain cells and just because something is written in a book, said on TV or the internet doesn’t mean we’ll buy it hook, line and sinker – but in this case, the woman IS a angry black woman..walks, talks as they say.
I don’t need to watch the video to know she is angry based on her thesis, her life and her jobs. Doesn’t hurt that she sat in Rev.Wright’s church for 20 years. She said she was black, I don’t see color of skin, only content of character.
Like her husband, does not handle criticism well either, but criticism doesn’t make one racist.
Good point.
It’s the content of her character that’s being criticized.
MO has been called out for bad behavior and she can’t take it.
Can you imagine what type of stuff she will say if they lose?
For me, personally, it’s the dresses…and…can hardly say it, the cardigans.
See, here’s the problem – I don’t see why she had to put the “black” in the angry. I just see her as one angry women who only in one time in her life was ever proud of america. (Her words- not mine)…..
I personally am very proud of America, all that it stands for and the people that give their lives every day to defend it.
MO didn’t have to put the “black” in the “angry.” She played the race card for sympathy, as in “everyone’s picking on me.”
Michelle Obama needs to be a grown-up and accept responsibility for her own bad behavior.
This really didn’t even have anything to do with “angry” anyone. Just her sensitivity to criticism.
Why does she remind me of a child sitting on the back porch singing to herself:
Nobody love me,
Everybody hatees me,
might as well eat some worms,
She needs to to get over herself.
Let’s see…she’s angry, she’s black, and she’s a woman. Seems to me that the description “angry, black woman” fits her well.
Can’t say any plainer than that!:)
There she goes: “My chief of staff talks to his chief of staff (…)” and so on. How many governments at the WH? Like all cheap things 2 for the price of 1.
I was married to an angry woman for 15 years. I know one when I see one. She sure looks like an angry woman. And she just so happens to be black.
Was it the glowering stare?
Funny thing is, by experience, she is probably telling the truth. She doesn’t know she’s a total bitch. She probably thinks she is the epitome of elegance. Just walk away from people like that. Nothing good can come from being in their presence.
I’m sure Moochelle uses her anger as a weapon.
Daily Mail has a good write up and great comments:). 99% negative what a
wonderful number in this case:)
Michelle Antoinette’s own bad behavior is the reason for the
the portrayal in Kantor’s new book.
Attention, Michelle Obama: The race card expired Jan. 20, 2009. You can’t play it anymore. It will be rejected.
Guess her handmaidens didn’t get the memo.
Ok now Michelle is saying the New York Times is painting her as an angry black woman since Jodi Kantor is a writer there. Perhaps Jodi read her scathing college thesis that proves her point beyond a benefit of the doubt.
Well, first–the NYT would never say anything against the Obamas, hello? Maybe Kantor was truthful or shall we say, candid, but the Times–nah. The Daily Beast scrambled around making excuses for her–she should satisfy herself with that.
If the shoe fits…
Wonder if Jodi Kantor realized the firestorm she would be starting with this book. Has anyone heard from her since the revelations about the lavish Halloween party and Michelle’s behind the scenes bridezilla behavior?
I hope she’s in a safe house.
FEMA camp?
I call lower bunk.
My french bulldogs have more wisdom that this one…
Ooo-those are so cute…
Yes, they are everything she isn’t – cute, cuddly, loyal, etc.
I was done in 10 seconds, right after she brushed off “all of those books” as not worthy of her attention..mmmkay. This comment is proof that a person can not appreciate a higher intelligence in others due to the limits of their own. – that’s the only explanation why anyone would utter such stupidity and expect people to believe it. This woman is seduced by her own reflection.
The presidential election can not come fast enough.
Did Oprah’s girlfriend ask her about the Alice in Wonderland extravaganza??? Not only is this woman a harridanm according to 99% of all reports and videos of her campaign speeches, she is also a SNEAK! Why else would she try to cover up her excessive indulgences? The Kantor book is only the tip of the iceberg….hopefully more tales will emerge regarding her everyday activities!
I would have sub-titled THE OBAMAS with THE HEDONISTS!
She should talk–posted this yesterday about MO (sorry for the repeat, but we have to keep repeating the “facts” because we know that BHO/MO/Lame stream won’t):
Undoubtedly, BHO/MO have never heard the saying, “When You Point A Finger At Someone Remember You Have 3 Pointing Back At You”. Stop calling us racists for doing our duty as citizens of this great country because we question your administration’s policies; your excessive spending/partying/vacations when so many Americans are out of work and our country is going down hill fast!!!
Obviously, racism is something they have engaged in for quite some time:
“When Michelle Obama worked in Mayor Daley’s City Hall in the early 1990s, she was “distressed” by how a small group of “white Irish Catholic” families — the Daleys, the Hynes and the Madigans — “locked up” power in Illinois. . .Mrs. Obama worked in the Daley administration between Sept. 16, 1991, and April 30, 1993, according to City of Chicago personnel records. . .She particularly resented the way power in Illinois was locked up generation after generation by a small group of families, all white Irish Catholic — the Daleys in Chicago, the Hynes and Madigans statewide.”
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2012/01/michelle_obama_distressed_abou.html
So why is it alright for BHO/MO to make such ignorant remarks and no one calls them out on them, but when you or I question the administration’s policies; their partying/vacations, etc. we are called “racists”?
Obviously there’s a vast right-wing conspiracy amongst the reporters over at the New York Times who have had it in for this couple since day one. The Times has a long and well-documented history of attempting to derail the Democrats and race baiting.
Sounds like something another angry woman said after her husband was caught red-handed. She used to reside in the people’s house too.
Clearly. Times signed up for the conspiracy.
Oh, yeah–the NYT is so mean to the Obamas. It’s a scandal, really…LOL.
Mooochelle will be even more bitter when she and her $$$$$$Stuff are sitting on the curb outside the WH next year.
She will no longer be proud of her country because it will still be there even after she and Bam tried to destroy it.
To be a bit serious who would have thought that having a President that was a
person of color would set race relations spiraling backwards at an alarming
rate. Should it not have been a good thing but I guess it depends on who’s
shoulders you put that responsibility. Proud American’s or one’s with an
agenda that’s not so good.
I find it hard to believe as well AND the fact he’s half white… but only when it benefits him, which is hardly ever.
And I just noticed it was Gayle King who interviewed her!! She couldn’t have told her story to a white or Asian reporter?
CBS sent a personal friend to interview her. That’s what journalism has come to.
Noticed that. But you know–we don’t hear much from Oprah these days–is she still over the moon for this crew?
Sorry. I just censored myself.
Hee hee.
This I think is backfiring big time been reading comments on CBS site not at
all good very negative. Think they’ve played the poor me /race card one time
too many. Perhaps they will see American’s are on to them and are already packing their bags. Someone thought this would get some good PR for HRH
but I think it’s made it worse. Really CBS Gayle King? This was a campaign ad and if the GOP were smart they might drop a hint or two or at least a well written article.
GOP and smart is an oxymoron…
Hey!
My dear grandma used to say, “If ten people tell you you look sick, maybe you should go see the doctor.”
Well, there have been more than ten people, including her husband, who have said Mrs. O. is an “angry, black woman” so if Granny was right, and she usually was, unfortunately, I think the “ABW” designation is apropos.
Next stop-Tyler Perry and a movie called White House My Butt.
Did I type that out loud–sorry.
Tyler did Diarty of a Mad Black Woman–right? Actually I liked that movie.
Star, Yeah, Perry did do Diary of a Mad Black Woman, and I thought it a good film also.
I know a lot of “folks” may not appreciate his talents, but most of his films I have enjoyed.
Love all the Madea movies. Now there’s a funny angry black woman :D
how about the old one “if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck.”
She didn’t have a cross word with Twinkle Toes Rahm.
She didn’t have to. Slumlord ValJar did all the dirty work to those who
angered Queen LaBeefa.
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
Abraham Lincoln, (attributed)
16th president of US (1809 – 1865)
Maybe Michelle should check out some of her husbands favorite Presidents
gems of wisdom you are an ABW and we aren’t fooled! To be blunt I guess if
you’re that miserable it sucks to be you dear.
why check out history? One her her husbands incarnations IS President Lincoln.
I think it was his bust that gave Churchill the boot out of town.
According to the Daily Rash, last year while attending a childhood obesity forum Michelle Obama suggested slaughtering overweight children and putting them out of their misery. http://www.thedailyrash.com/michelle-obama-proposes-slaughtering-obese-children
The Rash is Onion-like…Swiftian–what did we decide?
Yes, the Daily Rash is a satirical site. Swiftian? Thank you Star. I’m always learning new terms from you.
They got me–I thought the story on her VPL was real.
Unfortunately, the picture of her VPL was real…
Simply “A Modest Proposal” If you want to read the actual short here it is:
http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html
Swift was a master at satire, unlike Carroll, who may have in fact been a pedophile and grooming Alice Liddell with his stories in “Wonderland.” Which makes me question the entire Alice in Wonderland party at the WH. Not only over the top, but given Carroll’s proclivity for spending hours on end alone with Alice Liddell, one has to wonder about the entire Wonderland story. And if Carroll was in fact grooming her, why is the WH having a party that celebrates this kind of man?
Then again, I have spent way to many years investigating these exact type of people, so I have a tendency to see shadows where there are none.
…eh….you might have taken that one a tad far…
The Frankenstein Bride portrays herself as an ABW, we are just taking her at face value.
She’s angry
She’s a woman
and we can’t mention it because she’s black?
Nooooo that would be R.A.C.I.S.T.
That being said, she is a woman and she is angry and she happens to be black…get over it Mooch.
can we say Michelle is “uppity”
because she does fit the definition
“Uppity” is one of those loaded words. I looked at a variety of defninitions online and they all seem to center around putting on airs above one’s social station —
I can’t convict MoochMORE of that one. She is a noveau riche woman and acts that way.
Obstruction of Justice must be an Obama family trait~
OBAMA UNCLE SEEKS POLICE OFFICER’S DRIVING RECORD
http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20120111obama_uncle_seeks_police_officers_driving_record
Oh man now what….
Fine, then I will now go with “Angry Cappucino Woman.”
Happy?
this is the same Michelle whose thesis was called “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community”? her whole life has been about racial resentment and the politics of gender, class, and division. it’s the Alinsky way.
Mooch: if you don’t want to perpetuate that Angry Black Woman thing, why don’t you stop being angry?
her thesis, btw, available at http://obamaprincetonthesis.wordpress.com/ , would have benefited from a good editor. one of my favorite gaffes comes early on, where she refers to herself as a future “alumnus.” as all good Latin scholars know, Ms. Obama is an alumna of her college.
And that is so me , me, me–how is this a thesis–it’s like a personal essay.
Why the race card will backfire…..
http://harndenblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/01/michelle-obamas-claim-shes-being-branded-an-angry-black-woman-underlines-white-house-desperation.html
thanks for sharing, Denise! I hadn’t seen this. Toby Harnden is a wonderful writer–I always like his columns when I come across them.
Thanks, good piece.
I strongly suggest that people actually read the book and I would include the First Lady in my request.
The book is if anything flattering to Michelle and her presumption that it is filled with invective is just plain wrong. It is one writer’s take on what she believes she saw and while the late night comedy issues that have come up are discussed, Ms. Kantor tries very hard to show the Obama’s side of those incidents.
I keep reading the reviews at Amazon as they trickle in and wrote one myself and suggest you all go there because it is a four or five star book with quite a few Valentine reviews by readers.
I just hope we are not at the point where anything but flat out praise is considered to be racist or sexist or whatever. That is not what is going on here and yet you really have to read the book itself to see that.
It’s a shame she takes race out of left field and brings it into this. But it seems to be getting to be a consistent pattern as the election heats up.
I’d be angry as well. Try having a bunch of ignorant redneck crackers attack you and your family for no other reaon than your husband is the president and your skin is black.
And that poisonous angst is not limited to attacks against Barack Obama, but extends, as it always has, to his wife, “Moochelle.”
Created by the Head Racist, Rush Limpballs!
Charm School seems to be working–keep going.
Charm school won’t work for this fellow. I’ve seen his comments on other blogs. He believes everyone who disagrees with his hero is a “redneck cracker” racist.
Just a suggestion…
I finally watched that clip (SrDem got to me)–and I completely don’t believe she never read the book or coverage. Her comment to Gayle that “you will have to tell me what’s in it”–come on, does anyone on earth believe that one. Anyone? [Crickets]
So basically Michelle O says it didn’t happen and then Gibbs verifies that it did.
I found a great Daily Mail article from 2008 that describes her Princeton thesis as “angry” politics. Yeah, she’s been perceived as “angry” for quite some time.
Stereotypes are based, after all, on realities.
Michelle Obama is working overtime to remake her image, much like the Clinton’s tried to do when they were in office. The woman is who she is regardless of the media spin. She is a very angry, self centered, self aggrandizing woman who happens to be black. If she want to help herself, then explain the background a bit revealing why she lost her law license, or how she overcame her husband’s philandering with Vera Baker…you know the subjects covered and hushed up in the effort win election.
I would be angry if I had a bubble rump and thunder thighs like hers also !