What we’ve said to the girls is, ‘If you guys ever decided you’re going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo in the same place. And we’ll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo.’ And our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that’s a good way to rebel.President Obama • Kiboshing his daughters’ future attempts to rebel against him and Michelle.
I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who had something to do with rounding her or having something to do with who she was.Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, mother of slain Chicago teenager Hadiya Pendleton • Speaking at her daughter’s funeral on Saturday. Hadiya, who had performed at President Barack Obama’s inauguration just three weeks ago, was killed less than a mile from her home in a neighborhood park. First Lady Michelle Obama attended the teenager’s funeral, and many political figures, including the president and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, have offered support to Hadiya’s family. Her godfather, Damon Stewart, made an effort to emphasize that her life shouldn’t be used as a political tool, but that her loss, like those of many others lost by gun violence, should be personal in nature. “Don’t let this turn into a political thing. Keep it personal,” he said. “A lot of politicians will try to wield it as a sword. They want to use it for votes.”
naturalpatina asks: Isn't it unfair to compare those photos of Romney & Obama watching their wives speak? I may not be a fan of Romney at all, but, there's a big age difference between the kids in both photos. From personal experience, if I were any of the younger ones, I'd be completely disinterested in what was going on. To use their facial expressions in one photo to gauge how Romney's overall viewing experience was is unfair. Obama's kids are older, and better able to understand the significance of the speech.
» SFB says: We just thought it was intriguing that there were intimate photos of literally the same type of moment. We didn’t add anything to it other than the phrase ”Who had the better viewing experience?” Why overthink it? You can talk yourself out of anything by overthinking it. We decided to talk ourselves into posting the two photos side-by-side. — Ernie @ SFB
EDIT: And to be fair to Mitt, though that post was a reblog, there were other pics, like this Getty Images shot:
Michelle Obama’s DNC speech tonight has drawn rave reviews, igniting social media networks across the board. it’s since been reported that she wrote the speech herself, and had been practising it over the course of the last month. What did you guys think? (Part 2 here, credit to Playstationality.)
I have exhausted my knowledge about this subject. Usually, when someone hands me a beer I don’t ask how it was made, I just drink it.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney • Responding to a reporter’s questions about the process and recipe used by the Obamas for the White House homebrew. Having become the Beltway’s most recent obsession, following confirmation of the homebrew’s existence earlier this month, Carney was apparently tasked with spilling the beans on the name (White House Honey Ale), taste (like honey), and varieties available (light and dark) for consumption by those in the White House. Clearly, he thought there were more important matters worth discussing. To be fair, while we did get an amusing quote, he was probably right. source (via • follow)
Errrrrr…The “kiss cam” at last night’s USA-Brazil Olympic exhibition men’s basketball game found itself locked on Barack and Michelle, they declined, were booed, and it was awkward for everyone involved (Malia, Joe Biden, the Secret Service, and certainly the operator of the “kiss cam”). The second try went much more according to plan, but was probably still pretty tense for the “kiss cam” operator.
Now the real question: Would Mitt Romney do this?
Jill Biden and I started this initiative to make sure that this country - which is a grateful nation - to make sure that we do whatever we can to honor the service of our troops, our veterans, and their families.First Lady Michelle Obama • Promoting Joining Forces, her campaign with Jill Biden, on The Colbert Report. Last night, Stephen Colbert tweeted “Supporting our troops takes more than wearing a ribbon, unless that ribbon says, “I just hired a U.S. Veteran.”
Michelle Obama eating a taco: First lady Michelle Obama takes a bite of her turkey taco as she has lunch with school children at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va. Obama’s helping pitch some new rules for school lunches. (Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)
So, Michelle Obama joined Twitter today. And out came the trolls. Don’t click if you value humanity, because you may not when you’re done reading. And props to BuzzFeed for leaving on the names in case anyone wants to call out these idiots who think the First Lady is fat.
I guess it’s more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here and a strong woman and — 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 Obama • Defending herself from claims that she fostered tension with the president’s top deputies — Rahm Emanuel and Robert Gibbs — leading to the claims getting into New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor’s book “The Obamas.” We can certainly agree with the basic thrust of what she’s saying — even if Kantor’s book is accurate, just look at how much crap she gets over the stupidest things from the right. That is clearly the result of others trying to typecast her in a certain image. Let’s cut the image politics here. source (via • follow)
This is a remarkably harmonious place.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, rebutting the new book “The Obamas” • Writer Jodi Kantor’s latest book, “The Obamas,” is all about life inside the White House, with a focus on Michelle Obama’s experiences. There have been quite a number of critics coming out, claiming that she got a lot wrong. Thanks to BuzzFeed, we learned that (excepting some smaller errors on her part) many of those criticisms haven’t held weight. source (via • follow)
Back in October, Michelle Obama and 300,265 other people worldwide (including 400 in her direct vicinity) attempted to break a record by doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period. The record attempt was successful, Obama said on the “Let’s Move” Web site this morning. We’re totally gonna celebrate by doing some jumping jacks ourselves. Because we’re creative like that. source