What I find so upsetting is that in her position she should be able to call upon a trusted friend to help her with appropriate fashion choices.
Also, in the line of culture, that you mentioned, comes appropriate manners, graciousness, protocol, body positioning (walking appropriately, stance, etc.)—these are learned activities! Is she not capable of understanding or will she not accept a few lessons in those areas? By not attempting to improve in these areas, she is doing a disservice to the country as well as herself.
Unsurprising, really. If you reject capitalism and democracy, the premises upon which this nation was founded, chances are you're not going to be on board with our social norms either. Very common in leftists.
Just got to your post, Tarheel, this is the very point I was making myself. Trust me, if I were married to a politician, I would need comportment and deportment lessons my own self, it's no shame to admit you need assistance this way. But especially if I happened to be married to a man who thought to run for president, I would never have allowed myself to go through the campaign without having someone instruct me on the proper behaviors, it is a reflection on America, not just on her as a person who lives here, why has this been forgotten? Why isn't there ANYONE of the *old school in Washington* with the guts to take her aside and say, "Michelle, my dear, let me fill you in on a couple of things ..."? Are they all so darned afraid of being called racist for daring to offer some (obviously needed) advice?? Or really, is she just so stubborn and arrogant that whatever may have been tentatively offered was brushed aside immediately?
It puzzles me, considering the business of being First Lady, you have to contend with all manner of cultures that you just don't encounter as a Chicago homemaker or professional woman. It is an embarrassment to us that it is allowed to continue this way.