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When Paula Deen met Michelle Obama, it wasn't exactly the queen of butter versus the first lady of garden greens. Deen, known for her delicious not-so-good-for-you recipes like Gooey Butter Cake, said the two women had more in common than you might expect. "Well, I did a show with Michelle and I just loved being with her," Deen told Yeas & Nays. "She probably ate more than any other guest I've ever had on the show —she kept eating even during commercials." Deen taught Obama how to fry shrimp during a TV segment in September before the 2008 presidential election....

WASHINGTON-- First Lady Michelle Obama is expected Thursday to announce headway in her drive to have restaurants reduce portion sizes, part of her "Let's Move' campaign against obesity. "The Childhood Obesity Task Force Report"--commissioned as part of Mrs. Obama's "Let's Move" project, "specifically calls on restaurants to, "consider their portion sizes, improve children's menus, and make healthy options the default choice whenever possible." below, from White House.... UPCOMING GUIDANCE FOR FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA Thursday, September 15 11:45 AM - First Lady Michelle Obama will make a major Let's Move! announcement related to providing healthier choices and greater variety for...

Wow, you can tell the Democrats are in BIGTIME TROUBLE, because even now, First Lady Michelle Obama has decided to do nine appearances for Democrats running for political office. My question is this, will this help or hurt these candidates?

Sacrifice is something that many Americans are becoming all too familiar with during this economic downturn. It was a key theme in President Obama's inaugural address to the nation, and he's referenced it numerous times when lecturing the country on how to get back on its feet. But while most of the country is pinching pennies and downsizing summer sojourns - or forgoing them altogether - the Obamas don't seem to be heeding their own advice. While many of us are struggling, the First Lady is spending the next few days in a five-star hotel on the chic Costa del...

Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter, Sasha, seven, have arrived in Spain for a short holiday as US officials scrambled to defuse embarassing allegations of institutional racism against their host country. Hours before the first African-American first lady of the US and her daughter were settling into the luxurious Villa Padierna hotel on the outskirts of Marbella, the US state department removed a warning about police racism in Spain from one of its websites. "We have received isolated reports that racial prejudice may have contributed to the arrest or detention of some African-Americans travelling in Spain," the bureau of consular...

US First Lady Michelle Obama and her nine-year-old daughter Sasha on Thursday visited Granada, the former seat of Moorish rule in Spain, during the second day of her holiday in the country. The two had ice cream in the centre of the southern city as dozens of cameramen and local residents looked on before they began their tour of Granada amid temperatures that soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Michelle Obama smiled and waved to the crowd before entering the city's imposing cathedral, which contains the tombs of Spain's king Ferdinand of Aragon and queen Isabella of Castile,...

The Zulu shaman, or sanusi, Credo Mutwa, has written a poem to express his thoughts on what he sees as the true nature of Barack Obama and the agenda for Africa and the world that he represents. "An actor walks upon the floodlit stage of life wearing a mask of an angel beneath a demon's gown. Pretence smiles upon the crowded hall of life holding out hope as bright as it is false. Son of a woman in whose veins flows the blood of ancient Ireland and dark Africa's plains. You are Obama, nick-named the standing king You are Barack,...

Finger on the Button President Barack Obama gets some help from his first ladies, Sasha, Malia, and Michelle, when lighting the national Christmas tree in D.C. today. Image via AP

First lady Michelle Obama speaks during the holiday press preview of the White House in Washington December 2, 2009. This year's holiday theme is "Reflect, Rejoice and Renew. "

Tina Brown said on GMA that Michelle O is the only possible replacement for Oprah. I imagine what a Michelle O show would look like.

I never thought I’d find as big a fraud, phony, faker, fibber and hypocrite in high places as President Barack Hussein Obama. But I found one. The president is married to her. Of course, I know that if you criticize the First Lady, the Obamas immediately go into their standard mode, claiming victimhood and racism. Recall when Mrs. Obama made her infamous remark about being proud of America but did so only after her husband was running for president. After getting hit with criticism, the Obamas went on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to denounce “low class” and “detestable” criticism. Mr....

Sometimes Big Brother needs help. I've been watching this for a couple of days. Finally decided to blog about it. I think this except sums up the liberal outrage and Google's response. From Michelle Obama Watch: "It has been 2 days since I began my countdown to how long it would take Google to FIX their image search result for Michelle Obama. Just in case you’ve never done a search I’ll save you the time. This is what you will find…" Offensive? Or just plain funny? You can decide that. By the way, I don't seem to recall any outrage...

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama speaks during a leadership and mentoring initiative at the White House in Washington November 2, 2009. The initiative will provide a group of local high school students an opportunity to participate in educational, career development, life-skills, and mentoring activities with senior women from the East and West Wings of the White House.

First lady Michelle Obama harvests vegetables from the garden with children from Washington's Bancroft and Kimball Elementary schools, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.

Having the White House at your disposal means many things, but on Halloween it means there is no excuse but to have an almighty party. And the Obamas did just that in Washington last night, throwing open their - for the occasion orange-tinged - doors to thousands of children. While the President himself eshewed any fancy dress and opted for chinos and a jumper, his wife Michelle could not resist getting into the party spirit. The First Lady channelled Catwoman in furry cat ears, a striking leopard print cardigan and camisole top and dramatic eye make-up.

The Obamas' marriage is profiled in the New York Times Magazine. Michelle Obama is on the cover of December Glamour. This can mean only one thing: the poll numbers. The words hedonistic and self-centered don't begin to describe this dynamic duo.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says only once since Jan. 20 has White House life annoyed him. It was the Saturday in May when, trying to be a good husband, he kept a campaign promise to take his wife, Michelle, to New York after the election for one of their "date nights" - dinner and a Broadway play. Conservative commentators and Republican officials criticized him for doing so. "People made it into a political issue," Obama told The New York Times Magazine for an article about the Obamas' marriage, appearing in the Nov. 1 issue. The article was posted on...

Michelle Obama arrives in NYC to attend World Series Game 1 tonight.

NEW YORK — U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is fashion's star, but that's not why she's one of Glamour's December cover models. Mrs. Obama's work in mentoring earned her the spot, which will be rotated with four other covers. She'll receive a special recognition in the annual Women of the Year issue that goes on newsstands Nov. 10. In an interview with new Glamour columnist and CBS anchor Katie Couric, Mrs. Obama said being a role model is one of the most potentially powerful things she can do at the White House. "I see how little bits of exposure and...

"A look at Michelle Obama's fashions and passions."

Showing that the media sees every act by the Obamas as an historic achievement, at the end of Sunday’s Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer was amazed by the romping of First Lady Michelle Obama: “Michelle Obama took it to another level as she set records as the first First Lady to run barefoot across the White House lawn. She also became the first to jump rope there.”Schieffer began his pointless rambling by looking at how past first ladies, all wives of Democratic presidents, shaped the position: There was a time when presidential wives were seen on occasion but almost...

Michelle Obama, First Lady Of Fashion, Is Hailed For Her Style In Print First Lady Michelle Obama's style and wardrobe is celebrated in a glossy new book that will delight her growing band of fashion devotees. Philip Sherwell in New York 24 Oct 2009 Michelle Obama and daughters Malia (L) and Sasha on stage at the Democratic National Convention Photo: GETTY Michelle Obama demonstrated a fresh skill to the American people last week when she completed an impressive 142 swivels of a hula hoop on the South Lawn of the White House at a "healthy kids fair" to promote fitness...

WASHINGTON — ...Obama also managed a spot-on imitation of kids whining about eating their vegetables. "I don't wanna eat it. I don't like it. It tastes bad. I don't want it," the first lady said in her best nasal whine. Then she added: "We don't want to hear the whining. We want you to eat it. Just eat it." After checking out the food demonstrations, Obama hiked up her belt and joined a crowd of young hula hoopers, keeping up with the best of them. She didn't do so well when it came to jumping rope, but it wasn't for...

October 21, 2009 The First Lady’s Hoops [Pics in URL] By Rachel L. Swarns First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack challenged the nation’s middle schools and high schools on Wednesday to provide healthier meals and more time for exercise and physical activity for their students. “When we’re working hard to give our kids healthy food at home, if they go to school and eat a lunch that’s loaded with calories and fat, then all the efforts that we try to instill at home, it gets knocked off a little bit,’’ said Mrs. Obama, who was speaking to...

First lady Michelle Obama exercises with a hula hoop during a healthy kids fair on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Michelle Obama spoke of dancing and volunteering at the Freedom Tower todayMichelle Obama confirmed Thursday what many in Miami already knew. The Chicago two-step has nothing on the Miami salsa. First Lady Obama, who spoke today at the Florida Campus Compact Awards Gala held in the Freedom Tower, revealed to the world that she might be in the market for a new dance partner not named Barack. "I want to thank someone I got to party with on Tuesday," said Obama as she gave a shout out to Miami-Dade president Eduardo Padron. "I think you exaggerate when you said we...

Call him Don Juan Obama. President Obama got the cold shoulder from wife Michelle last night after busting out in an impromptu salsa dance with spicy Latin pop star Thalia. The surprise dance occured during Fiesta Latina, a concert featuring Hispanic stars Gloria Estefan and Jose Feliciano, that took place inside a tent placed on the White House's South Lawn. After the short dance with Thalia, cameras captured Obama returning to his seat and tried to say something to Michelle -- only for the First Lady to playfully blow him off. Among the guests at the event were Obama's first...

Here is video of First Lady Michelle Obama giving a speech in which she talked about the importance of healthy nutrition habits as a family. She said she could identify with mothers who work and then come home "to an empty refrigerator," and "kids who don't want to eat anything you have in mind." She said in those days, "drive-thru was like heaven" because you just wanted to "give them what they want" and have a peaceful meal. But her perspective changed when their pediatrician urged her to change the family eating habits because the impact of the drive-thru food...

Coming soon: a 6-inch plastic doll of Michelle Obama for $12.99, being billed as an "action figure." Sculptor Jason Feinberg of Brooklyn, N.Y., who's behind the dolls, admits the term "action figure" is used loosely. The first lady, after all, is featured in nothing more lethal than her trademark sleeveless dresses (and enviable biceps). Buyers may choose from among the purple dress she had on when the Obamas shared their campaign "fist bump," the red-and-black number from election night in Grant Park, or the black-and-white floral frock she favored for her appearance on "The View." Feinberg, founder and president of...

First Lady Michelle Obama is known for her toned arms and fashion sense. So it was inevitable that an 'action figure' doll showing off her trademark bare arms would hit the market. A US toymaker has released a 6in doll that is expected to be a big seller at Christmas - and outsell those of her husband.

Barack and Michelle Obama are, among other things, husband and wife. And tonight, they celebrated their 17th anniversary, their first in the White House. The president and first lady went out. At 7:40 pm EDT, the presidential motorcade stopped in front of Blue Duck Tavern in the West End of Washington, between Dupont Circle and Georgetown. "Taste cannot be controlled by law,'' Thomas Jefferson is said to have said -- it says so at the Blue Duck Tavern's Web-site.

It's hard out there for a first lady of the United States. Take it from travel-weary Michelle Obama. On Tuesday night, she boarded a luxury 757 for Copenhagen. Think of the stairs she had to climb. Oh, the agony of the feet! Upon arrival, Mrs. O, her "chit-chat buddy," Chicago-based talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey, and Chicago powerbroker/interest-conflicted real estate mogul/senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett immediately embarked on a grueling, grip-and-grin campaign to secure the Olympics for their hometown. Our smile muscles ache in sympathy. You will be comforted to know that the gracious FLOTUS feels your pain for her...

Before first lady Michelle Obama set off for this Danish capital to lead the charge for Chicago's valiant -- but ultimately unsuccessful -- bid for the 2016 Olympics, she joked that the last-minute lobbying effort would be "a battle." "We're going to win," Obama said. "Take no prisoners." At a G-20 dinner in Pittsburgh, she teased Brazil's first lady, Marisa Leticia da Silva, that when the time came for the last-ditch arguments for the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to Chicago -- over competitors Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid -- the "gloves are off." Back in September, that all...

First Lady Michelle Obama says she can indulge in French fries and still have those famously buff arms – but it takes some work. "I try to have no absolute no's," Obama, 45, tells the November issue of Prevention magazine. "I love French fries, I like a good burger, and I like pie. And that's okay. I would be depressed if I felt I could never eat the things that I love." And there's a lot to love in the White House kitchen. "There are some great bakers here," she says. "If you like pie, it will be there always...

Reuters v. AP

Let's say you're preparing dinner and you realize with dismay that you don't have any certified organic Tuscan kale. What to do? Here's how Michelle Obama handled this very predicament Thursday afternoon: The Secret Service and the D.C. police brought in three dozen vehicles and shut down H Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I Street and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station. They swept the area, in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in the middle of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and took positions with...

Michelle Obama, exhausted from her Martha's Vineyard vacation, can't keep her eyes open during the Homily at the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy. Don't give her too much grief, though. It's really not her fault. Reverend Mark Hession isn't half the public speaker that Reverend Jeremiah Wright was. VIDEO

First Lady Michelle Obama hits her head while boarding a smaller version of Air Force One.

Surely this must be a trick of lighting, or a matter of blurred focus. Is it possible that the First Lady actually has six toes, as she appears to in this picture? And if she did have six toes, would she appear in public in sandals? Perhaps readers skilled in photo analysis can enlighten us in the comments section.

So here we are again. The biggest scandal to hit the White House: How much skin is really in? Hours upon hours have been spent talking about what a first lady should or should not wear. First, it was whether or not she had the right to “bare arms,” and now, pictures of Michelle wearing “short” shorts while on holiday with her family during yesterday’s trip to the Grand Canyon are sparking a similar debate. While most women would agree that shorts (at any length) are often tough to pull off, I think we should line up with hands raised...

"In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much",she said. "See, that's why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service". --Michelle Obama-- ...No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn't perform any official duties. But this hasn't deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln...

"Fellow patrons had their cellphones temporarily confiscated to prevent pictures from being taken."

The first lady of the United States is not elected, has no constitutional duties and receives no salary, but that doesn't mean the position is without its privileges – including a staff of 22 White House employees who make a combined nearly $1.5 million per year. Various journalists have scoured the White House's annual report to Congress on the West Wing payroll and listed those names that serve as members First Lady Michelle Obama's staff. Combined, their salaries total $1,495,700. By comparison, a similar examination of the 2008 payroll, printed in the Washington Post, shows First Lady Laura Bush tallied...

Is Paul McCartney secretly a Dittohead? The 60,000 fans attending a recent concert at FedExField in Baltimore must have thought so. The former Beatle dedicated the performance of the song he co-wrote with John Lennon, “Michelle,” to the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama. “I love you, I love you, I love you. That's all I want to say,” McCartney crooned following his dedication. Long before the McCartney fawning, though, while her husband was still a candidate radio talk show host extraordinaire Rush Limbaugh gave Mrs. Obama the moniker “Michelle, My Belle,” a take off on the Fab...

PASCAGOULA -- First lady Michelle Obama will sponsor the Coast Guard's third Legend-class national security cutter, which is about 25 percent complete at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Pascagoula yard, officials said Monday. In August 2007, the Coast Guard awarded Northrop Grumman a $285.5 million contract to construct the Stratton. The 418-foot cutter, WMSL 752, is named in honor of Dorothy C. Stratton, the first female commissioned officer in the Coast Guard. Stratton served as director of the SPARS, the Guard's women's reserve, during World War II.

July 9: First lady Michelle Obama tours earthquake damage with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, center left, Laureen Harper, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, foreground left, and others on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy.

G8 summit: Sarah Brown and Michelle Obama visit L'Aquila... but no sign of Carla Bruni The visit of the leaders' wives was supposed to be the highlight of the G8 summit for the people of L'Aquila. Nick Squires 09 Jul 2009. Sarah Brown and Michelle Obama see the earthquake damage caused to the town of L'Aquila during the G8 Summit in Italy Photo: PA But as Sarah Brown and Michelle Obama arrived to tour round historic buildings damaged in this year's earthquake, the question on everyone's lips was about the wife that wasn't there. As the British and US first...

US First Lady Michelle Obama walks past a statue during her visit to the Capitoline museum on July 8, 2009 in Rome. The visit, attended by several First Ladies was organized on the sidelines of a G8 summit in L'Aquila.