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U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama buys French fries and fat cakes at a restaurant in a Botswana village. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.Video at

In an interview with CNN, First Lady Michelle Obama thanks the media for their "support" and "kindness." CNN reporter: "How's the family ready for this [the election]? It's going to be quite vicious, isn't it? How do you prepare for that?" First Lady Michelle Obama: "You know, it's … we're ready, you know. Our children, you know, could care less about what we're doing. We work hard to do that. Fortunately we have help from the media. I have to say this: I'm very grateful for the support and kindness that we've gotten. People have respected their privacy and in...

Michelle, Mom, Kids Africa Trip Costing Taxpayers $171,000 At Least for Air Travel Alone Tuesday, June 21, 2011 By James Zilenziger (CNSNews.com) - The White House isn’t saying how much of a tab the taxpayers will need to pick up for the week-long trip that First Lady Michelle Obama, her two children, her mother, a niece and a nephew are taking to South Africa and Botswana. But according to Congressional Research Service estimates, the flights alone will cost taxpayers more than $171,000--almost as much as the $174,000 annual salaries paid to rank-and-file members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The...

...the trip is already provoking disappointment from Africa advocates who argue that President Obama, whose father was Kenyan, hasn't devoted enough time to the continent since winning the presidency. Mwiza Munthali, public outreach director of TransAfrica Forum, argues that U.S. officials "are not seeing Africa as a big priority. There has been some ambivalence." The president has made just one trip to sub-Saharan Africa since his Jan. 2009 inauguration and has chosen not to accompany his wife on her journey. This isn't the first time the First Lady has come under fire for travel plans. Below we review some of...

Remember a couple of weeks ago when The White House got ticked off at Comrade Marinucci for posting video of activists protesting President Obama inside a San Francisco fundraiser? To Team Obama she was violating an unwritten rule on a print reporters posting video and they threatened to exclude The Chronicle from being the pool reporter in the future. To other sentient beings, Comrade Marinucci was -- and pardon the technical term here -- "reporting the news." News that MANY other non-journalists who were there at the fundraiser were recording with various camera phones. And she was perfectly within her...

First lady Michelle Obama on Monday told a fundraiser in Southern California of the toll the presidency has taken on her husband Barack Obama. "I see the sadness and worry that's creasing his face," she said to a crowd of about 500 at the Pasadena luncheon organized by the Southern California Women For Obama. She described his worth ethic as “tireless,” according to pool reports. "He reads every word, every memo, so he is better prepared than the people briefing him," she said. "This man doesn't take a day off."

On the day a poll showed Barack Obama owning the failing economic recovery, a CBS News Washington Bureau reporter questioned Michelle Obama's judgment in wearing a $7,000 gown at tonight's state dinner for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, noting that other guests "dressed more modestly."Writing on Twitter, CBS News reporter Christine Delargy said:Gowns by Michelle designer Naeem Khan retail avg of $7,000. Good, bad image for Obama in poor economy? Most din guests dressed more modestly 30 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®In a previous Tweet, Delargy noted her fashion expertise:Michelle in Naeem Khan tonight. Wore same designer @ 1st state...

The First Lady is planning a trip. Michelle Obama announced Friday that she's heading to Africa on an official visit later this month. Mrs Obama will stop in South Africa and Botswana to continue her work encouraging young people around the world to become active in their countries. The First Lady will visit Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa and Gaborone, Botswana, during the June 21-26 trip. Besides youth leadership Mrs. Obama will also focus on education, health and wellness. Officials said the visit will highlight the important stake the U.S. has in the success of Africa's many nations,...

When his wife unveiled the USDA's new nutritional plate yesterday, there definitely wasn't a space for chili dogs. But that didn't stop Barack Obama wolfing down two in Toledo today - with fries and an extra bowl of chili on the side.

Spotlight takes toll on first lady's staff By: Julie Mason and Amie Parnes May 27, 2011 11:17 AM EDT Less than three years into the job, first lady Michelle Obama is on her third chief of staff and third social secretary. She is on her second communications director, the White House chief usher recently departed, and her press secretary’s last day is Friday. The turnover, greater than under recent first ladies, underscores the pressure and high expectations of working in an operation known for its polish and discipline. A crucial political asset to her husband and his administration, Michelle Obama...

Michelle Obama made her first foray into the 2012 presidential campaign Thursday, telling donors that her husband needs them to "work like you have never worked before" so he can finish the job he started. Though the first lady said President Barack Obama has accomplished much in almost 2 1/2 years, she told a Democratic Party women's group that there's a lot more to do, with a long and difficult campaign ahead. Addressing the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum's annual national issues conference, the first lady hit many of the same notes as the president has in his recent...

The Obamas want credit for bringing American culture to the White House. When they decided to celebrate poetry at the White House on May 10, it was really not a surprise they would try to make it socially "relevant" by inviting a rap music "artist" to unload some rhymes. The rapper goes by the name "Common" (real name: Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr.). He is celebrated by many on the left as a "socially conscious" street poet. But that's not the way it was seen by cops in New Jersey. ABC reporter Jake Tapper blogged that Dave Jones, president of the...

Washington Post Company chairman Donald Graham told shareholders Thursday morning that he was unaware of the controversy surrounding the rapper known as Common, whom Michelle Obama has invited to a poetry event, until Cliff Kincaid of the watchdog group Accuracy in Media asked him about it. Graham apparently missed a story on the front page of his newspaper, which offered a defense of Common’s lyrics. “Mr. Kincaid, I thank you for informing me of something I didn’t know about,” Graham said. “You have brought our attention to an interesting controversy.”

White House officials have sidelined a rapper who glibly validated threats and violence against police, and quietly dropped him from the afternoon session of today’s poetry event at the White House. First lady Michelle Obama welcomed the invited poets to the event, but notably did not mention the controversial rapper, whose stage-name is Common. “Rita Dove, Billy Collins, Kenny Goldsmith, Alison Knowles, and Aimee Mann, let’s give them a round of applause,” Ms. Obama said. “We’ll get to hear from these folks,” she added. The first lady’s office declined to comment on whether Common will play a role in the...

CBS News Radio White House Correspondent Mark Knoller via Twitter:WH says Pres Obama opposes violent & misogynist lyrics, but defends participation of rapper known as Common in WH poetry event tonight.WH says some criticism of Common is distorted and lyrics suggesting a threat against police are not the sum total of his work.

The invitation of rapper Common to a White House this week is drawing the ire of the union representing New Jersey state police. While not even casual hip-hop fans would characterize him as a controversial rapper, Common found himself under the microscope after First Lady Michelle Obama invited him to the White House for an arts event. FOX News and Sarah Palin criticized the decision after the Daily Caller published some of Common's lyrics, including some that criticize President George W. Bush. For Jersey police, the outrage centers on a song by Common about Assata Shakur, formerly known as Joanne...

First Lady Michelle Obama has invited a rapper who called for the burning of George Bush to perform at the White House. Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr, who uses the stage name ‘Common’, will be welcomed at an event celebrating American poetry on Wednesday. He is expected to take part in rap workshops with schoolchildren in the afternoon before performing in the evening. In footage on YouTube he is seen calling for the burning of the former president. ‘Burn a Bush cos for peace he no push no button,’ the hip-hop artist raps in one video, which has more than 800,000...

President Obama took Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood golfing today -- message received: LaHood is safe in his job -- and capped an eventful week with dinner out. From the pool report: "POTUS and FLOTUS emerged from the south portico at 7.52 p.m., and the (motorcade) traveled in three minutes to 12th and F, N.W, where the First Couple entered Tosca, an Italian restaurant. FLOTUS is wearing a dark-leather jacket." Tosca. Hm. Is this a Mother's Day treat, a celebration, an effort to mellow and unwind after an eventful week? The POTUS gave no indication. UPDATE: The President and the First...

By Beyonce - never heard of the dance before:

Just a quick reminder so you won't wonder what's jacking up the traffic in NYC next Wednesday:From White House spox Jay Carney: "On Wednesday, the President and the First Lady will travel to Chicago to tape an episode of the 'Oprah Winfrey Show.' The President will then travel to New York to deliver remarks at two DNC events." As you know, Winfrey -- whose influence in the media world absolutely can't be underestimated -- has been a big proponent of President Obama and his policies. Michelle Obama appeared on Winfrey's program in January. A report earlier this month suggested the...