Sunday, March 29, 2009

FLOTUS, Michelle Obama prepares for her first international rollout

Europe is holding its breath for First Lady Michelle Obama. Literally.

The first couple’s trip to Europe Tuesday takes Michelle Obama to a land that likes her husband but seems positively fascinated by her.

The British press in particular has followed Michelle Obama’s every move breathlessly, from her dresses to the “kitchen garden” behind the White House. One London paper tracked down her high-school prom date. Another asked plaintively, “Why Doesn’t the UK Have a Michelle Obama?”

When was the last time we heard any country over the moon, not just for the President but moreso, for the First Lady? Not since, Jacqueline Kennedy.

I have noticed that Michelle Obama is slowly coming into her own as First Lady. She is unafraid of going all over Washington, D.C. She is candid, funny, and as many say, just naturally real. So, Europe, but specifically London is awaiting the First Lady.
“Her every ensemble will be front page news and endlessly interpreted and decoded,” said Patricia McDonald, a London-based editor for the Michelle Obama fashion blog, www.Mrs- O.org. “Will she break out a new wardrobe, or in deference to the economy, recycle her greatest hits?”

Michelle Obama’s official schedule says she will accompany the president to many of his events – they both will have tea with Queen Elizabeth II, for instance – but she’ll have some solo outings as well. She’ll visit an all-girls school in London where the population is mostly minority and the second language is English — an echo of her work in Washington, DC.

Sarah Brown, Britain’s first lady, will give Michelle Obama a tour of a health facility in London Wednesday and will take her and other spouses on a tour in London Thursday during the G-20 economic summit.

In France, Obama will join NATO spouses in visiting a hospital and a cathedral. And at all of these events, she'll stand next to some of the world’s most high-profile political spouses— including Bruni-Sarkozy, the Italian-born ex-supermodel who is an admirer of the self-described girl from the Chicago’s South Side.

“She looks like she’s a great, strong, intelligent woman,” Bruni-Sarkozy said in one recent interview. “I must say that she doesn’t look like she [needs] advice … I think it would probably be better for me to be getting advice from her.”

Ahh, Michelle the microscope will be out in full force on you. Even though she is there as support for her husband, it will feel like she is the only goldfish in that bowl. But never fear, Europe is eager and awaiting you. FLOTUS, you will be alright.

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