Michelle Robinson Obama: What You See Is What You Get

Michelle Robinson was born on January 14, 1964 in Chicago where she grew up. She graduated from Princeton in 1985 with a degree in Sociology and African American Studies and then completed her law degree from Harvard.

Michelle and Barack met in 1989 when Michelle, who was an associate at the Chicago Law Firm, Sidley & Austin, was assigned to advise a summer associate from Harvard, Barack Obama. The HR manager in me sees big issues with this!!! The two were married in 1992 at Trinity United, the infamous Rev. Wright conducting the service. Malia Ann was born in 1999 and Natasha in 2001.

Even when Barack was elected to the senate, the two kept their home and family in Chicago, with Barack traveling home every weekend. In 2005, Michelle made this statement in the Chicago Tribune about the living arrangements, "We made a good decision to stay in Chicago to keep our family stable. There has been very little transition for the girls. Barack commutes a lot, but he is the grown-up." I really like this comment, because it tells me that the family is one of Michelle's focuses and the Barack's realize that the children must be looked out for first, long before the desires or goals of the adults.

Michelle has a long resume of public service jobs. After leaving Sidley & Austin in 1991, she became the Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development for the City of Chicago. Two years later she became the Founding Executive Director of Public Allies of Chicago, which is an organization that focuses on leadership training for young adults to develop skills for careers in the public sector. In 1996 she became the Associate Dean of Student Services for the University of Chicago and 9 years later was promoted to Vice President of Community and External Affairs of the University of Chicago Medical Center. During the past year Michelle has decreased her workload to about 20% to ensure that her family is taken care of and to be able to join Barack on the campaign trail.

She has emphasised that with the Obama's "What you see is what you get." She has received criticism for not always putting her husband on the pedestal that one would expect from a candidates wife. She has on many occasions, describe Barack as "just a man who can't get his socks in the hamper and who leaves the butter on the table after breakfast." You never know in politics if someone is being up front and is "real" or if they are reading from a script, but if Michelle has been "scripted" they have a really good advisor. To me, these statements make Barack real, not some unreachable figure head, above the average citizen. This is one of the reasons that I think he has been so successful, because this "just a regular guy" routine has made people feel involved and feel like they really know the Obama's. These words, also make Michelle more likable or more easy to relate to, especially for women. I can see average women feeling as though they are talking to a girlfriend about their husbands and how they can't get them to clean up after themselves. It seems to be working for them.

One of the biggest stumbles in Michelle's support came in February after the Wisconsin primary where she said at a rally in Milwaukee, "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are ready for a change." I along with millions of others have had a hard time swallowing this statement. I have a hard time believing that in her 44 years, there has been nothing that she could have been proud of in relation to being American. She has been able to get an education, she can attend church where she wants to, and she has been able to work in her community without any restrictions. I don't know any American who was not proud of their country after 9-11 and since the race card keeps coming up, I can't believe that Martin Luther King did not stir up any pride. Like all of the candidates and their spouses, things are said in the heat of the moment, and I feel like this could have been one of those times where she did not say exactly what she meant. Maybe not however, maybe she has not had any moments in her life when she was proud of her country. That would be really sad.

Michelle seems to be a smart, down to earth, family first woman, who could, if all of her qualities, prove true, be a huge asset to a president.