CHOMP: we gotZ biters!

We at BIFFLE give the entries below the first-ever GOLDENGRILLZ AWARD for their tireless posting into the blogosphere, banking on the sheer hopes that MO will someday become their best friend, too. We know what that's like, buster(s). We at BIFFLE salute you!

• "To Our Wanna Be B.F.F. Michelle Obama"
• "michelle obama, my hero"
• "Michelle Obama: Women's New Best Friend?"
  

Seek, but don't stalk. Carpe Diem.

ps: We are totally kidding, some of these articles predate the existence of this site!

French designer's tribute to MO!

It;s amazing to see the international impact Michelle Obama has made! Please click ont he link for the entire interview! :)

You’re iconic as a French designer. Why put the American flag dress on the cover?
When I chose to do the book, it was one year ago, and this image, I did it a long time ago. This dress was created 8 years ago, but it was a dress that really put me on stage, and I wanted to celebrate this first step in America. And of course for me, it became quite literally a black woman wearing an American flag dress, and for me it became a little bit of an homage to Michelle Obama.

(via)

MO's role in the new administration!

This article-post really helped clear up the formalized role of the First Lady moving in!

The core members of Obama's team are veterans of Chicago politics, and will serve in his White House. They include David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist who will be a key adviser; Valerie Jarrett, a confidante of Obama and his wife, Michelle, who will also be an adviser, and Rahm Emanuel, a Democratic leader in Congress who will be Obama's chief of staff.

(via)

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
How do you think the President's decisions will be affected by having his wife on his staff? Do you see this as a negative or positive development in the creation of Obama's team?
Please leave comments below! (no account required!)

MO's approval rating reported in The Wall Street Journal

(via)

The 31% figure is a high for Obama in the WSJ/NBC News poll, with her previous high at 21% in early September. The number of voters who held a negative view of Obama has been cut in half since the September poll’s 31%.

Further, the vast majority, 69%, of respondents said that Obama is a positive role model for American women, a higher figure than former First Lady and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton ever received. Clinton peaked at 66% in December 1992 shortly after her husband former president Bill Clinton was elected to his first term. A minority, 16%, of respondents said they did not view Obama as a positive role model for American women.

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
In general, do you hav a favorable impression of the First Lady-Elect? (let BIFFLE know if you think this blog is full of crap!) But at least let us know why....
Please leave comments below! (no account required!)

Public's view on MO as mom

A compilation from several sites:

Posted By Carmen D. All About Race. Even after reading each of the blog posts referenced by Albert Mohler, I am still shaking my head and frankly a little ticked off. Here’s my problem. Some articles written by self-described feminists are suggesting that our future First Lady should have some kind of greater duty to uphold a stereotypical definition of feminism than to make sure the bodies, souls and spirits of her daughters are tended to with utmost maternal attention. Here’s an example of the kind of thing I’m talking about, from Rebecca Traister’s ‘The Momification of Michelle Obama’:

In one of the smartest pieces that has been written about the next first lady, Geraldine Brooks’ profile of her in the October issue of More magazine, Brooks writes that while you can see Michelle’s life as the quintessential modern woman’s success story, the trajectory can also be read as a “depressingly retrograde narrative of stifling gender roles and frustrating trade-offs.” In serious ways, Brooks writes, “it is her husband’s career, his choices — choices she has not always applauded — that have shaped her life in the last decade.”

(via)

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When the topic switched to the "preferred role" women would like to see Michelle Obama take in the White House, 49 percent wanted to see her tackle a few issues (33 percent suggested an education agenda; 22 percent pointed to work/life balance). Devoting herself to the responsibilities of wife and mother was the preference of 38 percent. The majority of Republican women (53 percent) favored Michelle Obama prioritizing her duties as wife and mother compared to 41 percent of Independent voters and 25 percent of Democratic women. (via)

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It was common for black women to leave their own children at home to fend for themselves and go to work for low wages as domestics in the homes of well-off white families. As African-Americans have gotten more opportunities, a college degree has been a ticket to the career ladder. Period. Devoting full time to motherhood is considered a waste of education by many in the black community.

Middle-class white women, on the other hand, were expected to stay home with their children. They fought their way into the workforce in large numbers relatively recently. The feminist and civil rights movements opened the working world to all women, but culturally, black women still were discouraged from being the primary caretakers of their own children.

Michelle Obama is bucking that mind-set in deciding to take time off from her career to focus on getting her children acclimated to life in the White House. Her own mom stayed home with her children, but this was unusual enough that few African-Americans have such a family memory. (via)

Some really interesting takes on the motherhood role when occupied by women of color, particularly Black/African-American women....

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
What do you think of these expectations, particularly the breakdown of percentages favoring that MO play her rightful role as mother? /span>
Please leave comments below! (no account required!)

MO "resurrects" the kitten heel...

Here we go with more fashion posts!

With her practical, yet stylish sense Michelle Obama has become the muse for designers and housewives across the country. Shying away from the sky-high stiletto trend that has gained popularity in recent years, Obama prefers kitten heels and flats for their comfort and practicality while still remaining fashion-forward.

(via)

Watch out! They're selling stuff! :)

MO inspired lipstick!

Announced by NYLON MAGAZINE, Khuraira has created a "a shimmery bronze that works with many skin tones and even more outfits" to honor the first mom!

I'm terribly intrigued by the impact this woman has on the fashion industry...

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Is this influence in fashion to the benefit of the First Lady? Do you think it takes away or adds to your expectations of MO in the White House?
Please leave comments below! (no account required!)

MO as Person of the Year!

In "Michelle Obama warrants salute for breaking barriers," DeWayne Wickham "praises Michelle for breaking barriers for women “who have been victimized and marginalized by negative stereotypes.” He goes on to note how more black women can relate to Michelle Obama than images of Halle Berry or Beyonce Knowles."

Please read the full article here!

"Michelle Obama's family: From slavery to White House"

(via)

A historical line can be drawn from South Carolina's Low Country cabins to Michelle Obama, charting an American family's improbable journey through slavery, segregation, the civil-rights movement and a historic presidential election.

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reaction @ MichelleObamawatch:

For most of us not born into great material means, education has been the pathway to greater economic freedom. It is my hope that we don’t get too caught up in where she’s come from but how, with the steadfast support of her family, Michelle Obama completed college at Princeton University, graduated from Harvard Law school, became a lawyer and is now anchoring the future first family of the United States of America. Our most disenfranchised young people need both inspiration and step-by-step guidance to move away from hopelessness toward excellence.

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
I'm interested in what you think of the upward mobility Michelle Obama has in all this. What do you think of the privileges and institutionalized setbacks MO experiences as a Black/African-American woman?
Please leave comments below! (no account required!)

Michelle's Inauguration Dress

What she may wear on January 20th. I love that Sasha and Malia are also illustrated! :) See the entire gallery here! (source)

MO and Barack on New Yorker

(via)

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
What do you think of the photo above? Is it "satire or slander?" Whose interests does the cartoon serve?
Please leave comments below! (no account required!)