I love Michelle Obama

I've been discussing Michelle Obama over the last few days with some very intelligent lady friends. She has been getting a hard time in the press over comments she allegedly made to France's First Lady Carla Bruni about her life in the White House being "hell." A new book about Bruni written by two journalists, Michael Darmon and Yves Derai, claims that when Bruni asked Michelle Obama about her position as the US president’s wife, she replied, "Don’t ask! It’s hell. I can’t stand it." Both the White House and Bruni's people have strenuously denied the book's claim, but this hasn't stopped the press here from publishing the quotes as though they are fact. I don't believe a woman as savvy as Michelle Obama would actually have uttered such words to Carla Bruni, but I don't doubt for a second that this is how she really feels. I think her life would, often, be quite hellish. The woman didn't go to Princeton and Harvard to redecorate. As a friend sagely said, "Michelle Obama never wanted to be First Lady; she had a career and now she's gardening. She's no Laura Bush." Her initial reservations about her husband's run for the House of Representatives in 2000, based primarily on the impact the move could have on their children's lives, were well documented. Imagine having to deal with death-threats made against your family and having your children's every move tailed by the CIA for their own protection?  She has sacrificed her own career for the sake of her husband's, no small ask for a highly accomplished woman. When will we see more men forgo their own professional ambitions to raise children and support their high flying wives? I don't know many guys willing to entertain the idea, and while pay equity is still an issue, I guess it isn't a viable option for many women.