Michelle Obama: July 2008 Archives

I ran across an interesting fist-bump article this morning on USAToday.com, and since Lynn is traveling abroad with Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, I'm taking the liberty of posting it.

The Obamas have recently received a lot of media attention for their fist bumping. I, too, have used the fist bump with teammates, friends, my boyfriend and, more recently, my boss.

Interestingly enough, USA Today is reporting that the fist bump has made its way into the business realm. Apparently some young men are replacing the traditional handshake for the more informal gesture, especially in social settings with business associates.

I'm young, but I'm not a man and I didn't use the fist-bump outside of the office. I've used it (many times!) in my boss' office after we've solved nerdy Web issues....

Credit: New Yorker

Put aside the flap over the cover of the new New Yorker, a cartoon portraying the Obamas' in the Oval Office--- Barack Obama in a turban with Michelle Obama wielding an AK-47 machine gun with a picture of Osama Bin Laden in the background. The Obama campaign finds it offensive and with good reason. It is tasteless. David Axelrod on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” said “did we like it? No. Is it the focus of our attention? No.”

The cover hides an in-depth story about Obama’s political roots, taking us to Hyde Park, the North Side and Springfield. New Yorker political writer Ryan Lizza brings us inside Obama’s Chicago political world and the political culture that spawned the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Among Lizza’s scoops:

*Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), with Obama at the launch of his political career—when he ran for state senate and knocked his opponents off the ballot—is lukewarm in the article and is critical of Obama’s relationship with Tony Rezko. She also sidesteps a question about whether Obama has retained his personal integrity.

"I asked her if what she considered slights or betrayals were simply the necessary accommodations and maneuvering of a politician making a lightning transition from Hyde Park legislator to Presidential nominee. 'Can you get where he is and maintain your personal integrity?' she said. 'Is that the question?' She stared at me and grimaced. 'I'm going to pass on that.'

*Lizza reports that Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) told him that Obama was a “top strategist” for Gov. Blagojevich’s first gubernatorial campaign.

“He and Obama “participated in a small group that met weekly when Rod was running for governor,” Emanuel said. “We basically laid out the general election, Barack and I and these two.” A spokesman for Blagojevich confirmed Emanuel’s account, although David Wilhelm, who now works for Obama, said that Emanuel had overstated Obama’s role.”

Chicago Sun-Times reporter Stefano Esposito writes about the Michelle and Barack Obama love story in the Sunday Sun-Times.

Obama spokesman Jen Psaki issued a disclaimer on top of the pool report by Louis Roug containing some wild and tasteless riffs from comic Bernie Mac, who was listed on the invitation as a "special guest" at the Obama fund-raiser in the Hyatt. Let's see if Mac's crack about "hoes" causes some headaches for Obama, who spent the last few days courting the female vote.

" Senator Obama told Bernie Mac that he doesn't condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate," Psaki said. Obama told the comic "you got to clean up your act." Did he mean it? Or was he just messing with Mac. Click below for the pool report.

Access Hollywood talked to the Obama family in Butte, Montana.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/article/10226/preview-access-exclusive-barack-obama-and-family-chat-with-maria-menounos/