Michelle Obama has been the target of more scrutiny than even Hillary Clinton in the 1990s, suggests a soon-to-be published profile of the wife of the Democratic nominee by Ebony magazine.
The right-wing smear machine, in attempting to promote fear and doubt about her husband's candidacy, has tried to cast the Harvard graduate, professional, and mother as 'an angry Black woman,' the article states.
But the people who know her best along with Michelle Obama's own impressive record of public service as gathered by Ebony have a different story to tell. From Harvard Law to public service in government, education, and health care, Michelle Obama has made an enormous contribution of her own to the people of Chicago.
Michelle's brother, Craig Robinson, tells Ebony that their working-class parents (mother was a secretary and father was a city pump operator) raised them strictly with a strong sense of right and wrong, personal responsibility, and shared values.
An exclusive Q and A with Marian Robinson, Michelle's 71-year old mother, is even more revealing. 'She always had her own opinions about things and she didn’t hesitate to say so because we allowed it,' Marian Robinson says of the young Michelle. 'She just seemed like she wanted to do the right thing all the time without being told and she wanted to be the best at things. She liked winning.'
The adult Michelle is a compassionate person who knows how to get things done, Marian tells Ebony. 'As a person who is interested in people. She is down-to-earth. She is very smart. I always say if you want something done, just ask Michelle. She’ll get it done and get it done fast. And if she doesn’t know how to do it she’ll go find out and still get it done. She likes people, she can relate to people, she’s friendly, she doesn’t look down to people and she likes kids.'
Michelle has been noted for her physical fitness and fashion style. But she still has the South Side Chicago, working-class sensibility. A dress she wore on The View in June that sold out in stores across the country after the episode, cost less than $150, writes Ebony.
Michelle also isn't afraid to let out a few intimate emotions about her 16-year marriage to Barack. “Barack and I – as partners, as friends and as lovers – we accessorize each other in many ways,” she tells Ebony. “The best thing I love having on me is Barack on my arm and vice versa, whether it’s having him standing there smiling at me, or watching him mesmerize a crowd or talk to some seniors in a senior center.”
So yes, Michelle Obama has faced tough, unfair, even racist and sexist scrutiny, by the right-wing smear machine. But she has had the poise and the smarts to rise above it and reach out to American voters, to listen to their problems, and to speak up for those who grew up like her and want to share in a better life. And it is worth understanding that the heat Hillary Clinton took in the 1990s paved the way for Michelle Obama to be able to be more authentically herself in this election cycle.
The Ebony feature story will appear on newsstands on August 12.
