http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-michelle-obama-20120904,0,27690.story?track=rss&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=104530
WASHINGTON — Four years ago, the Obama campaign was strategizing about how to present Michelle Obama to the country with her prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention. Today, the A-lister needs no introduction.
If you missed her on David Letterman last week, you can catch her on television soon with Rachael Ray and Dr. Oz. If you have kids, you know her from the Nickelodeon channel — iCarly, anyone? If you’re a reality TV fan, you caught her doing squats on “The Biggest Loser” or judging contestants on Bravo’s “Top Chef.” If you cook, you saw her on Epicurious.com.
She blogs. She tweets. She posts recipes on Pinterest.
Each president’s wife is given the challenge and luxury of making a name for herself in an undefined, unelected position. It took Michelle Obama little time to settle into her role: first celebrity. Her life is not an open book, though. She picks and chooses among interviewers in risk-averse settings and steers clear of Washington’s hand-to-hand political combat.
While Barack Obama was knocked by opponents for soaring to star status in 2008, it’s Michelle Obama who has embraced pop culture and entertainment media, using it to her own and her husband’s advantage.
She just finished a stint as a guest editor on iVillage, a website for women, whose votes could tilt the election. Obama confessed her weakness (potato chips), explained why the president quit smoking (their daughters) and ventured an opinion on why the erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” caught fire with women (she hasn’t read it, she said, but members of her staff have).
“She’s the first fashionista, the mom in chief, the first gardener, the cool aunt — she’s Oprah with good arms,” said Robert Watson, an expert in first ladies at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. “I don’t know if it’s rebranding or we’re finally getting the real Michelle. Whatever it is, it’s very effective.”