Dismissed early on by critics, the first lady has
evolved into a powerful presence on the campaign trail.A Princeton- and Harvard-educated lawyer who was forced to give up her career as a hospital executive with a $250,000-plus salary when Mr. Obama won the presidency
.. Mrs. Obama cultivated an unpretentious image by dispensing hugs rather than handshakes and kicking off her shoes to dance with local children on official trips abroad.
.. Inside the White House, the image is different: Mrs. Obama has come to be adored but feared in the East Wing as a tough and exacting boss who has little patience for mistakes, improvisation and wasted time.
.. The discipline extends to her daughters, who have been required to play a sport of their mother’s choosing in addition to one of their own and are barred from television or computer entertainment on school nights.
.. “She’s gained confidence,” said Melissa Winter, her deputy chief of staff, who joined Mrs. Obama’s team in 2007. “I think she ultimately enjoys it more than she thought she might.”
.. “Michelle once explained to me, ‘I try to organize my life not to have a lot of mess around, and politics is just a big mess,’”
.. Mr. Obama’s political advisers have long regarded his wife as a potent weapon. Their nickname for her in his 2008 campaign was “the closer.”
.. the ratio of voters who registered or signed up to volunteer or otherwise help the campaign after she made an appeal — was exceptionally high.
In part, that is because Mrs. Obama makes a point of telling voters what she expects them to do, like a mother ordering her children to do their homework.
.. The campaign hired Stephanie Cutter, an operative adept at handling political crises, to advise Mrs. Obama on her stump speech, her campaign itinerary and her media appearances.
.. Hers is about a husband who is brilliant but takes himself too seriously and frequently needs an ego-shattering reality check.
.. Mrs. Obama, by confining herself to popular initiatives as first lady, has built a reservoir of trust and popularity that puts her on the level of a Barbara Bush or Laura Bush, rather than Nancy Reagan or Mrs. Clinton, who were seen as more divisive
.. speculation has started that she may one day seek office herself. Those close to her regard the prospect as absurd.
“I am certain she does not wish to be in politics herself,” Ms. Jarrett said. “There are very few things I’m as certain of in life.”
Michelle Schools Donald Trump
Hillary is in an awkward spot on the subject of licentious behavior by men. But Michelle Obama stepped in as the avenging angel Anita Hill never had.
.. Trump doesn’t get the contradiction of bringing Bill’s accusers to the second debate and saying Hillary should be blamed for “viciously” trying to destroy their credibility, even as he viciously tries to destroy the credibility of his own accusers.
.. Trump did not seem aware, when he had his lawyer write to The Times threatening to sue over a story about two women accusing him of assault, that he had pre-confessed. As the estimable Times lawyer David McCraw wrote back: “Nothing in our article has had the slightest effect on the reputation that Mr. Trump, through his own words and actions, has already created for himself.”
Pence: ‘I don’t understand the basis’ of Michelle Obama’s claims
“I have a lot of respect for the first lady and the job she has done for the American people over the last seven and a half years. But I don’t understand the basis of her claim,” Pence said.
You don’t believe his language was sexually predatory?” O’Donnell followed up.
“Well, no. I already spoke about my concerns about the language he used in that 11-year-old video. But what he has made it clear is that was talk, regrettable talk on his part,” Pence replied. “But that there were no actions and that he has categorically denied these latest unsubstantiated allegations.”
.. The Indiana governor would not say whether or not he had a moral red line which, if crossed by Trump, would lead Pence to drop off the GOP ticket.
.. “Frankly I think before the day is out the allegations will be questioned,” Pence said, prompting Rose to ask “what evidence is coming out?”“Well, just stay tuned. I know that there is more information that is going to be coming out that will back his claim that this is all categorically false,” Pence said.
Clinton unleashes Democratic dream team
A handful of high-wattage surrogates are being dispatched as part of the anti-Trump effort.
The vice president’s presence on the trail is the one that’s most telling to Democrats close to the Clinton campaign, who have been waiting for months for the triumvirate of Obama, Biden, and Warren to take to the battleground states and amplify the former secretary of state’s anti-Trump barrage. To them, it signals the arrival of a new phase of the campaign in which the highest-profile Democrats imaginable, likely including former President Bill Clinton and possibly Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders, join Hillary Clinton in making the case against the presumptive GOP nominee — and for her.
.. “The Republicans also have a lot of talent, but they don’t want to be associated with Donald Trump.”
.. Sending him into Scranton, his hometown (and the city where Clinton’s father grew up), gives Biden the chance to help defend Pennsylvania for Democrats after Trump has promised to put it into play with his appeal to blue collar and middle-class white men whose industries have been hit hard by multinational trade deals.
.. Painting Trump as a threat to laborers’ way of life, the materials directly echo the message that party officials expect to hear from Biden.
“That’s what he did in ’08 and ’12. He’s reprising that role,” said former Pennsylvania Gov. and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ed Rendell. “Where surrogates have an effect is not necessarily in persuasion. It’s about turnout. Joe can remind the blue collar, white working class guys of all the things that the Republican Party has done to deny them help.”