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sabang · 28-06-2008, 03:18 PM

Unquestionably her Brother, one of Princetons top scoring basketball players, smoothed her way to get into Princeton- Ivy League do not deny their nepotism with regards to family. The Bushes and Yale is an obvious example.

As for her working class credentials, I'd say she has them, but she can not play the 'underprivileged' background card by any means- she was raised in a good family. This article says though that the family did not occupy the whole house, rather an apartment in it-

"Michelle Obama was raised in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a classic Chicago brick bungalow."

Who Is Michelle Obama?

FayeQuarry · 28-06-2008, 03:25 PM

Let's look at it from another angle....

Most University students struggle to pay for their State University educations, while also taking out school loans which they spend decades to pay off, and also spend their time working part time to support their living.

VERY few kids can attend elite Princeton, ultra elite Harvard, pay the highest tuitions in the US, pay for out of state dorm and apartment expenses, and other expenses. This is the bastion of the upper class, or the very heavily government or grant subsidized.

Figure it out. We either have rich parents, or a free 7 year government ride for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

sabang · 28-06-2008, 03:36 PM

Going back to your original article though, she did need to take out loans to complete her tuition at Princeton- and apparently was not happy about it, as reflected in her undergraduate thesis-

"Once she had arrived amid the fauxgothic precincts, however, she found herself surrounded by spoilt white students from wealthy families. She, in contrast, was obliged to take out loans to pay her way and this rankled, as she revealed in a 1985 thesis."

Mrs O: The truth about Michelle Obama's 'working class' credentials | Mail Online

A bit of a whinger, at least back then.

Bugs · 28-06-2008, 07:00 PM

Not that I care all that much about Mrs. Obama’s background, but I had little to do today and the income of Mr. Robinson seemed pretty high for the 1970’s.
Mrs O: The truth about Michelle Obama's 'working class' credentials | Mail Online

Indeed it does seem the Robinson family lived in the top half of a house in a decent neighborhood in Chicago. And that seems rather odd considering the rather large salary of Frasier Robinson - $42,686 (over $140k in today’s dollars).

I would say they were anything but an average working class family. Especially considering the average income in 1978 was down around $20k. Mr. Robinsons $42k salary puts him rather high into the top 25% category back in ’78 ($25k - $49k). BTW the article quoting Mr. Robinsons wage does not provide the exact year. I picked ’78 because it would fall into when Michelle was a kid, and because it would have been towards the end of her childhood time living with her folks, thus being a conservative comparison.

Page 8 has wage percentiles.
http://www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-120.pdf

Median and Mean income tables:
Historical Income Tables - Families

Also looked around a little bit in regard to her mom. Seems Mrs. Robinson worked at Spiegel’s at one time (which would add to the rather high income of the father). But it seems she quit or took a leave to raise the kids, leaving only the fathers income to support the family. The Obama web site simply says she is a former Spiegel’s employee.
my.barackobama.com | Ron's World On Barack Obama.com

That being said it seems pretty strange that someone making such relevantly large salary would choose to house his family in rather cramped abode - even it was in a nice neighborhood?

In regard to her education:
While there appears to be no solid proof that Michelle gained access to Princeton and Harvard because of affirmative action I find it rather suspricious that she has refused to release her SAT or LSAT scores. Not that it matter much to me as it is Obama and not Michelle that is running for president.

That being said I would be inclined to think her acceptance to Princeton had as much to due (if not more) with her brohter being a former student as her skin tone.

Bugs · 28-06-2008, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabang

Here are 10 quick facts about Mrs. Obama:

Quick Fact Number 1: She was born January 17, 1964 and grew up on the South Shore area of Chicago

Quick Fact Number 2: Michelle Robinson majored in sociology at Princeton University, after she graduated from Whitney Young High School

Quick Fact Number 3: She is a Harvard Law School graduate

Quick Fact Number 4: She is Vice President for Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals

Quick Fact Number 5: Michelle Obama is a devoted supporter of the Women's Treatment Center located on the West Side of Chicago. The facility is for the treatment and detox of women dealing with substance abuse. The facility also takes care of children while their mother's go through detox and offers a program where children can live with their mothers during recovery.

Quick Fact Number 6: She enjoys early morning work outs

Quick Fact Number 7: The founding executive director of the Chicago office of Public Allies, President Bill Clinton's AmeriCorps 1993

Quick Fact Number 8: The Obama Family travels mostly every year to Hawaii to visit Senator Obama's grandmother and sister

Quick Fact Number 9: Craig Robinson, Michelle's brother is head coach of the men's basketball team at Brown University

Quick Fact Number 10: And like most little girls she enjoyed playing with her Barbie Dolls and Easy Bake Oven as a child

10 Quick Facts About Michelle Obama - Associated Content

Can't really fault her resume' as First lady.
No doubt they'll have fashion consultants on the job to make her look the part.

Not really sure what the point of the 10 facts is suppose to be, but a few are hardly indicative of anything in particular.

Kind of interesting that they lumped her HS and undergrad as one fact, and then felt compelled to list Harvard as another separate fact.

While she might have been the executive director at the time of the founding of their Chicago office calling her the "founding executive director" seems a bit misleading. As I understand it she was not the driving force being getting an office opened in Chicago. From what I have read it seems that he getting the spot had more to do with Barack than with Michelle:

Barack's rock -- chicagotribune.com

Quote:

Barack Obama was on the founding board of Public Allies, and it was he who recommended his new wife for the job as the Chicago chapter's first executive director, recalled Paul Schmitz, the current president of the group...

And I am not sure why her brother being the head coach of an NCAA basketball team has much to do with things either.

On another note I stumbled across this blog and this bloke seems to be a bit bent that Michelle received a raise of about 160% just before he hubby was elected to the Senate. And my oh my what does Barack do after he got elected? He worked to earmark $1 million for the construction of a new pavilion at the Hospital his wife just happened to be working at.

Riehl World View: Did Obama Earmark $1 Million For Wife?

AntRobertson · 28-06-2008, 07:18 PM

Twenty-four pages of indepth analysis of the wife of a Presidential candidate covering the most minute detail and dissection of her every move/word...

I guess I must have missed the thread on Cindy Lou Hensley McCain; is it as long as this one?

Norton · 28-06-2008, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Cindy Lou Hensley McCain; is it as long as this one?

Too boring to make the big time. Rich white girl, married war hero, walks around behind him, doesn't say much and certainly nothing controversial. What's to debate?

sabang · 29-06-2008, 12:37 AM

Home wrecker, drug addict, thief. Nothing controversial.

Boon Mee · 29-06-2008, 02:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabang

Home wrecker, drug addict, thief. Nothing controversial.

As opposed to one who consorts with unrepentant bombers, eh?

FayeQuarry · 29-06-2008, 08:49 AM

Michelle Obama fuels fashion frenzy

Quote:

The wife of Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, sparked a fashion storm earlier this month when a dress that she wore on a popular television chat show sold out at stores across the country.
Obama told viewers she had paid $148 (£74) for the casual black-and-white leaf-print frock that she wore for an appearance on The View, a morning show watched mainly by women.

Quote:

She earned mixed reviews for her political efforts, but her dress was a huge success. Designed by Donna Ricco, whose mass-market fashions are sold at department stores such as Macy’s and Nordstrom, the dress is estimated to have sold 2,000 copies in a single day.
“Apparently she just bought it off the rack,” said Ricco, who sells the same dress from her website for $99. “I didn’t realise she would be wearing it until people saw the show and started calling me.”

Quote:

Several New York designers have expressed an interest in Obama, who has been described as potentially the most stylish first lady since Jackie Kennedy.

Appearing in New York at a recent fundraiser on behalf of her husband, Obama was mobbed by a crowd of fashion celebrities, among them Calvin Klein and Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.

Michelle Obama fuels fashion frenzy - Times Online

Oh, BROTHER!

A page right out of "The devil wears Prada." Frumpy girl gets makeover by Vogue editor. This will be good.

Jet Gorgon · 29-06-2008, 10:30 AM

How did her brother get into Princeton?

sabang · 29-06-2008, 10:44 AM

^ By shooting Hoops.

Norton · 29-06-2008, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabang

Home wrecker, drug addict, thief. Nothing controversial.

Hardly grist for a good Jerry Springer program. Much too mainstream! Stacked up against Michelle's list of "crimes", Cindy is an also ran.

Michelle's rap sheet as reflected in this thread:

Black female
Elitist
Plagiarist
Affirmative Action Beneficiary
Bad Dresser
Unpatriotic Statements
Consorts with terrorists
Repeatably uses the term "you know" when speaking
Resembles a monkey
Doesn't wear a flag pin
Actually thinks the poor need government assistance
Unacceptable body language (fist pumping, finger waving, and fist puncher)
Ghetto language user on occasion
Large shoulders and small tits
Angry facial expressions
Osama's Svengali

Jet Gorgon · 29-06-2008, 01:04 PM

^ You forgot: "gonna", poor posture and lack of grace, Condi Rice fashion copier.
You can take etiquette lessons, but grace takes years to hone. She ain't got it and never will.
And she buys toilet paper but doesn't make cookies. Big mistake. That's really low class for somebody who lives in close to a million dollar mansion. "Attention Target shoppers and Michelle, we have a jumbo sale on toilet paper in aisle 22."

AntRobertson · 29-06-2008, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norton

Quote:

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Cindy Lou Hensley McCain; is it as long as this one?

Too boring to make the big time. Rich white girl, married war hero, walks around behind him, doesn't say much and certainly nothing controversial. What's to debate?

Mmm, good point. You'd probably struggle to get more than 2pgs on either of McCain's wives. Combined.

The only logical conclusion to draw from this is that intelligent, educated black women are inherently more interesting.

Texpat · 29-06-2008, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

How did her brother pay his way through Princeton?

I heard he was selling heroin under the El Station on State Street. I could be wrong.

It might have been crack.

Boon Mee · 29-06-2008, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

^ You forgot: "gonna", poor posture and lack of grace, Condi Rice fashion copier.
You can take etiquette lessons, but grace takes years to hone. She ain't got it and never will.
And she buys toilet paper but doesn't make cookies. Big mistake. That's really low class for somebody who lives in close to a million dollar mansion. "Attention Target shoppers and Michelle, we have a jumbo sale on toilet paper in aisle 22."

Yep...you can take the Ho out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto outa the Ho...

chinthee · 29-06-2008, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Michelle Obama's makeover from fiery and unpredictable to sweet and scripted is underway. It's another kind of change Barack Obama believes in for victory in November.

Quote:

[Michelle Obama paid glowing tribute to Clinton for her dedication to the needs of working families. "We are closer to this America than ever before, and that's because of an extraordinary woman who's not in this room, but she's traveling with my husband tomorrow, and that woman is Hillary Clinton," she said to loud and lingering applause.

Criticized for past negativity about America, Obama was now careful to note that "we are grateful" for what the country offers, even as she suggested that "at some point we have to say, 'Enough' " and change direction.

Quote:

During a brief question and answer period, one woman in the audience brought up the human and financial cost of the Iraq war. Concluded Obama: "Yeah. . . . We need the money and we need to end this war, for sure." But first she paid homage to military men and women, saying, "We should honor their service."

Quote:

The rebranding will not work anyway. Reinvention is hard, once the public gets to know the real you. The real Michelle Obama, is as described in a February Newsweek cover story: "Direct and plain-spoken, with an edgy sense of humor uncommon in a political spouse."

Make over old views, not political wives - The Boston Globe

What do you think? Do you think a Vogue makeover combined with a total sweet Stepford wife re-branding will work? Or is she just plain old kinda mean austere Michelle Obama?

Boon Mee · 29-06-2008, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinthee

What do you think? Do you think a Vogue makeover combined with a total sweet Stepford wife re-branding will work? Or is she just plain old kinda mean austere Michelle Obama?

Most objective opinion would go for the latter...

chinthee · 30-06-2008, 12:00 PM

Michelle Obama: 'I don't want to be a distraction'

Quote:

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Michelle Obama has two potentially conflicting goals as she campaigns for her husband, Democrat Barack Obama: She wants to stay true to who she is and to keep the focus on issues, not her.

Quote:

Obama, 44, a lawyer, hospital administrator and mother of two girls, vaulted onto the Republican radar screen in February when she said that "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country." The Tennessee GOP and other conservatives seized on that remark and others, such as her description of the U.S. as "just downright mean," to portray her as negative and unpatriotic. Barack Obama says they're using his "feisty wife" to try to scare voters.

Quote:

Obama says she is aiming for authenticity with the spotlight now trained on her. "I try as much as possible to be as uniquely me as I can be," she says. "I know that every word that I say will be scrutinized. I keep that in mind. But … if I change too much, people will see that and it won't ring true."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politic...lleObama_N.htm

Look at the wide smile but unsmiling eyes.

28-06-2008, 03:18 PM	#461 (permalink)
sabang Watching the Wheels Last Online: Today 01:20 PM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: where the streets have no name Posts: 11,566	Unquestionably her Brother, one of Princetons top scoring basketball players, smoothed her way to get into Princeton- Ivy League do not deny their nepotism with regards to family. The Bushes and Yale is an obvious example. As for her working class credentials, I'd say she has them, but she can not play the 'underprivileged' background card by any means- she was raised in a good family. This article says though that the family did not occupy the whole house, rather an apartment in it- "Michelle Obama was raised in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a classic Chicago brick bungalow." Who Is Michelle Obama? __________________ Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

28-06-2008, 07:00 PM	#464 (permalink)
Bugs Elite Member Last Online: 09-05-2009 09:11 PM Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: At home Posts: 1,311	Not that I care all that much about Mrs. Obama’s background, but I had little to do today and the income of Mr. Robinson seemed pretty high for the 1970’s. Mrs O: The truth about Michelle Obama's 'working class' credentials \| Mail Online Indeed it does seem the Robinson family lived in the top half of a house in a decent neighborhood in Chicago. And that seems rather odd considering the rather large salary of Frasier Robinson - $42,686 (over $140k in today’s dollars). I would say they were anything but an average working class family. Especially considering the average income in 1978 was down around $20k. Mr. Robinsons $42k salary puts him rather high into the top 25% category back in ’78 ($25k - $49k). BTW the article quoting Mr. Robinsons wage does not provide the exact year. I picked ’78 because it would fall into when Michelle was a kid, and because it would have been towards the end of her childhood time living with her folks, thus being a conservative comparison. Page 8 has wage percentiles. http://www2.census.gov/prod2/popscan/p60-120.pdf Median and Mean income tables: Historical Income Tables - Families Also looked around a little bit in regard to her mom. Seems Mrs. Robinson worked at Spiegel’s at one time (which would add to the rather high income of the father). But it seems she quit or took a leave to raise the kids, leaving only the fathers income to support the family. The Obama web site simply says she is a former Spiegel’s employee. my.barackobama.com \| Ron's World On Barack Obama.com That being said it seems pretty strange that someone making such relevantly large salary would choose to house his family in rather cramped abode - even it was in a nice neighborhood? In regard to her education: While there appears to be no solid proof that Michelle gained access to Princeton and Harvard because of affirmative action I find it rather suspricious that she has refused to release her SAT or LSAT scores. Not that it matter much to me as it is Obama and not Michelle that is running for president. That being said I would be inclined to think her acceptance to Princeton had as much to due (if not more) with her brohter being a former student as her skin tone. __________________ "Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion" - Steven Weinberg

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28-06-2008, 03:25 PM	#462 (permalink)
FayeQuarry I am in Jail Last Online: 19-09-2009 01:50 PM Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 111	Let's look at it from another angle.... Most University students struggle to pay for their State University educations, while also taking out school loans which they spend decades to pay off, and also spend their time working part time to support their living. VERY few kids can attend elite Princeton, ultra elite Harvard, pay the highest tuitions in the US, pay for out of state dorm and apartment expenses, and other expenses. This is the bastion of the upper class, or the very heavily government or grant subsidized. Figure it out. We either have rich parents, or a free 7 year government ride for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

28-06-2008, 03:36 PM	#463 (permalink)
sabang Watching the Wheels Last Online: Today 01:20 PM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: where the streets have no name Posts: 11,566	Going back to your original article though, she did need to take out loans to complete her tuition at Princeton- and apparently was not happy about it, as reflected in her undergraduate thesis- "Once she had arrived amid the fauxgothic precincts, however, she found herself surrounded by spoilt white students from wealthy families. She, in contrast, was obliged to take out loans to pay her way and this rankled, as she revealed in a 1985 thesis." Mrs O: The truth about Michelle Obama's 'working class' credentials \| Mail Online A bit of a whinger, at least back then.

28-06-2008, 07:18 PM	#466 (permalink)
AntRobertson Ich Bin Ein Auslander Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 12,721	Twenty-four pages of indepth analysis of the wife of a Presidential candidate covering the most minute detail and dissection of her every move/word... I guess I must have missed the thread on Cindy Lou Hensley McCain; is it as long as this one?

29-06-2008, 12:37 AM	#468 (permalink)
sabang Watching the Wheels Last Online: Today 01:20 PM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: where the streets have no name Posts: 11,566	Home wrecker, drug addict, thief. Nothing controversial.

29-06-2008, 10:30 AM	#471 (permalink)
Jet Gorgon Jihad Barbie Last Online: Today 04:50 AM Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Near Libbies Posts: 12,470	How did her brother get into Princeton?

29-06-2008, 10:44 AM	#472 (permalink)
sabang Watching the Wheels Last Online: Today 01:20 PM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: where the streets have no name Posts: 11,566	^ By shooting Hoops.

29-06-2008, 01:04 PM	#474 (permalink)
Jet Gorgon Jihad Barbie Last Online: Today 04:50 AM Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Near Libbies Posts: 12,470	^ You forgot: "gonna", poor posture and lack of grace, Condi Rice fashion copier. You can take etiquette lessons, but grace takes years to hone. She ain't got it and never will. And she buys toilet paper but doesn't make cookies. Big mistake. That's really low class for somebody who lives in close to a million dollar mansion. "Attention Target shoppers and Michelle, we have a jumbo sale on toilet paper in aisle 22."

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