Slobbering Over Michelle Obama Reaches Disturbing New Level

Just when you though we'd reached new lows, here comes Sally Quinn to top even Oprah's gushing.

Michelle Obama happens to be physically beautiful. She is tall, regal, elegant and statuesque, and her power has been enhanced by that attractiveness. Jackie Kennedy had that kind of power in a different era, and she was able to use it (and her bare arms) in a symbolic way to accomplish as much as she did in the arts. One does not have to be beautiful to be a mother. Being a good mother is beautiful in itself.

When I look at Michelle Obama with her daughters, I see someone who really loves her children. I see a swing set and a dog and a vegetable garden and sleepovers and redecorating the White House so that the furniture is "fort-worthy." I see two young girls who are happy and healthy and well adjusted in a situation where it is almost impossible to be all of those things. I see a woman holding hands with her husband, having date nights and adjusting his tie, a clearly sexual woman with sexy arms. A woman who is proud and unashamed of her sexuality in a city where that is not the usual image of a powerful woman. I see a woman embracing the Queen of England when the queen put her arm around her, a warm, loving and, yes, respectful gesture made to the mother of a nation. I see a woman so confident in herself that she can bring her own mother to live in the White House to help take care of her children and be a support for her and her husband as well.

How can America be so downright mean when people fawn over you like this?