http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/?order=9&q=50+die+cut+icons deviantART RSS for boost:popular in:customization 50 die cut icons en-us Copyright 2013, deviantART.com Wed, 22 May 2013 23:43:29 PDT deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://st.deviantart.net/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://burgeira.deviantart.com/art/michelle-obama-democratic-national-convention-2012-325407618 http://burgeira.deviantart.com/art/michelle-obama-democratic-national-convention-2012-325407618 Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:08:28 PDT michelle obama democratic national convention 2012 nonadult customization/wallpaper/people/females burgeira http://a.deviantart.net/avatars/default.gif Copyright 2012-2013 ~burgeira

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Enlarge
By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Sponsored Links

After speakers from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker blasted Romney and the Republican Party for everything from undermining the economic recovery to favoring the wealthy over the middle class, the first lady's speech was soft in tone. Yet it was strong in her belief that the country was better served by her husband's humble beginnings, "the guy who'd picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door … the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he'd found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small."
The message — much like Ann Romney's speech at last week's GOP convention that revealed her husband's role as husband and father — was a charm offensive aimed at reminding voters not just where Obama came from, but his core values, accomplishments and plans for the next four years.
MORE: Full coverage of the DNC
PHOTOS: Top images from Charlotte
"I have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are — no, it reveals who you are," Michelle Obama said. "Barack knows what it means when the middle class struggles. … He's lived it." Yet she also emphasized that unlike Romney, who became a multimillionaire through private equity firm Bain Capital, Obama had shunned opportunities for high-paying jobs for a life devoted to public service.
"I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as us and them," she said. "I love that even in the toughest moments where we are all sweatin' it, he just keeps moving forward with patience and wisdom and courage and grace. He reminds me that we're playing a long game here and eventually, we get there."
With the November election a virtual tossup and Obama's re-election bid crimped by an anemic economy and stubbornly high unemployment, most of the night's speakers were far less cordial. Many offered sharp contrasts between a Romney presidency and four more years of Obama — and who would better serve the middle class, women and minorities.
In an interview with USA TODAY aboard Air Force One, Obama telegraphed the party's mission this week: defending his record, attacking Romney and convincing voters that America is better off than it was four years ago. The central themes: Obama kept the economy from plunging into recession, bailed out the now-revived automobile industry, revamped health care, ended the war in Iraq and gave the orders to eliminate terrorist Osama bin Laden.
STORY: Interview: Obama says GOP drawing 'a fictional Barack Obama'
"Gov. Romney spent a lot of time talking about himself and he spent a lot of time talking about me. He didn't spend a lot of time talking about the American people and how their lives will get better," Obama told USA TODAY. "I guess their premise is that the American people will be convinced, if we just get rid of Obama, then somehow that will be enough."
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, a rising party star, delivered the keynote address, highlighting Obama's successes, "despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition."
He was less kind to Romney.
"Republicans tell us that if the most prosperous among us do even better, that somehow the rest of us will, too," Castro said. "Folks, we've heard that before. First, they called it 'trickle-down.' Then 'supply side.' Now it's 'Romney-Ryan.' Or is it 'Ryan-Romney.' Either way, their theory has been tested. It failed. Our economy failed. The middle class paid the price. Your family paid the price. Mitt Romney just doesn't get it."
The anti-Romney tone was set early, and often.
"If Mitt was Santa Claus, he'd fire the reindeer and outsource the elves," former Ohio governor Ted Strickland told a roaring crowd of delegates.
Democrats even turned to liberal icon Edward Kennedy— who died in 2009 — to blast Romney's shifting views, a criticism that has haunted the candidate. As part of a video tribute, clips from the Kennedy vs. Romney 1994 Senate race debate showed Kennedy schooling his challenger. "I am pro-choice. My opponent is multiple choice," Kennedy said in the clip.
The Romney campaign said rolling out the Kennedy clip was a low blow.
Reid delivered some of the evening's harshest comments.
"Today's Republican Party believes in two sets of rules: one for millionaires and billionaires, and another for the middle class," he said. "And this year, they've nominated the strongest proponent — the clearest beneficiary — of this rigged game: Mitt Romney."
Said Booker: "Our platform is about moving America and our economy forward. We must choose forward. We must be inclusive. We must choose growing together."
Obama campaigned in battleground state Virginia earlier Tuesday.
Republicans are "counting on you, maybe not to vote for Romney, but they're counting on you to feel discouraged," he told a crowd at Norfolk State University. "And they figure if you don't vote, then big oil will write our energy future, and insurance companies will write our health care plans, and politicians will dictate what a woman can or can't do when it comes to her own health. They're counting on you just to accept their version of things."
Obama is scheduled to make his party acceptance speech Thursday at the 74,000-seat outdoor Bank of America stadium. There's a 40% chance of rain showers. Obama spokesman Brent Colburn said severe weather, such as lightning, would push the event indoors.
Wherever it's held, the speech will provide a "road map" for Obama's plans to restore security to the hard-pressed middle class, campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said.
The president and aides have acknowledged that Democrats are likely to be outspent by Romney in key battleground states. So the three-day convention amounts to some much-needed PR.
"We've got some truth-telling to do," Virginia's U.S. Sen. Mark Warner told Florida delegates earlier Tuesday. "America is better off today than it was four years ago when this president took over."
Modesto Tico Valle, an Illinois delegate from Chicago, said the convention is key to Obama's re-election.
"Most definitely, President Obama must say loudly and strongly that we are much better off today than four years ago," said Valle, the 48-year-old CEO of Center on Halstead, an advocate organization for the lesbian, gay and transgender community. "The economy is slowly recovering from where it was when we got it, jobs are slowly coming back. There has been great progress made in LGBT and women's rights, among seniors and with health care. The choice is clear between Obama and the dark ages. He is the one that is moving us forward."
Democrats released a party platform for ratification Tuesday underscoring Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy and support for gay marriage. And Tuesday morning, the party made its case for Obama through U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren on morning TV talk shows. Warren, who is challenging first-term Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, conceded that many Americans have it tough, but said Obama offers the better vision going forward. "Republicans are not helping us get back," she said.
Republican GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, also making the talk-show rounds, continued to hammer Obama's record on the economy. "Four years into a presidency and it's 'incomplete'?" he asked referring to the "grade" Obama gave himself in an interview Monday. "The president is asking people just to be patient with him?"
Romney's campaign reinforced that message with a new Internet video answering Obama's statement that "there are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery." The video showcases a series of ordinary Americans who've lost their jobs saying, "I'm an American, not a bump in the road." When people ask First Lady Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn't hesitate to say that first and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha's mom.

But before she was a mother -- or a wife, lawyer or public servant -- she was Fraser and Marian Robinson's daughter.

The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important life lessons.


Download Low-res (257 KB)
Download Hi-res (2262 KB)
A product of Chicago public schools, Mrs. Obama studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, she joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met the man who would become the love of her life.

After a few years, Mrs. Obama decided her true calling was working with people to serve their communities and their neighbors. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares youth for public service.

In 1996, Mrs. Obama joined the University of Chicago with a vision of bringing campus and community together. As Associate Dean of Student Services, she developed the university's first community service program, and under her leadership as Vice President of Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism skyrocketed.

Promoting Service and working with young people has remained a staple of her career and her interest. Continuing this effort now as First Lady, Mrs. Obama in 2010 launched Let’s Move!, a campaign to bring together community leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses, moms and dads in a nationwide effort to tackle the challenge of childhood obesity. Let’s Move! has an ambitious but important goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.

Download Hi-res (2262 KB)
Let’s Move! will give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.

In 2011, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden together launched Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative that mobilizes all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned, and to raise awareness of military families' unique needs as pertains to employment, education and wellness. Joining Forces has been working hand in hand with American businesses who are committed to answering the President's challenge to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans and military spouses by 2013.

As First Lady, Mrs. Obama looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her heart — supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.

Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters: Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10. Like their mother, the girls were born on the South Side of Chicago Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.[1][2]
Contents [hide]
1 Family and education
2 Career
3 2008 Presidential election
4 First Lady of the United States
4.1 Public image and style
4.2 Work undertaken and causes promoted
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
Family and education

See also: Michelle Robinson Obama's extended family
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Fraser Robinson III,[3] a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store.[4] Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school.[5] The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots[6] to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Specifically, she is descended from the Gullah people of South Carolina's Lowcountry region.[7] Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina,[8][9] where some of her paternal family still reside.[10][11] Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.[12]
Michelle grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs.[4][13][14][15] She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table".[16] The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading.[17] They attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church.[13] The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan.[13] She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).[18]
She attended Whitney Young High School,[19] Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was a classmate of Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita.[17] The round trip commute from the Robinsons' South Side home to the Near West Side, where the school was located, took three hours.[20] She was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer.[4] Michelle graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of her class.[20]
Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University;[5] Craig graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational.[21] As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community."[22][23] "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs."[20] While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring.[24] Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985.[4][25] She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988.[26] At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities[27] and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases.[28] She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush.[29] In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.[30]


Barack and Michelle Obama, 2008.
She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments),[31] and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate.[32] Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her.[33] The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing.[34] They married in October 1992,[33] and have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001).[35] After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children.[36]
She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move.[16] Now, Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors.[37][38] The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance".[39] However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.[40]
The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school.[41] As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school.[5] Malia and Sasha now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School.[42][43] Michelle stated in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that they do not intend to have any more children.[44] The Obamas have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House.[43] Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.[45]
Career

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property.[4] She continues to hold her law license, but as she no longer needs it for her work, it has been on a voluntary inactive status since 1993.[46][47]
In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies.[19] She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.[17]
In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center.[48] In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs.[49] She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election;[50] she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job.[51] According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.[52]
She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS),[53] a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007.[54] She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.[55]
2008 Presidential election


Oprah Winfrey joins the Obamas on the campaign trail, December 10, 2007

The Obamas fist bump upon his winning the Democratic nomination.

The Obamas, with Joe and Jill Biden at the August 23, 2008 Vice Presidential announcement in Springfield, Illinois.

Obama speaks at the 2008 Democratic convention
Although Obama has campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for United States House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas.[56]
At first, Obama had reservations about her husband's presidential campaign, due to fears about a possible negative effect on their daughters.[57] She says that she negotiated an agreement in which her husband was to give up smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run.[58] About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser."[37][59][60] During the campaign, she has discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.[21]
In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, she reduced her professional responsibilities by 80 percent to support his presidential campaign.[16] Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and traveled overnight only if their daughters could come along;[3] by early February 2008 her participation had increased significantly, attending thirty-three events in eight days.[38] She made several campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey.[61][62] She wrote her own stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign and generally spoke without notes.[20]
Throughout the campaign, the media often labeled her as an "angry black woman,"[63][64][65] and some Web sites attempted to propagate this image,[66] prompting her to respond: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory."[67] By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed that her presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows like The View and publications like Ladies' Home Journal rather than appearing on news programs. The change was even reflected in her fashion choices, wearing more informal clothes in place of her previous designer pieces.[56] The View appearance was partly intended to help soften her public image,[63] and it was widely-covered in the press.[68]
The presidential campaign was her first exposure to the national political scene; even before the field of Democratic candidates was narrowed to two, she was considered the least famous of the candidates' spouses.[59] Early in the campaign, she told anecdotes about the Obama family life; however, as the press began to emphasize her sarcasm, she toned it down.[52][58] New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd wrote:
I wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal — comic routine that rests on the presumption that we see him as a god ... But it may not be smart politics to mock him in a way that turns him from the glam JFK into the mundane Gerald Ford, toasting his own English muffin. If all Senator Obama is peddling is the Camelot mystique, why debunk this mystique?[59][69]
On the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Craig Robinson introduced his younger sister.[70] She delivered her speech, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream.[71] Obama said both she and her husband believed "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them."[72] She also emphasized loving her country, in response to criticism for her previous statements about feeling proud of her country for the first time.[71][73][74] That keynote address was largely well received and drew mostly positive reviews.[75] A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%.[76]
On an October 6, 2008 broadcast, Larry King asked her if the American electorate was past the Bradley effect. She stated that her husband's achievement of the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it was.[77] The same night she also was interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign.[78] On Fox News' America's Pulse, E. D. Hill referred to the fist bump shared by the Obamas on the night that he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination as a "terrorist fist jab"; Hill was taken off air and the show itself was cancelled.[79][80][81]
First Lady of the United States


Then-First Lady Laura Bush sits with Obama in the private residence of the White House.

Michelle Obama wore Isabel Toledo clothes made of St. Gallen Embroidery to the 2009 presidential inauguration.

The Obamas dance at a presidential inaugural ball.
Public image and style
With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, Essence listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women."[82][83] In July 2007, Vanity Fair listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, 02138 magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth.[82][84] In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the Vanity Fair international best dressed list.[85] She also appeared on the 2008 People list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.[86][87]
At the time of her husband's election, some sources anticipated that as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage she would be a positive role model who would influence the view the world has of African-Americans.[88][89] Her fashion choices were part of the 2009 Fashion week,[90] but Obama's influence in the field did not have the impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, that some thought it might.[91][92]
She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style,[85] and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum.[93][94] Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy".[95][96] Obama's style is described as populist.[29] She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto,[97] and has become a fashion trendsetter,[98][99][100] in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.[101]
She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of Vogue.[102][103] Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue,[102] but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.[104]
In August 2011 she became the first woman to appear on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, as well as the first person to appear on the cover in 48 years. [105]
The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions.[29][106] She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families.[88][107][108] U.S.News & World Report blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance.[109] Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.[45][110]
Work undertaken and causes promoted

Obama is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom April 1, 2009

Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni
During her early months as First Lady, she visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens.[111] She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service.[111][112] On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[113] She has begun advocating on behalf of military families.[114] Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.[115][116]
Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.[117]
She gained growing public support in her early months as first lady.[111][118] She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans.[111][114] As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model.[111] Newsweek described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power"[118] and MSN described it as a display of sartorial elegance.[83] There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II,[119] and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette.[119][120] Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.[121]


Obama and Ellen DeGeneres dance on the second anniversary of Let's Move!.
On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service.[122] Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month.[123] Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner faux pas occurred on November 24, 2009.[124] Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.[125]
After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity.[126] She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity."[126] She has named the movement "Let's Move!".[127] This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.[128] She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the White House Kitchen Garden, the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady.[126][129] Her 2012 book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America is based on her experiences with the garden and promotes healthy eating.[130] Her call for action on healthy eating has been echoed by the United States Department of Defense, which has been facing an ever expanding problem of recruit obesity.[131] Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985, and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Following law school, she worked at a Chicago law firm, where she met her husband, President Barack Obama. The couple married in 1992. As First Lady, she has focused her attention on current social issues.

CONTENTS

Synopsis
Early Life
Gifted Student
Marriage to Barack Obama
High-Profile Work in Chicago
Supporting her Husband
Issues and Causes
First Family
QUOTES

"When I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am."

– Michelle Obama
« prev1 / 2next »
Early Life

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, bettern known as Michelle Obama, was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She would later become a lawyer, Chicago city administrator, community outreach worker and—as the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama—the United States' First Lady.

Michelle was raised on Chicago's South Side in a one-bedroom apartment. Her father, Frasier Robinson, was a city pump operator and a Democratic precinct captain. Her mother, Marian, was a Spiegel's secretary who later stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother, Craig. The family has been described as a close-knit one that shared family meals, read and played games together.

Craig and Michelle, 16 months apart in age, were often mistaken for twins. The siblings also shared close quarters—they slept in the living room with a makeshift sheet serving as their room divider. Both children were raised with an emphasis on education. The brother and sister learned to read at home by the age of four, and both skipped second grade.

Gifted Student

By sixth grade, Michelle was attending gifted classes, where she learned French and took accelerated courses. She then went on to attend the city's first magnet high school for gifted children where, among other activities, she served as the student government treasurer. "Without being immodest, we were always smart, we were always driven and we were always encouraged to do the best you can do, not just what's necessary," her brother Craig, has said. "And when it came to going to schools, we all wanted to go to the best schools we could."

Michelle graduated in 1981 from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago's West Loop as class salutatorian. After high school, she followed her brother to Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985 with a B.A. in Sociology. She went on to earn a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988, where she took part in demonstrations demanding more minority students and professors.

Marriage to Barack Obama

Following law school, Michelle worked as an associate in the Chicago branch of the law firm Sidley Austin in the area of marketing and intellectual property. There, in 1989, she met her future husband, Barack Obama, a summer intern whom she was assigned as an adviser. "I went to Harvard and he went to Harvard, and the firm thought, 'Oh, we'll hook these two people up,'" Michelle said. "So, you know, there was a little intrigue, but I must say after about a month, Barack ... asked me out, and I thought, 'No way. This is completely tacky.'" Initially, she refused to date Barack, believing that their work relationship would make the romance improper. Eventually, she relented, and the couple soon fell in love. Their first kiss took place outside of a Chicago shopping center—where a plaque featuring a photo of the couple kissing was installed more than two decades later, in August 2012.

After two years of dating, Barack proposed. "We were at a restaurant having dinner to celebrate the fact that he had finished the bar," Michelle remembers. "Then the waiter came over with the dessert and a tray. And there was the ring. And I was completely shocked." The couple married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 18, 1992.
Michelle soon left her job to launch a career in public service, serving as an assistant to Mayor Daley and then as the assistant commissioner of planning and development for the City of Chicago.

In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit leadership-training program that helped young adults develop skills for future careers in the public sector.

Michelle joined the University of Chicago in 1996 as associate dean of student services, developing the University’s first community service program. She then worked for the University of Chicago Hospitals beginning in 2002, as executive director of community relations and external affairs.

In May 2005, she was appointed vice president of community relations and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she continues to work part-time. She also manages the business diversity program and sits on six boards, including the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.

Supporting her Husband

Michelle Obama first caught the eye of a national audience at her husband's side when he delivered a high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois that November.

In 2007, she scaled back her own professional work to attend to family and campaign obligations during Barack's run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Michelle says she's made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two daughters, Malia (born 1999) and Natasha (2001). It has been reported that the Obama family has no nanny, and that the children are left with their grandmother, Marian, while their parents campaign. "I've never participated at this level in any of his campaigns," Michelle says. "I have usually chosen to just appear when necessary."

Since her husband's political role pushed the Obama family into the spotlight, Michelle has been publicly recognized for her steely, no-nonsense campaign style as well as her sense of fashion. In May of 2006, Michelle was featured in Essence magazine as one of "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." Then in September 2007, Michelle was listed in 02138 magazine as number 58 in "The Harvard 100," a list of the most influential alumni for the year. She has also made the Vanity Fair best-dressed list two years in a row, as well as People Magazine's 2008 best-dressed list.

With her husband seeking reelection in 2012, Michelle Obama has campaigned on his behalf. She has traveled the country, giving talks and making public appearances. That June, she spoke to a crowd in Philadelphia, telling them that "It all boils down to one simple question: will we continue the change we've begun and the progress we've made, or will we let everything we've fought for slip away." Obama urged those in attendance to give "a little part of your life each week to this campaign." Her husband faces a challenging race against likely Republican opponent Mitt Romney.

CONTENTS

Synopsis
Early Life
Gifted Student
Marriage to Barack Obama
High-Profile Work in Chicago
Supporting her Husband
Issues and Causes
First Family
Issues and Causes

As the 44th First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama has focused her attention on issues such as the support of military families, helping working women balance career and family, and encouraging national service. During the first year of the Obama presidency, Michelle and her husband have volunteered at homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the Washington, D.C. area. Michelle also has made appearances at public schools, stressing the importance of education and volunteer work.

Ever conscious of her family's diet and health, Michelle Obama has supported the organic food movement, instructing the White House kitchens to prepare organic food for guests and her family. In March 2009, Michelle worked with 23 fifth graders from a local school in Washington, D.C., to plant a 1,100 square foot garden of fresh vegetables and install bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House. Periodically, throughout the summer, the same students returned to harvest various foods and learned to cook fresh-grown organic vegetables. In 2010, Michelle has put efforts to fight childhood obesity near the top of her agenda.

Michelle Obama remains committed to her health and wellness causes. In 2012, she announced a new fitness program for kids as part of her Let's Move initiative. She, the U.S. Olympic team and other sports organizations have teamed up to get young people try out a new sport or activity. "This year, 1.7 million young people will be participating in Olympic and Paralympic sports in their communities—many of them for the very first time. And that is so important, because sometimes all it takes is that first lesson, or clinic, or class to get a child excited about a new sport," Obama said in a statement.

Making her message in print, Obama released a book as part of her mission to promote healthy eating. American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America (2012) explores Obama's own experience creating a vegetable garden as well as the work of community gardens elsewhere. She sees the book as an opportunity to help readers understand "where their food was coming from" and "to talk about the work that we're doing with childhood obesity and childhood health," Obama told Reuters.

First Family

Both Michelle and Barack Obama have stated their personal priority is their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. The parents realize that the move from Chicago to Washington, D.C., would be a major adjustment for any family. Living in the White House, having Secret Service protection, and always being in the wake of their parents' public lives has dramatically transformed their lives. Both parents try to make their daughters' lives as "normal" as possible with set times for study, bed, and getting up. "My first priority will always be to make sure that our girls are healthy and grounded," Michelle said. "Then I want to help other families get the support they need, not just to survive, but to thrive." ]]>

By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Enlarge
By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY
First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte on Tuesday.
Sponsored Links

After speakers from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker blasted Romney and the Republican Party for everything from undermining the economic recovery to favoring the wealthy over the middle class, the first lady's speech was soft in tone. Yet it was strong in her belief that the country was better served by her husband's humble beginnings, "the guy who'd picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door … the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he'd found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small."
The message — much like Ann Romney's speech at last week's GOP convention that revealed her husband's role as husband and father — was a charm offensive aimed at reminding voters not just where Obama came from, but his core values, accomplishments and plans for the next four years.
MORE: Full coverage of the DNC
PHOTOS: Top images from Charlotte
"I have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are — no, it reveals who you are," Michelle Obama said. "Barack knows what it means when the middle class struggles. … He's lived it." Yet she also emphasized that unlike Romney, who became a multimillionaire through private equity firm Bain Capital, Obama had shunned opportunities for high-paying jobs for a life devoted to public service.
"I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as us and them," she said. "I love that even in the toughest moments where we are all sweatin' it, he just keeps moving forward with patience and wisdom and courage and grace. He reminds me that we're playing a long game here and eventually, we get there."
With the November election a virtual tossup and Obama's re-election bid crimped by an anemic economy and stubbornly high unemployment, most of the night's speakers were far less cordial. Many offered sharp contrasts between a Romney presidency and four more years of Obama — and who would better serve the middle class, women and minorities.
In an interview with USA TODAY aboard Air Force One, Obama telegraphed the party's mission this week: defending his record, attacking Romney and convincing voters that America is better off than it was four years ago. The central themes: Obama kept the economy from plunging into recession, bailed out the now-revived automobile industry, revamped health care, ended the war in Iraq and gave the orders to eliminate terrorist Osama bin Laden.
STORY: Interview: Obama says GOP drawing 'a fictional Barack Obama'
"Gov. Romney spent a lot of time talking about himself and he spent a lot of time talking about me. He didn't spend a lot of time talking about the American people and how their lives will get better," Obama told USA TODAY. "I guess their premise is that the American people will be convinced, if we just get rid of Obama, then somehow that will be enough."
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, a rising party star, delivered the keynote address, highlighting Obama's successes, "despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition."
He was less kind to Romney.
"Republicans tell us that if the most prosperous among us do even better, that somehow the rest of us will, too," Castro said. "Folks, we've heard that before. First, they called it 'trickle-down.' Then 'supply side.' Now it's 'Romney-Ryan.' Or is it 'Ryan-Romney.' Either way, their theory has been tested. It failed. Our economy failed. The middle class paid the price. Your family paid the price. Mitt Romney just doesn't get it."
The anti-Romney tone was set early, and often.
"If Mitt was Santa Claus, he'd fire the reindeer and outsource the elves," former Ohio governor Ted Strickland told a roaring crowd of delegates.
Democrats even turned to liberal icon Edward Kennedy— who died in 2009 — to blast Romney's shifting views, a criticism that has haunted the candidate. As part of a video tribute, clips from the Kennedy vs. Romney 1994 Senate race debate showed Kennedy schooling his challenger. "I am pro-choice. My opponent is multiple choice," Kennedy said in the clip.
The Romney campaign said rolling out the Kennedy clip was a low blow.
Reid delivered some of the evening's harshest comments.
"Today's Republican Party believes in two sets of rules: one for millionaires and billionaires, and another for the middle class," he said. "And this year, they've nominated the strongest proponent — the clearest beneficiary — of this rigged game: Mitt Romney."
Said Booker: "Our platform is about moving America and our economy forward. We must choose forward. We must be inclusive. We must choose growing together."
Obama campaigned in battleground state Virginia earlier Tuesday.
Republicans are "counting on you, maybe not to vote for Romney, but they're counting on you to feel discouraged," he told a crowd at Norfolk State University. "And they figure if you don't vote, then big oil will write our energy future, and insurance companies will write our health care plans, and politicians will dictate what a woman can or can't do when it comes to her own health. They're counting on you just to accept their version of things."
Obama is scheduled to make his party acceptance speech Thursday at the 74,000-seat outdoor Bank of America stadium. There's a 40% chance of rain showers. Obama spokesman Brent Colburn said severe weather, such as lightning, would push the event indoors.
Wherever it's held, the speech will provide a "road map" for Obama's plans to restore security to the hard-pressed middle class, campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said.
The president and aides have acknowledged that Democrats are likely to be outspent by Romney in key battleground states. So the three-day convention amounts to some much-needed PR.
"We've got some truth-telling to do," Virginia's U.S. Sen. Mark Warner told Florida delegates earlier Tuesday. "America is better off today than it was four years ago when this president took over."
Modesto Tico Valle, an Illinois delegate from Chicago, said the convention is key to Obama's re-election.
"Most definitely, President Obama must say loudly and strongly that we are much better off today than four years ago," said Valle, the 48-year-old CEO of Center on Halstead, an advocate organization for the lesbian, gay and transgender community. "The economy is slowly recovering from where it was when we got it, jobs are slowly coming back. There has been great progress made in LGBT and women's rights, among seniors and with health care. The choice is clear between Obama and the dark ages. He is the one that is moving us forward."
Democrats released a party platform for ratification Tuesday underscoring Obama's call for higher taxes on the wealthy and support for gay marriage. And Tuesday morning, the party made its case for Obama through U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren on morning TV talk shows. Warren, who is challenging first-term Republican Scott Brown in Massachusetts, conceded that many Americans have it tough, but said Obama offers the better vision going forward. "Republicans are not helping us get back," she said.
Republican GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, also making the talk-show rounds, continued to hammer Obama's record on the economy. "Four years into a presidency and it's 'incomplete'?" he asked referring to the "grade" Obama gave himself in an interview Monday. "The president is asking people just to be patient with him?"
Romney's campaign reinforced that message with a new Internet video answering Obama's statement that "there are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery." The video showcases a series of ordinary Americans who've lost their jobs saying, "I'm an American, not a bump in the road." When people ask First Lady Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn't hesitate to say that first and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha's mom.

But before she was a mother -- or a wife, lawyer or public servant -- she was Fraser and Marian Robinson's daughter.

The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important life lessons.


Download Low-res (257 KB)
Download Hi-res (2262 KB)
A product of Chicago public schools, Mrs. Obama studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, she joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met the man who would become the love of her life.

After a few years, Mrs. Obama decided her true calling was working with people to serve their communities and their neighbors. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares youth for public service.

In 1996, Mrs. Obama joined the University of Chicago with a vision of bringing campus and community together. As Associate Dean of Student Services, she developed the university's first community service program, and under her leadership as Vice President of Community and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism skyrocketed.

Promoting Service and working with young people has remained a staple of her career and her interest. Continuing this effort now as First Lady, Mrs. Obama in 2010 launched Let’s Move!, a campaign to bring together community leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses, moms and dads in a nationwide effort to tackle the challenge of childhood obesity. Let’s Move! has an ambitious but important goal: to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation.

Download Hi-res (2262 KB)
Let’s Move! will give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.

In 2011, Mrs. Obama and Dr. Jill Biden together launched Joining Forces, a nationwide initiative that mobilizes all sectors of society to give our service members and their families the opportunities and support they have earned, and to raise awareness of military families' unique needs as pertains to employment, education and wellness. Joining Forces has been working hand in hand with American businesses who are committed to answering the President's challenge to hire or train 100,000 unemployed veterans and military spouses by 2013.

As First Lady, Mrs. Obama looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her heart — supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.

Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters: Malia, 13, and Sasha, 10. Like their mother, the girls were born on the South Side of Chicago Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.[1][2]
Contents [hide]
1 Family and education
2 Career
3 2008 Presidential election
4 First Lady of the United States
4.1 Public image and style
4.2 Work undertaken and causes promoted
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
Family and education

See also: Michelle Robinson Obama's extended family
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Fraser Robinson III,[3] a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian (née Shields), a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store.[4] Her mother was a full-time homemaker until Michelle entered high school.[5] The Robinson and Shields families can trace their roots[6] to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South. Specifically, she is descended from the Gullah people of South Carolina's Lowcountry region.[7] Her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina,[8][9] where some of her paternal family still reside.[10][11] Her maternal great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields, also a slave, became pregnant by a white man. His name and the nature of their union have been lost. She gave birth to Michelle's biracial maternal great-great grandfather, Dolphus T. Shields.[12]
Michelle grew up in a two-story house on Euclid Street in Chicago's South Shore community area. Her parents rented a small apartment on the house's second floor from her great-aunt, who lived downstairs.[4][13][14][15] She was raised in what she describes as a "conventional" home, with "the mother at home, the father works, you have dinner around the table".[16] The family entertained together by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading.[17] They attended services at nearby South Shore Methodist Church.[13] The Robinsons used to vacation in a rustic cabin in White Cloud, Michigan.[13] She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy).[18]
She attended Whitney Young High School,[19] Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was a classmate of Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita.[17] The round trip commute from the Robinsons' South Side home to the Near West Side, where the school was located, took three hours.[20] She was on the honor roll for four years, took advanced placement classes, a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer.[4] Michelle graduated in 1981 as the salutatorian of her class.[20]
Michelle was inspired to follow her brother to Princeton University;[5] Craig graduated in 1983. At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational.[21] As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community."[22][23] "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs."[20] While at Princeton, she got involved with the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center), an academic and cultural group that supported minority students, running their day care center which also included after school tutoring.[24] Robinson majored in sociology and minored in African American studies and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985.[4][25] She earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988.[26] At Harvard she participated in demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who were members of minorities[27] and worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, assisting low-income tenants with housing cases.[28] She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, after her two immediate predecessors, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush.[29] In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.[30]


Barack and Michelle Obama, 2008.
She met Barack Obama when they were among the few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments),[31] and she was assigned to mentor him as a summer associate.[32] Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her.[33] The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing.[34] They married in October 1992,[33] and have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha, born 2001).[35] After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children.[36]
She once requested that her then-fiancé meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move.[16] Now, Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors.[37][38] The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows; the combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack Obama wrote in his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance".[39] However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.[40]
The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, a private school.[41] As a member of the school's board, Michelle fought to maintain diversity in the school when other board members connected with the University of Chicago tried to reserve more slots for children of the university faculty. This resulted in a plan to expand the school.[5] Malia and Sasha now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington, after also considering Georgetown Day School.[42][43] Michelle stated in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that they do not intend to have any more children.[44] The Obamas have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House.[43] Marian Robinson, Michelle's mother, has moved into the White House to assist with child care.[45]
Career

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her future husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property.[4] She continues to hold her law license, but as she no longer needs it for her work, it has been on a voluntary inactive status since 1993.[46][47]
In 1991, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies.[19] She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood 12 years after she left.[17]
In 1996, she served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center.[48] In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs.[49] She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election;[50] she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job.[51] According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, her salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while her husband had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The Obamas' total income, however, was $991,296, which included $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, and investments and royalties from his books.[52]
She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS),[53] a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007.[54] She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.[55]
2008 Presidential election


Oprah Winfrey joins the Obamas on the campaign trail, December 10, 2007

The Obamas fist bump upon his winning the Democratic nomination.

The Obamas, with Joe and Jill Biden at the August 23, 2008 Vice Presidential announcement in Springfield, Illinois.

Obama speaks at the 2008 Democratic convention
Although Obama has campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for United States House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied that visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas.[56]
At first, Obama had reservations about her husband's presidential campaign, due to fears about a possible negative effect on their daughters.[57] She says that she negotiated an agreement in which her husband was to give up smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run.[58] About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser."[37][59][60] During the campaign, she has discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.[21]
In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, she reduced her professional responsibilities by 80 percent to support his presidential campaign.[16] Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and traveled overnight only if their daughters could come along;[3] by early February 2008 her participation had increased significantly, attending thirty-three events in eight days.[38] She made several campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey.[61][62] She wrote her own stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign and generally spoke without notes.[20]
Throughout the campaign, the media often labeled her as an "angry black woman,"[63][64][65] and some Web sites attempted to propagate this image,[66] prompting her to respond: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory."[67] By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed that her presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows like The View and publications like Ladies' Home Journal rather than appearing on news programs. The change was even reflected in her fashion choices, wearing more informal clothes in place of her previous designer pieces.[56] The View appearance was partly intended to help soften her public image,[63] and it was widely-covered in the press.[68]
The presidential campaign was her first exposure to the national political scene; even before the field of Democratic candidates was narrowed to two, she was considered the least famous of the candidates' spouses.[59] Early in the campaign, she told anecdotes about the Obama family life; however, as the press began to emphasize her sarcasm, she toned it down.[52][58] New York Times op-ed columnist Maureen Dowd wrote:
I wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal — comic routine that rests on the presumption that we see him as a god ... But it may not be smart politics to mock him in a way that turns him from the glam JFK into the mundane Gerald Ford, toasting his own English muffin. If all Senator Obama is peddling is the Camelot mystique, why debunk this mystique?[59][69]
On the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Craig Robinson introduced his younger sister.[70] She delivered her speech, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream.[71] Obama said both she and her husband believed "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them."[72] She also emphasized loving her country, in response to criticism for her previous statements about feeling proud of her country for the first time.[71][73][74] That keynote address was largely well received and drew mostly positive reviews.[75] A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%.[76]
On an October 6, 2008 broadcast, Larry King asked her if the American electorate was past the Bradley effect. She stated that her husband's achievement of the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it was.[77] The same night she also was interviewed by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign.[78] On Fox News' America's Pulse, E. D. Hill referred to the fist bump shared by the Obamas on the night that he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination as a "terrorist fist jab"; Hill was taken off air and the show itself was cancelled.[79][80][81]
First Lady of the United States


Then-First Lady Laura Bush sits with Obama in the private residence of the White House.

Michelle Obama wore Isabel Toledo clothes made of St. Gallen Embroidery to the 2009 presidential inauguration.

The Obamas dance at a presidential inaugural ball.
Public image and style
With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, Michelle Obama has become a part of popular culture. In May 2006, Essence listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women."[82][83] In July 2007, Vanity Fair listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as a "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, 02138 magazine listed her 58th of 'The Harvard 100'; a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth.[82][84] In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the Vanity Fair international best dressed list.[85] She also appeared on the 2008 People list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look.[86][87]
At the time of her husband's election, some sources anticipated that as a high-profile African-American woman in a stable marriage she would be a positive role model who would influence the view the world has of African-Americans.[88][89] Her fashion choices were part of the 2009 Fashion week,[90] but Obama's influence in the field did not have the impact on the paucity of African-American models who participate, that some thought it might.[91][92]
She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sense of style,[85] and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum.[93][94] Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy".[95][96] Obama's style is described as populist.[29] She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto,[97] and has become a fashion trendsetter,[98][99][100] in particular her favoring of sleeveless dresses that showcase her toned arms.[101]
She appeared on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of Vogue.[102][103] Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue,[102] but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover.[104]
In August 2011 she became the first woman to appear on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens magazine, as well as the first person to appear on the cover in 48 years. [105]
The media have been criticized for focusing more on the first lady's fashion sense than her serious contributions.[29][106] She has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military and working families.[88][107][108] U.S.News & World Report blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has argued that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance.[109] Erbe has stated on several occasions that she is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style.[45][110]
Work undertaken and causes promoted

Obama is greeted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom April 1, 2009

Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni
During her early months as First Lady, she visited homeless shelters and soup kitchens.[111] She also sent representatives to schools and advocated public service.[111][112] On her first trip abroad in April 2009, she toured a cancer ward with Sarah Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.[113] She has begun advocating on behalf of military families.[114] Like her predecessors Clinton and Bush, who supported the organic movement by instructing the White House kitchens to buy organic food, Obama has received attention by planting an organic garden and installing bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House, which will supply organic produce and honey to the First Family and for state dinners and other official gatherings.[115][116]
Obama has become an advocate of her husband's policy priorities by promoting bills that support it. Following the enactment of the Pay equity law, Obama hosted a White House reception for women's rights advocates in celebration. She has pronounced her support for the economic stimulus bill in visits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and United States Department of Education. Some observers have looked favorably upon her legislative activities, while others have said that she should be less involved in politics. According to her representatives, she intends to visit all United States Cabinet-level agencies in order to get acquainted with Washington.[117]
She gained growing public support in her early months as first lady.[111][118] She is notable for her support from military families and some Republicans.[111][114] As the public is growing accustomed to her, she is becoming more accepted as a role model.[111] Newsweek described her first trip abroad as an exhibition of her so-called "star power"[118] and MSN described it as a display of sartorial elegance.[83] There were questions raised in the American and British media regarding protocol when the Obamas met Queen Elizabeth II,[119] and Michelle reciprocated a touch on her back by the Queen during a reception, purportedly against traditional royal etiquette.[119][120] Palace sources denied that any breach in etiquette had occurred.[121]


Obama and Ellen DeGeneres dance on the second anniversary of Let's Move!.
On June 5, 2009, the White House announced that Michelle Obama was replacing her current chief of staff, Jackie Norris, with Susan Sher, a longtime friend and adviser. Norris will become a senior adviser to the Corporation for National and Community Service.[122] Then in February 2010, the resignation of White House Social Secretary, Desiree Rogers was announced to be effective the following month.[123] Rogers had been at odds with other administration officials, such as David Axelrod, and then the White House State Dinner faux pas occurred on November 24, 2009.[124] Rogers was replaced by Julianna Smoot.[125]
After a year as First Lady, she undertook her first lead role in an administrationwide initiative. Her goal was to make progress in reversing the 21st century trend of childhood obesity.[126] She stated that her goal is to make this effort her legacy: "I want to leave something behind that we can say, ‘Because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.’ And my hope is that that’s going to be in the area of childhood obesity."[126] She has named the movement "Let's Move!".[127] This effort does not supplant her other efforts: supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, encouraging national service, promoting the arts and arts education, and fostering healthy eating and healthy living for children and families across the country.[128] She has earned widespread publicity on the topic of healthy eating by planting the White House Kitchen Garden, the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt served as First Lady.[126][129] Her 2012 book American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America is based on her experiences with the garden and promotes healthy eating.[130] Her call for action on healthy eating has been echoed by the United States Department of Defense, which has been facing an ever expanding problem of recruit obesity.[131] Michelle Obama was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985, and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. Following law school, she worked at a Chicago law firm, where she met her husband, President Barack Obama. The couple married in 1992. As First Lady, she has focused her attention on current social issues.

CONTENTS

Synopsis
Early Life
Gifted Student
Marriage to Barack Obama
High-Profile Work in Chicago
Supporting her Husband
Issues and Causes
First Family
QUOTES

"When I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am."

– Michelle Obama
« prev1 / 2next »
Early Life

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama, bettern known as Michelle Obama, was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois. She would later become a lawyer, Chicago city administrator, community outreach worker and—as the wife of U.S. President Barack Obama—the United States' First Lady.

Michelle was raised on Chicago's South Side in a one-bedroom apartment. Her father, Frasier Robinson, was a city pump operator and a Democratic precinct captain. Her mother, Marian, was a Spiegel's secretary who later stayed home to raise Michelle and her older brother, Craig. The family has been described as a close-knit one that shared family meals, read and played games together.

Craig and Michelle, 16 months apart in age, were often mistaken for twins. The siblings also shared close quarters—they slept in the living room with a makeshift sheet serving as their room divider. Both children were raised with an emphasis on education. The brother and sister learned to read at home by the age of four, and both skipped second grade.

Gifted Student

By sixth grade, Michelle was attending gifted classes, where she learned French and took accelerated courses. She then went on to attend the city's first magnet high school for gifted children where, among other activities, she served as the student government treasurer. "Without being immodest, we were always smart, we were always driven and we were always encouraged to do the best you can do, not just what's necessary," her brother Craig, has said. "And when it came to going to schools, we all wanted to go to the best schools we could."

Michelle graduated in 1981 from Whitney M. Young Magnet High School in Chicago's West Loop as class salutatorian. After high school, she followed her brother to Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1985 with a B.A. in Sociology. She went on to earn a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1988, where she took part in demonstrations demanding more minority students and professors.

Marriage to Barack Obama

Following law school, Michelle worked as an associate in the Chicago branch of the law firm Sidley Austin in the area of marketing and intellectual property. There, in 1989, she met her future husband, Barack Obama, a summer intern whom she was assigned as an adviser. "I went to Harvard and he went to Harvard, and the firm thought, 'Oh, we'll hook these two people up,'" Michelle said. "So, you know, there was a little intrigue, but I must say after about a month, Barack ... asked me out, and I thought, 'No way. This is completely tacky.'" Initially, she refused to date Barack, believing that their work relationship would make the romance improper. Eventually, she relented, and the couple soon fell in love. Their first kiss took place outside of a Chicago shopping center—where a plaque featuring a photo of the couple kissing was installed more than two decades later, in August 2012.

After two years of dating, Barack proposed. "We were at a restaurant having dinner to celebrate the fact that he had finished the bar," Michelle remembers. "Then the waiter came over with the dessert and a tray. And there was the ring. And I was completely shocked." The couple married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 18, 1992.
Michelle soon left her job to launch a career in public service, serving as an assistant to Mayor Daley and then as the assistant commissioner of planning and development for the City of Chicago.

In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit leadership-training program that helped young adults develop skills for future careers in the public sector.

Michelle joined the University of Chicago in 1996 as associate dean of student services, developing the University’s first community service program. She then worked for the University of Chicago Hospitals beginning in 2002, as executive director of community relations and external affairs.

In May 2005, she was appointed vice president of community relations and external affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she continues to work part-time. She also manages the business diversity program and sits on six boards, including the prestigious Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.

Supporting her Husband

Michelle Obama first caught the eye of a national audience at her husband's side when he delivered a high-profile speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Barack Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois that November.

In 2007, she scaled back her own professional work to attend to family and campaign obligations during Barack's run for the Democratic presidential nomination. Michelle says she's made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week — to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two daughters, Malia (born 1999) and Natasha (2001). It has been reported that the Obama family has no nanny, and that the children are left with their grandmother, Marian, while their parents campaign. "I've never participated at this level in any of his campaigns," Michelle says. "I have usually chosen to just appear when necessary."

Since her husband's political role pushed the Obama family into the spotlight, Michelle has been publicly recognized for her steely, no-nonsense campaign style as well as her sense of fashion. In May of 2006, Michelle was featured in Essence magazine as one of "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." Then in September 2007, Michelle was listed in 02138 magazine as number 58 in "The Harvard 100," a list of the most influential alumni for the year. She has also made the Vanity Fair best-dressed list two years in a row, as well as People Magazine's 2008 best-dressed list.

With her husband seeking reelection in 2012, Michelle Obama has campaigned on his behalf. She has traveled the country, giving talks and making public appearances. That June, she spoke to a crowd in Philadelphia, telling them that "It all boils down to one simple question: will we continue the change we've begun and the progress we've made, or will we let everything we've fought for slip away." Obama urged those in attendance to give "a little part of your life each week to this campaign." Her husband faces a challenging race against likely Republican opponent Mitt Romney.

CONTENTS

Synopsis
Early Life
Gifted Student
Marriage to Barack Obama
High-Profile Work in Chicago
Supporting her Husband
Issues and Causes
First Family
Issues and Causes

As the 44th First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama has focused her attention on issues such as the support of military families, helping working women balance career and family, and encouraging national service. During the first year of the Obama presidency, Michelle and her husband have volunteered at homeless shelters and soup kitchens in the Washington, D.C. area. Michelle also has made appearances at public schools, stressing the importance of education and volunteer work.

Ever conscious of her family's diet and health, Michelle Obama has supported the organic food movement, instructing the White House kitchens to prepare organic food for guests and her family. In March 2009, Michelle worked with 23 fifth graders from a local school in Washington, D.C., to plant a 1,100 square foot garden of fresh vegetables and install bee hives on the South Lawn of the White House. Periodically, throughout the summer, the same students returned to harvest various foods and learned to cook fresh-grown organic vegetables. In 2010, Michelle has put efforts to fight childhood obesity near the top of her agenda.

Michelle Obama remains committed to her health and wellness causes. In 2012, she announced a new fitness program for kids as part of her Let's Move initiative. She, the U.S. Olympic team and other sports organizations have teamed up to get young people try out a new sport or activity. "This year, 1.7 million young people will be participating in Olympic and Paralympic sports in their communities—many of them for the very first time. And that is so important, because sometimes all it takes is that first lesson, or clinic, or class to get a child excited about a new sport," Obama said in a statement.

Making her message in print, Obama released a book as part of her mission to promote healthy eating. American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America (2012) explores Obama's own experience creating a vegetable garden as well as the work of community gardens elsewhere. She sees the book as an opportunity to help readers understand "where their food was coming from" and "to talk about the work that we're doing with childhood obesity and childhood health," Obama told Reuters.

First Family

Both Michelle and Barack Obama have stated their personal priority is their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. The parents realize that the move from Chicago to Washington, D.C., would be a major adjustment for any family. Living in the White House, having Secret Service protection, and always being in the wake of their parents' public lives has dramatically transformed their lives. Both parents try to make their daughters' lives as "normal" as possible with set times for study, bed, and getting up. "My first priority will always be to make sure that our girls are healthy and grounded," Michelle said. "Then I want to help other families get the support they need, not just to survive, but to thrive."

]]> http://cats-eye-93.deviantart.com/art/Cenion-is-EVIL-165647362 http://cats-eye-93.deviantart.com/art/Cenion-is-EVIL-165647362 Fri, 28 May 2010 17:33:14 PDT Cenion is EVIL nonadult customization/icons/avatars/other Cats-Eye-93 http://a.deviantart.net/avatars/c/a/cats-eye-93.png?8 Copyright 2010-2013 ~Cats-Eye-93
BECAUSE IT IS THE MOST AMAZING, HYSTERICAL THING IN THE WORLD! IT IS EVIL IN 50 x 50 PIXELS!
...50 bucks that Zexion wants to kill me...
Zexion: Rose...*twitch* You have five seconds to run before I rip all of your vital organs out and-
Rose:
HEY GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH! *chase*
Cenchax: Aw, come on, Zexion, it's not THAT bad...!
CENCHAX, we are FUCKING KISSING! I AM NOT GAY, DAMMIT!
I CONCUR!
YOU WILL DIE! *grabs knife*
ZEXION!
AUGH! MY INNARDS! *unconscious*
...
Is she dead...? *pokes*
Unfortunately, no...Just unconscious from loss of blood...
...
Wanna make out?
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
DUDE, I was KIDDING! Geeze...
...
*ressurects self*
WHAT THE FU-
ANYWAYS, yeah...I kinda have a thing for emo boys making out...
IAMNOTE-
And, recently, I've been thinking that Cenchax and Zexion seem almost a little TOO buddy buddy...AND THOUGH this pairing is NOT an actual pairing in the story...
Zexion made her say that, dudes. Otherwise, she'd never tell you something as big as that.
HE THREATENED ME WITH A KNIFE! AND HE CUT OUT MY STOMACH.
YOU GREW IT BACK.
YOU STILL CUT IT OUT!
YOU ARE INTOLERABLE!
*kisses* And that's why you LO-OVE me!
AUGH! *chases with gun*

...They seem not to be here anymore, dudes...
So, I'll finish this up! Hi, it's Cenchax, what's up?
While Rose and Zexion are busy playing Cat and Mouse, I'll explain...I do NOT love Zexion, and he does not love me. Is that clear? Good! Alright, dudes, moving on!
Rose is just in a funny mood where crack makes sense and logic comes from Atmos, where Narnia is queen of Gibberish.
Also, she loves abusing me...
She just took the icon of...Roxas...and...Me...
ANDINFIFTEENMINUTES she made this...
Notice how he chanced the subject suddenly li-
THERE YOU ARE! *pulls string in chainsaw*
Oh, sh-WHERE DO ALL OF THESE WEAPONS KEEP COMING FROM?!
YOU WILL DIE BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT OR, BY KINGDOM FREAKING HEARTS, I SWEAR...! *chase*

Alright, I'll wrap this up before it gets outta hand...Anymore than it already is...
Long story short, Rose was messing around on Paint with shading, did a few icons, and slashing me with Zexion appeals to her. I can't say I love it, but I don't mind!
Friends with benifits...?
Well, I wouldn't say tha-
HOLY SHIT BEHIND YOU!
*turns around* ZEXION?! WHAT THE FUCK, A GIANT TANK...?!
THIS ISN'T MAKING SENSE ANYMORE!
GET. BACK. HERE. *tank rolls along*
ZEXION! FOR HEARTLESS SAKE GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE!
...
GOTTAGOBYE!

...
These comments were too much fun...
But, yeah. I've been slowly getting into Cenion. Why not?
Zexion's PISSED, and, honestly, I don't believe he IS gay. But, why not twitch his nerves every once in a while?
Cenchax is comfy around his biffs, so he doesn't mind making out every once in a while. He's a special boy.
AND FINALLY, before BITCHING and MOANING, Cenchax is MY character, and if I want to slash him up with ANYONE, I can. That's what characters are for; crack pairings! Roxas has had enough time in the spotlight; it's ZEXION'S turn!
So, before Zexion finds that atomic bomb that I did NOT hide in my closet, I'm going to leave! BYE!

Icon Base (c) ~Ninja-Haruki
Original Link: [link]
Roxas (c) Square Enix
Cenchax (c) ~Cats-Eye-93


~Cat's Eye ]]>
BECAUSE IT IS THE MOST AMAZING, HYSTERICAL THING IN THE WORLD! IT IS EVIL IN 50 x 50 PIXELS!
...50 bucks that Zexion wants to kill me...
Zexion: Rose...*twitch* You have five seconds to run before I rip all of your vital organs out and-
Rose:
HEY GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A BITCH! *chase*
Cenchax: Aw, come on, Zexion, it's not THAT bad...!
CENCHAX, we are FUCKING KISSING! I AM NOT GAY, DAMMIT!
I CONCUR!
YOU WILL DIE! *grabs knife*
ZEXION!
AUGH! MY INNARDS! *unconscious*
...
Is she dead...? *pokes*
Unfortunately, no...Just unconscious from loss of blood...
...
Wanna make out?
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
DUDE, I was KIDDING! Geeze...
...
*ressurects self*
WHAT THE FU-
ANYWAYS, yeah...I kinda have a thing for emo boys making out...
IAMNOTE-
And, recently, I've been thinking that Cenchax and Zexion seem almost a little TOO buddy buddy...AND THOUGH this pairing is NOT an actual pairing in the story...
Zexion made her say that, dudes. Otherwise, she'd never tell you something as big as that.
HE THREATENED ME WITH A KNIFE! AND HE CUT OUT MY STOMACH.
YOU GREW IT BACK.
YOU STILL CUT IT OUT!
YOU ARE INTOLERABLE!
*kisses* And that's why you LO-OVE me!
AUGH! *chases with gun*

...They seem not to be here anymore, dudes...
So, I'll finish this up! Hi, it's Cenchax, what's up?
While Rose and Zexion are busy playing Cat and Mouse, I'll explain...I do NOT love Zexion, and he does not love me. Is that clear? Good! Alright, dudes, moving on!
Rose is just in a funny mood where crack makes sense and logic comes from Atmos, where Narnia is queen of Gibberish.
Also, she loves abusing me...
She just took the icon of...Roxas...and...Me...
ANDINFIFTEENMINUTES she made this...
Notice how he chanced the subject suddenly li-
THERE YOU ARE! *pulls string in chainsaw*
Oh, sh-WHERE DO ALL OF THESE WEAPONS KEEP COMING FROM?!
YOU WILL DIE BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT OR, BY KINGDOM FREAKING HEARTS, I SWEAR...! *chase*

Alright, I'll wrap this up before it gets outta hand...Anymore than it already is...
Long story short, Rose was messing around on Paint with shading, did a few icons, and slashing me with Zexion appeals to her. I can't say I love it, but I don't mind!
Friends with benifits...?
Well, I wouldn't say tha-
HOLY SHIT BEHIND YOU!
*turns around* ZEXION?! WHAT THE FUCK, A GIANT TANK...?!
THIS ISN'T MAKING SENSE ANYMORE!
GET. BACK. HERE. *tank rolls along*
ZEXION! FOR HEARTLESS SAKE GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE!
...
GOTTAGOBYE!

...
These comments were too much fun...
But, yeah. I've been slowly getting into Cenion. Why not?
Zexion's PISSED, and, honestly, I don't believe he IS gay. But, why not twitch his nerves every once in a while?
Cenchax is comfy around his biffs, so he doesn't mind making out every once in a while. He's a special boy.
AND FINALLY, before BITCHING and MOANING, Cenchax is MY character, and if I want to slash him up with ANYONE, I can. That's what characters are for; crack pairings! Roxas has had enough time in the spotlight; it's ZEXION'S turn!
So, before Zexion finds that atomic bomb that I did NOT hide in my closet, I'm going to leave! BYE!

Icon Base (c) ~Ninja-Haruki
Original Link: [link]
Roxas (c) Square Enix
Cenchax (c) ~Cats-Eye-93


~Cat's Eye

]]> http://arianamoonlight.deviantart.com/art/Project-HFA-Belarus-and-Russia-Fight-Scene-304250901 http://arianamoonlight.deviantart.com/art/Project-HFA-Belarus-and-Russia-Fight-Scene-304250901 Fri, 25 May 2012 06:12:58 PDT Project HFA- Belarus and Russia Fight Scene nonadult customization/icons/avatars/other ArianaMoonlight http://a.deviantart.net/avatars/a/r/arianamoonlight.png?4 Copyright 2012-2013 ~ArianaMoonlight http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
(b)About this scene(/b)
______________
This scene is where you have to watch Belarus murder a Russian soldier for, apparently, truancy against an alliance. However Russia tells her that there is no alliance and that she has wiped out the commanding force for nothing. She seems not to care, and continues on with the following scene: "Sorry you had to see that, big brother. But now that you've had a taste of my true power, would you like to rethink the alliance?"
This is Chapter 1 in the fourth set, Taste of Power. There are twelve sets.
(i)NOTE(/i)
In the playable game, you always fight Belarus no matter how you answer, however, if you answer "I don't know" you will not be able to win the fight. Commencing thus: "Not convinced? How about you try it out yourself!" She will fire an attack at the very start that renders you powerless, fixing you there. You'll die , even though her attack's maximum damage is 50. This doesn't count in your lost battle log, however.
Whereas if you answer "Never":"Well, too bad for you, big brother. I guess we'll have to be enemies now." She will NOT fire the Stalk attack, and instead will brandish a machete, which ups her max damage to 70. Don't worry too much, Russia should have about 300 HP now. ]]>
(b)About this scene(/b)
______________
This scene is where you have to watch Belarus murder a Russian soldier for, apparently, truancy against an alliance. However Russia tells her that there is no alliance and that she has wiped out the commanding force for nothing. She seems not to care, and continues on with the following scene: "Sorry you had to see that, big brother. But now that you've had a taste of my true power, would you like to rethink the alliance?"
This is Chapter 1 in the fourth set, Taste of Power. There are twelve sets.
(i)NOTE(/i)
In the playable game, you always fight Belarus no matter how you answer, however, if you answer "I don't know" you will not be able to win the fight. Commencing thus: "Not convinced? How about you try it out yourself!" She will fire an attack at the very start that renders you powerless, fixing you there. You'll die , even though her attack's maximum damage is 50. This doesn't count in your lost battle log, however.
Whereas if you answer "Never":"Well, too bad for you, big brother. I guess we'll have to be enemies now." She will NOT fire the Stalk attack, and instead will brandish a machete, which ups her max damage to 70. Don't worry too much, Russia should have about 300 HP now.

]]>