The Obama Project@WindonWater.net

Europe melts for Michelle – Nia-Malika Henderson and Jonathan Martin – POLITICO.com.

Apologies to Nia-Malika Henderson and Jonathan Martin for reporting from the bottom of their article instead of from the top – but for me this part is the heart of the matter:

She gave the same up-from-the-South-Side speech she often gives at home, yet her aides said she recognized what a moment it was in history, for her to be on the world stage as the first African-American first lady.

Her voice broke with emotion, and her aides said that she saw herself in the faces of the students. Afterward, she practically dove into the crowd, kneeling at the edge of the stage to dole out hugs. “People identify with her, even here, she is seen as a woman of the people,” said Crystal Fleming, who is affiliated with the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris. “The French magazine Le Point dubbed her ‘the princess of the people,’ which is pretty impressive when you think about it. She’s an African American woman.”

Fleming said that for non-Americans, Michelle Obama, even more so than her husband, “incarnates how far African-Americans have come, she’s the descendant of slaves, Barack is not, and that is really a source of inspiration that she is in the White House. She is seen as a symbol of progress and source of pride.”

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