Michelle's Inferno

The first circle of Hell: suffocating fear
"People are afraid. It’s like fear creates this veil of impossibility, and it is hanging over all of our heads."

The second circle of Hell: fear plus isolation
"And the problem with fear is that it cuts us off. Fear is the worst enemy. It cuts us off from one another and our own families, and our communities, and it has certainly cut us off from the rest of the world. We don't know our neighbors. We don't talk. We believe that our pain is our own - we don't realize that the struggles and challenges of all of us are the same. We are too isolated."

The third circle of Hell: spiraling downward
"When you don’t have much, when you know how precious life is, even in the worst state, you are afraid to give up what you have for fear that something different will be worse. But the truth of the matter is things have gotten worse."

The fourth circle of Hell: fruitless struggle
"And folks are struggling like never before, working harder than ever, believing that their hard work will lead to some reward, some payoff. But what they find is that they get there and the bar has changed, things are different, wasn’t enough. So you have to work even harder."

The fifth circle of Hell: yet more fruitless struggle
"You work and you struggle, you do everything that they say, and you think you’re getting close to the bar and you’re working hard, and you’re sacrificing, and then you get to the bar, you’re right there, you’re reaching out for the bar, you think you have it, and then what happens? They move the bar. They raise it up. They shift it to the left and to the right. It’s always just quite out of reach."

The sixth circle of Hell: loneliness
"You don’t have time to get to know your neighbor. You don’t have time to reach out and have conversations, to share stories. In fact, you feel very alone in your struggle, because you feel that somehow, it must be your fault that you’re struggling so hard. Everybody else must be doing okay. I must be doing something wrong, so you hide."

The seventh circle of Hell: no handle on life
"When your world’s not right, no matter how hard you work, then you become afraid of everyone and everything, because you don’t know whose fault it is, why you can’t get a handle on life."

The eighth circle of Hell: no chance for enlightenment
"On top of all the other worries that families have, now they’re worried about education. Teachers don’t have the resources to teach."

The ninth circle of Hell: back-breaking labor until the day you die
"My father, like most Americans, just wanted to know that after a lifetime of hard work and sacrifice that one day, he could put his feet up and look over all that he had done and retire with a little respect and dignity. That’s all most Americans want. But the truth is, right now, that little nugget of a dream that was my life is getting further and further out of reach for most Americans."

Hell is packed with cynics
"We are still a nation that is still too cynical. We look at it as 'them' and 'they' as opposed to 'us' - we don't engage because we are still too cynical."

Hell is packed with broken souls
"We have to fix our souls. Our souls are broken in this nation."

Hell: Newberry, South Carolina
"I think about this little girl in Newberry, South Carolina. And she was ten years old. She said do you realize that when your husband becomes the next president of the United States, it will be historical? But I thought to say well, what does that mean to you? And she said it means that I can imagine anything for myself. And then that little girl started to cry. I mean, she broke down in hard tears, streaming down her face, sobbing. This little girl gets it. See, she knows what’s at stake. She knows that she’s probably already five steps behind in schools that are underfunded, without the resources to prepare her. She knows that if she or her family gets sick, she doesn’t have access to a primary care doctor. She’s going to be sitting in some ER for hours on end. She knows that her parents' work situation is hit or miss. They don’t know what’s going to happen day to day. She knows that. But you know what she also knows? That she’s so much better than this nation’s limited expectations of her. And all she has is hope. That’s all she has, is a little hoping and praying, and she’s hoping upon hope that we get this right. She is hoping that we get this right. There are parts of that little girl in all of us, especially those of us who are struggling, who have hit some ceiling where they’ve been told you’re not good enough, that you’re not ready, that you’re not smart enough. No, don’t, you can’t, wait your turn. We have all heard those limits."

America is Hell for the old
"And in the time when they should be able to rest, they are now in a position where that pension they had, if they’re lucky to have it, isn’t enough to cover their cost of living. Folks are trying to go back to work, get retrained. There’s no time to rest. See, and the problem with our seniors' situation is that we need to be more selfish, because we need our seniors. We need them whole and healthy, and ready to take on the challenges of helping all of us raise the next generation. But see, seniors can’t do that if they’re still in their own struggle."

America is Hell for the young
"And our fear is helping us to raise a nation of young doubters, young people who are insular and they’re timid. And they don’t try, because they already heard us tell them why they can’t succeed."

College entrance exams: uniquely American, uniquely hellish
"You cannot measure the success of a child by a single test. And if that were the case, I wouldn’t be here, because I was not a good test taker. How many kids do you know who are like me?"

UPDATES FROM HELL

We've been monitoring Michelle's progress since we debuted, and we'll keep posting until she either escapes her Inferno, loses her battle with her demons, or shuts the Hell up

A ray of comfort?

At least she's now smarter than most of her fellow hellions
"I think I was like most Americans. Pretty oblivious to the life of military families. Sort of taking it for granted."
--Michelle Obama, successor to a White House in which the President wrote personal letters to the families of the more than 4000 troops who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq, and met with more than 500 families of troops killed in action and with more than 950 wounded veterans

Kurr-ij (sp?): something new in Hell

Although it sounds very much like something that was going around in 1776
"I'll vote for young people across America -- and the generations of young people that will follow, who will someday look back at this time with gratitude that we summoned the courage to begin building the world as it should be."

An ominous attempt to muffle Michelle's despair?

"Where is Michelle Obama?"
9,190 hits on Google as of September 18

Sing-along with Michelle!

"Who to the college of the wretched hypocrites art come, disdain not to tell who thou art."

"I have dedicated years of my career to national service."
--Michelle Obama, whose resume includes no national service, exhorting her audience to national service

Surprising early steps on the path to despair

"This is the person who -- even though we were allowed only one hour of television a night -- somehow managed to commit to memory every single episode of The Brady Bunch."
--Craig Robinson on his sister, Michelle Obama

Hell-ese

Trite, outdated social commentary
"Black women have not been reflected at so many different levels. Our images are limited to such a small number of things."

Hmmm. Does Satan know Michelle's been receiving intel from outside the Fiery Gates?

"America should be a place where you can make it if you try. We know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like."

Citizenship in Hell

Doubters and fraidy-cats keep feeding the furnace
"One day, your sons and daughters will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming."

"We've been nullified by the fear-mongers. It's almost as if people have voted against their best personal interests because they've been so afraid of what could happen."

Hell: disappoint, rinse, repeat

"Again"?
"I know people want to protect us and themselves from disappointment and failure, from the possibility of being let down again -- not by us, but by the world as it is. A world that we fear might not be ready for a decent man like Barack."

An ominous attempt to muffle Michelle's despair?

'There was a joke among reporters sunburned to a crisp yesterday in long, hot security lines outside the Pepsi Center. It was: how many times tonight will she assure us that she is, indeed “proud of America?” That she is indeed Exhibit A in the-only-in-America-is-this possible category? The smart money says dozens of times. At least.'
--Margery Eagan, "Tonight is damage-control time for Michelle Obama"

(Ms. Eagan also says, "I’m an Obama rooter.")

So why is it that North Koreans, Cubans, and Sudanese prefer Michelle's Inferno to theirs?

Simple: they're deluded
"The world is watching us. The world still believes in that magical America, that great democracy. They think there is fairness and justice here on these shores."

Religion

In heaven, you will do what you are supposed to do
"So everybody's going to try to be a hedge fund manager or a corporate lawyer and see, we don't need any more of those folks. We need teachers and nurses and social workers. But we can't expect young people to do that if they can't afford to survive on those salaries. So again, the bar is shifting and moving; you thought you were doing everything that you were supposed to do."

The Gospel
"When he graduated from college, he could have gone to Wall Street, made a lot of money. But instead he became a community organizer."
--Michelle Obama distinguishing the Democrat nominee from his opponent, who could have escaped a POW camp where he was tortured but instead stayed on in solidarity with his fellow prisoners

And lo! he saved them from becoming hedge fund managers or corporate lawyers
"Coming into some of the toughest neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago, working with people who had a reason to give up hope and be cynical, because they had been forgotten. Barack worked for years with young mothers, busing them down to City Hall, helping them find their voice to advocate for change."

Salvation
"I start dreaming and thinking about the day that this country can muster up the courage and the wisdom to elect a man like Barack Obama."

Are fathers invisible in Hell?

Is there even a word for "father" in Hell-ese?
"Another working mom had a good job in a medical company, but she still couldn't afford child care for her only son. Her son had to stay home; luckily she had a family member. But she was worried because her doctor said that her child had some developmental issues and could benefit from being in a more social environment, and that she should put him in daycare. But she can't afford it. So she's worried that because she can't afford daycare, her son is missing out."

Economics in Hell: You can't pay rent and support a family on minimum wage
"I heard from Sister Berta. She works a lot with foster kids and mothers struggling to keep their lives together. She sees those mothers trying hard. They're working at fast food joints, making beds at hotels and hospitals, but they just can't save enough to afford rent."

This is what happens when "society" asks you to have children first, go to college second, get a job third, and then raise your daughter to do the same thing
"I heard from a 40-year-old single mother. Two daughters and a 17-month-old granddaughter. She makes $75,000 a year, but her student loan costs are $100,000. It'll take her twenty or thirty years to pay off that student loan debt, making monthly payments of $700 or $800 a month. On top of that, she faces soaring health costs because of her own mother's illness. This woman did everything that society asked of her. Even though she had children at a young age, she went back to college. She and her girls don't live extravagantly. Their one pleasure was to go out maybe once a week to Taco Tuesday. They can't do that anymore. I hear these stories everywhere I go, from women doing everything that's asked of them."

Michelle identifies her demons:

Us
"Change requires change in us first."

The lake of fire

"We're not where we need to be right now for our kids. We are still struggling in this nation with a level of cynicism and fear that is drowning them."

Every time Satan opens a window, he slams a door

An education is just a prelude to debt
"Employers often fail to recognize that you've been moved from base to base to base and can't keep a consistent work record. One spouse in a discussion, a former military herself, told me she gave up looking for work at one point. Then she went back to school to become a nurse -- which was a good thing, right? But only to find out that now she's facing staggering student loans. I hear those stories everywhere I go."
--Michelle Obama speaking to military families

What's a $317,000 salary worth if your employer callously fails to guarantee that you'll be a good parent?
"Throughout my life I have been told that I could have it all. And the truth of the matter is that you can't. We have to lift up our voices in these places of business and demand that CEOs and owners of large companies take the necessary steps to make sure that women like me can continue to work and raise our families and be good parents and mothers."

A ray of hope?

Someone out there understands the pain of choosing to toil in the field of "community and external affairs" for $317,000 a year instead of letting your $4mil husband support the family
"My husband Barack Obama is one of the few people who gets it. He's watched my struggle, and the pain that I have had as a woman out here trying to forge a career for myself and be a good mother and balance a household, and change the mind of how men work in the household. That has been our life struggle."

Michelle identifies her demons:

We
"Are we ready? We've come 80 percent of the way, but in order to get over the finish line, we're going to have to step outside of our comfort zone. We're going to have to engage in ways that we haven't engaged before."

A stab at cognitive therapy

Think, Michelle: who's being cynical here?
"I am so tired and disappointed in the direction of the country. I've got two little girls that I love desperately, and I want them to grow up in a society where fear is not the leading emotion. I don't want them to grow up with the cynicism."

Michelle's enablers speak

Michelle Obama Watch wonders if Hell is hot enough for all of us
"Can whites also be offended on Michelle’s behalf?"

The Angry Black Woman suggests Take a Negress to the Altar Week
"Obama’s wife Michelle is black. The simple act of loving a black woman has become, for black men, a declaration of radical activism. So I’m hoping his choice will inspire others."

What About Our Daughters? discovers a new Constitutional right as Michelle and Barack resign Reverend Wright's church
"This is America, people have the right to worship or not worship the God or Goddess of their choice without their congregation being descended upon by outsiders taking notes."

Fackin Truth Blog shares the fackin truth
"The Future First Lady spoke frankly about things we can all see and agree about. Electing the wrong president this year can - and probably will - bankrupt this nation. I believe the heart of man, while on a scary decline today, will also go bankrupt without a major shift in the next administration."

The Daily Kos asks, Is this the face that mothballed a thousand ships?
"That's the power of Michelle, she's the reason we won't be getting suckered into pointless wars with other countries."

Your choice, little hellions:

The trappings of normal life, or BOILING PITCH!!
"I tell the young people I talk to: the difference between success and failure in our society is a very slim margin. You almost have to have that perfect storm of good parents, self-esteem, and good teachers."

Apparently, they don't have YouTube in Hell

Otherwise, Michelle would know the answer to this question
"Rebellion for me is articulating my views, trying to be honest about what I see. I don't think a lot of people in the public arena do that, because why are people so amazed when I do?"

Michelle asks, "Do we accept the world as it is, or do we fight for the world as it should be?"

Why Johnny can't read: he lives in Hell, and Mommy checked "Democrat" on his public school application
"In the world as it should be, everybody who works hard every day has a shot at a decent living, can support their family, can aspire to a future for themselves and their kids. And in the world as it should be, every single child in this nation, regardless of their race or their religious background or their parents' political party, can imagine experiencing a world-class public education."

When Johnny comes marching home, he can go straight to where our honorable, dignified, proud soldiers belong -- the madhouse
"In the world as it should be, when those men and women who have fought so hard for us -- with honor and dignity and pride -- when they come home to this country that they love so much, that they come home to mental health support."

Unfortunately, her exact complaint defies diagnosis

Is there a pill for unintentional irony?
"I wish we had time to be divided. I wish we had time to be upset. To be angry. To be disappointed. I wish we did. Because if we had time for that, then things wouldn't be so bad right now."

Economics in Hell

A pair of underachievers can't afford to support a family of four in a Hyde Park mansion
"If one of our moms who was working at a fast food place marries the man that works next to her, she loses health insurance, child care, any housing help, and food stamps. And so our systems are destroying our families."

Something about single parents . . . olive oil . . . yah, mon
"Don't be a single parent in this society. We make people feel bad about whether or not they can spend time with their kids, have time to chop up fresh vegetables and saute them in olive oil so that kids are eating nutritiously. Whether we can get to parent-teacher conferences and sit down and do homework after you've been on your third shift of your second job to pay your rent."

See you in Hell, kids

"I started thinking more broadly about the kind of world that I would want my girls to grow up in. And I thought about a world where when they grew up they'd be paid equally and fairly for the work that they'd do. A world where they could choose a career and not have to worry about choosing between their kids and earning a living."

Satan torments Michelle with crumbs

In heaven, she'd be getting unlimited credit and free utilities
“You're getting $600. What can you do with that? Not to be ungrateful or anything, but maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every month. The short-term quick fix kinda stuff sounds good, and it may even feel good that first month when you get that check, and then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings."
--Michelle Obama at a "working women's roundtable discussion" in Michigan

A Hellish dilemma that can only be fixed by government

Whether to stay in your $300k job in "community and external affairs," or to let your $4mil husband support the family while you stay at home with the kids
"And [Barack] also sees me, his wife, who struggles every day with that guilt we all hold deep in our heart as women. That guilt that you don't have the choice to stay home, and even if you do you feel guilty, you're working. When you're working you're not with your kids, so you feel bad about that. And when you're with your kids you know you need to be doing more somewhere else. It's a guilt that we all hold. He has seen me struggle with this my entire life. That's why as President of the United States Barack has determined to change Washington."

Trouble: an oblivious significant other

Despite her cries for help on the campaign trail, someone obviously hasn't been listening to a word she says
"It's infuriating. Because essentially, spouses are civilians. They didn't sign up for this. They're supporting their spouse."
--Barack Obama on media criticism of Michelle

Hell induces amnesia

Harvard Law grad Michelle has forgotten all about The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 US Code Chapter 21 Sec. 701 (k) of Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII; the Equal Pay Act of 1963 - EPA - 29 U.S. Code Chapter 8 § 206(d); and the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution
"Moms we've heard from who are pregnant and afraid to tell their bosses that they're pregnant because they don't want to get fired. And then there are the hard-working women out here all over the country who are working just as hard as men but often getting paid less for doing the same work."

Motherhood in Hell

It's a miracle anyone ever gets raised in this country
"I listened to the mother struggling to make ends meet because her salary isn't keeping up with the cost of groceries for her children. But if she takes a second job, then she can't afford the babysitter. And then there's the mom who's nervous about taking time off to care for a sick child. Or a mom-to-be who's scared to death that her boss will fire her when she finds out that she's pregnant."

A ray of hope?

Maybe Michelle could ease her pain by taking her own advice
“We left corporate America, which is a lot of what we are asking young people to do. Don’t go into corporate America. You know, become teachers, work for the community, be a social worker, be a nurse . . . move out of the money-making industry, into the helping industry.”
--Michelle Obama, who earned $312,000 working for the corporation that owns the University of Chicago Hospitals, along with $51,200 as a director on the board for Treehouse Foods, Inc.

Trouble: an enabler in the family

While Michelle suffers in a land that is frozen in fear and inhabited by broken souls, her husband trivializes her cries for help as "feistiness"
"[Barack] said he was also set for Republicans to say 'he's got a feisty wife,' in trying to attack his wife Michelle. 'We know the strategy because they've already shown their cards.'"
--Reuters, June 20 2008

Michelle misses a chance to reach out

Michelle, you'll never escape your Inferno if you let these enablers misconstrue your cries for help

"For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."
--Michelle in Milwaukee

"For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country."
--Michelle in Madison

<crickets>
--Michelle's reaction as Whoopi Goldberg overlooks the I am proud version and assures Michelle that "really" makes it allllll okay

Unfortunately, her exact complaint defies diagnosis

What in Hell is she saying?
"The challenge that I have, to the extent that it's a strength or a weakness, is that I wear my heart on my sleeve. One of the things I'm counting on is that people will see through it."

Is there a pill for trite, outdated social commentary?
"People aren't used to strong women."

An ominous conspiracy to scare off Michelle's watchers?

Michelle, beware! These enablers are not your friends.

At Michelle Obama Watch: There is a blog titled “Michelle Obama Suicide Watch” that is listening to every word that Michelle Obama speaks.It compares her purported views of America to that of Hell. The author’s method is to list quotes from Michelle and define them with one-line labels such as “Motherhood in Hell“, “Michelle Identifies Her Demons“, and “Michelle’s Inferno".

Comments:

• PurpleZoe - I flagged it on the Blogspot blue bar at the top of the blog. If enough of us flag it Google will likely remove the blog. Shine on ~~~~~~~~~*
• A J - Off to flag it as well. Thanks!
• SjP08 - flagged!
• Ann - michelle obama suicide watch: flagged

At Sojourner's Place: I urge you to go to Michelle Obama Suicide Watch now and FLAG IT! If this blog receives enough flags, it will be removed. Holla Back!

Comments:

• MsMarvalus said... Lord Have Mercy! I have put a flag on it.
• Renee said... I am off to flag it.
• PurpleZoe said...I definitely flagged this one.
• Ann said... Consider it flagged!

At from-the-battlefield: A crusade to shut this site down has begun. In my attempts to help get the word out, I am posting my report here as well. Please visit this site and flag it.

Comments:

• SjP said... Saw your post on MOW. I immediately flagged that blog.
• A Voice From the Battlefield said... I have flagged the blog as well.

At The Marvalus View: I ask you, if you are so inclined, to visit this blog. If you find the material objectionable, hit the “Flag Blog” button at the top of the screen.

An ominous attempt to muffle Michelle's despair?

"The campaign has hired Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter to work as chief of staff for Michelle Obama. Her first order of business will be to buff and polish the image of the candidate's wife."
--The Swamp, June 16 2008

Romance in Hell

Misery loves company
Barack Obama on Father's Day 2008:
"My life revolves around my two little girls. And what I think about is what kind of world I’m leaving them. Are they living in a country where there’s a huge gap between a few who are wealthy and a whole bunch of people who are struggling every day? Are they living in a country that is still divided by race? A country where, because they’re girls, they don’t have as much opportunity as boys do? Are they living in a country where we are hated around the world because we don’t cooperate effectively with other nations? Are they living a world that is in grave danger because of what we’ve done to its climate?"

Michelle identifies her demons:

They
"You know what they were saying about Barack in Illinois? They said he was too young. They said that he was too inexperienced. They said he should wait his turn, they said he couldn't raise the money. They said he couldn't build the political organization. They said he was too Black. They said that he wasn't Black enough."

Medicine in Hell

Lacking in empathy, doctors refuse to work for free
"Don't get sick in this country, not here. Americans are in debt not because they live frivolously, but because someone got sick. And even with insurance, the deductibles and premiums are so high that people are still putting medication, treatments on credit cards. We are suffering from a deficit of empathy."

America: illness as metaphor
"I am here right now because I am married to the only person in this race who has a chance of healing this nation."

Motherhood in Hell

Anguish
"Our children are being tested to death."

The anguish of watching your children's shame
"I am thinking about my girls, Malia and Sascha. I do this because of them. I want my girls to travel this world with pride."

The anguish of watching them stew in Hell's meanness
"There's still a level of meanness in this culture. And as a mother raising young girls, trust me, I don't want them to be mean girls."

The anguish of watching them buy into Hell's defeatism
"We spend more time in this society talking about what won't work, what we can't do, what can't happen. And see the problem is, is that we pass that on to our children. And they don't try because someone already told them why they can't do it. And I don't want that for my girls."

Kids are better off with fathers?! Only in Hell
"Don't be a single parent in this country. There are millions of them feeling like failures because you can't keep up on a single salary. You can't go to parent-teacher conferences and do homework with your kids, make sure they stay out of trouble. Not in America if you're a single parent."

Michelle identifies her demons:

Somebody
"I wasn't supposed to go to Princeton because somebody told me my test scores weren't high enough."

Other people
"I want young people out there to understand that they, if they push past other people's limited expectations of them and reach for their seats at the table that others feel so entitled to, when they get to that table they are going to find that they are just as ready, just as qualified, just as capable as anyone sitting around that table."

Postcards from Hell

Michelle marvels at the absence of racism in America:
"I'm also amazed at how people are ready to move beyond it. Our time in Iowa, folks didn't shy away from conversations with me because of race. No one in Iowa ever asked me any questions about, 'What's it like to be a Black woman?'"

It's a small Hell after all
"We have young kids all over the world who are looking to this nation, and they are trying to figure out who we are and what we want to become."

Michelle eases her gloom with a familiar mechanism:

Projection
"We need to think about who's the best leader for this time. Who's going to be able to move this country in the direction that's gonna really change the level of cynicism?"

Hell-ese

Michelle's Princeton demons: grammar, spelling, and clarity
"By actually working with the Black lower class or within their communities as a result of their ideologies, a separationist may better understand the desparation of their situation and feel more hopeless about a resolution as opposed to an integrationist who is ignorant to their plight."

salary.com in Hell

Michelle demonstrates her $316,952 value at the Best Bosses Conference & Celebration of 2006
"Obama also used pictures of two very different homes to illustrate an important point. Obama explained that the dilapidated two-flat house in the first of her pictures and the beautiful, refurbished graystone in the second are across the street from one another in the same South Side neighborhood, symbolizing the area's socioeconomic diversity. 'The lens through which you choose to view your community defines the possibilities,' Obama said. 'If you can only see the deficits, it's very difficult to understand what you can do and how you can benefit as a company.'"

An ominous attempt to muffle Michelle's despair?

In campaign space, no one can hear you scream
"Recognizing the extent to which Republicans view Michelle Obama’s strong views and personality as a potential liability for her husband, Mr. Obama’s aides said they were preparing to bring aboard senior operatives from previous Democratic presidential campaigns to work with her, a clear departure from the typical way the spouse of a candidate is staffed. Mrs. Obama’s operation would include senior aides devoted to responding to attacks and challenges to her, particularly if she continues to campaign as much as she has so far."
--New York Times, June 8 2008

The politics of Hell

We don't need a president; we need a redeemer
"If he were here, he’d say that we are suffering from a deficit of empathy for one another. And he believes that until we truly care for all children, not just our own, then we will continue to struggle with the problems that plague us."

Geometry in Hell

Michelle squares a circle
"My husband, Barack Obama, is the person America needs in the White House right now. And it is not because of the color of his skin. Imagine! This is a man who was the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review."

A hellish mystery:

Whose "supposed to" is this?
"None of this was supposed to happen. We're not supposed to be standing here."

Your loved ones are defenders and supporters of Hell

Remarks to military wives in Kentucky:
"Our environment is crumbling before our very eyes."

"There is no safety net for anybody."

"Families are not succeeding, because we're not providing the foundations for families to succeed."

Slow day in Hell

"My income is pretty low compared to my peers."

Psychology in Hell

Whatever
"What we're dealing with in the Black community is just the natural fear of possibility. There's always that doubt in the back of the minds of people of color, people who've been oppressed and haven't been given real opportunities, that you believe that somehow, someone is better than you. Deep down inside, you doubt whether you can do, 'cause that's all you've been told is, "No. Wait." That's all you hear. And you hear it from people who love you, not because they don't care about you, but they're afraid. They're afraid that something might happen. That's the psychology that's going on in our heads, in our souls."

"Folks don't like to change. They like feeling safe. Whether it's right or wrong, people like their fear. Fear makes people feel comfortable. Because sometimes it's easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your ignorance. That's America."

Apparently, Satan allowed Michelle to bring her calculator

A mathematical analysis shows that our collective redemption from Hell will require a 30% effort on our part
"A Barack Obama presidency will be 70% him and 30% us. We have to be ready to go that other 30%. And in order to do that, we’ve got to be ready to do a few things like moving away from our isolation and division, that division that has us locked away, not talking to one another, not getting good information, not sharing, living as if we don’t care or know our neighbors. We’ve got to move away from that. That’s on us."

Oops! Subtract Michelle from that equation
"As a member of the black community, I am obligated to this community and will utilize all of my present and future resources to benefit the black community first and foremost."

Princeton: the gateway to Hell

From the people who educated her . . .
"Predominately white universities like Princeton are socially and academically designed to cater to the needs of the white students comprising the bulk of their enrollments."

. . . through the people who went to school with her and didn't become racists . . .
"I hoped that these findings would help me conclude that despite the high degree of identification with whites as a result of the educational and occupational path that black Princeton alumni follow, the alumni would still maintain a certain level of identification with the black community. However, these findings do not support this possibility."

. . . to the people who expect her to pay her student loans
"Yeah, we have Ivy League degrees, but they cost us a whole lot of money to get. And see, what we did was what we thought we were supposed to do. We got those fancy degrees, and then we left corporate America, and went to work in the community. And with every job we took, we made less money. But where we found ourselves, in a position like most young couples, with our PhDs and JDs and MPhs and WLMOPs, all those wonderful degrees, all mired in debt."

Michelle identifies her demons:

You
"The thing that I want you all to remember: please, please don't base your votes this time on fear. Think! Listen."

People
"I am tired of being afraid. I am tired of living in a country where every decision that we've made over the last ten years wasn't for something, but it was because people told us we had to fear something."

Everybody
"I am so tired of fear, and I don't want my girls to live in a country, in a world based on fear. For eight years we were told to be afraid. And everybody followed suit. Everybody cut and run."

It was hot in Phoenix, Arizona that day

Maybe that's why she mistook it for Hell
"Fear is the reason this country is where it is today."

Unless you're going to use it to drum up votes
"Fear is a useless emotion."

Arizonans must be hellishly stupid to need instruction like this
"Don't ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn't."

Is context the treatment?

"I hate clips. I do not like clips."
The context: on the same day Barack Obama criticized John McCain for holding a private fundraiser in Phoenix that excluded the media, Michelle spoke to contributors in Phoenix at an event that excluded the media

A ray of hope?

Good vibes may keep Hillary away from the gas station
"Send us good vibes. Pray for us. Think positive thoughts. But most of all, be vigilant. Be vigilant about stopping this kind of talk. It's not funny. You don't have to like Barack to dislike that kind of talk. Be vigilant about stopping that kind of talk."
--Michelle on the ever-looming threat of Barack's assassination

What we all have in common: Hell

The only thing that keeps us from realizing it is that we're racists (except Michelle, presumably)
"If you tear all that stuff down, and you stop with the assumptions and the stereotypes, then you start comparing your challenges and you just start thinking more, you know, we're all struggling."

The inevitable cure

Michelle provides the diagnosis and prognosis for the American illness
"That's the problem with America. We spin out an untrue narrative about us as a country. White people, Latinos, women, will vote for Barack Obama."

Unfortunately, her exact complaint defies diagnosis

What in Hell is she saying?
"I'm really trying to say, 'Let me tell you about this man. Let me tell you about how he was raised. Let me tell you about the choices that he's made in life,' because I think that in my opinion that makes him very unique, not just in this race but in politics. And I really want people to think about that, because I think that part of our challenge is not only how we choose leaders, but why. What motivates us, what do we value? Because we get lost in this process, and that has nothing to do with Barack."

Is there a pill for circular logic?
"We have to change how we've been doing things. Because if things were okay, then we wouldn't be here having this conversation."

The politics of Hell: Michelle's view of democracy

"In this country, we wait for a leader to fix it. That's how politics is. 'Vote for me, I'll fix it.' And you go back to your lives. That is just as much of the pattern of behavior as it is the leaders who were there. That's sort of the habit of democracy. 'Well, we'll get engaged every four years, we'll vote for somebody, and then we'll stop paying attention and expect things to change.'"

What are you willing to give up so Michelle can feel better?
"Let's start thinking about what sacrifices we have to make individually. What important things of our individual self-interest we're going to put on the table for the greater good. You have to think about what you're willing to put on the table. And it's got to be something. You cannot get away with not giving up something. Not in a democracy. Maybe in another country, but in a democracy, sacrifice is critical."

Michelle identifies her demons:

Chicago Democrats
"People think that President Bush is so bad, they think that everything else must have been better. And the truth is that as I see it, when I look at my neighborhood, and I'm realistic about where I grew up and my life, and I go to the school that I went to around the corner, that school has gotten worse. Every year since I was a little girl, it's gotten worse. Every year in the neighborhood that my mother still lives in, it has slowly declined. There may have been pops of slowing in the decline, but the decline has been steady. And that has been throughout my lifetime. So part of what I'm saying is, 'Let's not just blame our leadership.' It is more than just leadership, which is really the broader point. It's about us and the choices that we make."

A cure that won't work

Michelle is immune to irony
"I think that one of the things I can add to the campaign is really providing a personal appeal."

"I'm trying to be a part of changing the tone, and calming people down with regard to rhetoric."

"When you see your country doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results, it's mind-boggling to me. Part of it is like--is it me?"

"I am the Vice President of Community Affairs. I run a non-profit organization, and when you're the executive director of an organization you are the spokesperson, you are the person who provides the vision and the inspiration."

A ray of hope?

Someone has a plan to force The Damned to knock it off
"Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed."

Will Michelle give up and go under?

There's no one to toss her a lifesaver
"Every woman that I know, regardless of race, education, income, background, political affiliation, is struggling to keep her head above water."

Hell: no one sticks to the subject

They keep playing these 71-minute snippets that somehow make her out to be gloomy and angry
"For them to try to distort or to play snippets of her remarks in ways that are unflattering to her, I think is just low-class."
--Barack Obama talking about public reaction to Michelle

So shut up about "God d*** America" already and start complaining about "the bar," everyone
"We're trusting that the American voters are ready to talk about the issues and not talking about the things that have nothing to do with making people's lives better."
--Michelle again

Hell: you can't run out for a pack of Marlboros

"The realities are that, as a Black man, Barack can get shot going to the gas station."

A ray of hope?

"For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."
--Milwaukee, February 18 2008

Michelle's dark vision: us

"There's a bar that's set, right? And then you work hard to reach that bar. And then you reach it. And then they move the bar. And when you are struggling to chase a moving bar, it's easier to be mean. To have a bad tone, and to sort of own that, because you're frustrated and you're mad."

Hide the steak knives!

Michelle is depressingly "in touch"
"As I go into every state along with my husband, I am seeing life getting harder and harder for regular folks. Those jobs that my father had, those solid blue-collar jobs are dwindling all over this country. Jobs moving overseas, plants closing, communities going from thousands to hundreds, and if you're lucky enough to have a job, nine times out of ten your salary's not keeping up with the cost of living, so everybody's got to work. You can't pay for gas, keep up with your mortgage, your rent, car note, buy groceries for a family. And if I'm telling you something that you don't know, let me know. Maybe things are better, and I'm just missing the boat. Maybe I'm out of touch."

Hide the Seconal!

Will Michelle choose the easy way out--or will she succumb to poisoning, starvation, or worse?
"In my household, over the last year we have just shifted to organic for this very reason. I mean, I saw just a moment in my nine-year-old’s life–-we have a good pediatrician, who is very focused on childhood obesity, and there was a period where he was, like, `Mmm, she’s tipping the scale.’ So we started looking through our cabinets. . . . You know, you’ve got fast food on Saturday, a couple days a week you don’t get home. The leftovers, good, not the third day! . . . So that whole notion of cooking on Sunday is out. . . . And the notion of trying to think about a lunch every day! . . . So you grab the Lunchables, right? And the fruit-juice-box thing, and we think–-we think–that’s juice. And you start reading the labels and you realize there’s high-fructose corn syrup in everything we’re eating. Every jelly, every juice. Everything that’s in a bottle or a package is like poison in a way that most people don’t even know. Now we’re keeping, like, a bowl of fresh fruit in the house. But you have to go to the fruit stand a couple of times a week to keep that fruit fresh enough that a six-year-old--she’s not gonna eat the pruney grape, you know. At that point it’s, like, `Eww!’ She’s not gonna eat the brown banana or the shrivelledy-up things. It’s got to be fresh for them to want it. Who’s got time to go to the fruit stand? Who can afford it, first of all?”

There's no comfort for the oppressed in Michelle's America--just a $10,000 budget for dance lessons
"We spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we're spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements. And summer programs...Do you know what summer camp costs?"
--remarks by Michelle Obama to a group of women in Zanesville, Ohio, where median annual household income is $37,000