Europe is ga-ga for Michelle Obama. Which is rather interesting, since just two weeks ago the American press was asking if she was doing too much. It appears they were wrong.
She was careful never to overshadow him, but many observers noted that she seemed to resonate with the public in a way that even the popular president did not. To writer Tina Brown, Michelle Obama became “the inspirational It Girl and iconic female African-American role model” — the new Oprah, with a dash of Princess Di....
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.”
