Michelle Obama and the Evolution of a First Lady

NY Times " Like many of the president’s supporters, Mrs. Obama was anxious about the gap between her vision of her husband’s presidency and the reality of what he could deliver. Her strains with the advisers were part of a continuing debate over what sort of president Mr. Obama should be, with Mrs. Obama reinforcing his instincts for ambitious but unpopular initiatives like the overhaul of health care and immigration laws, casting herself as a foil to aides more intent on preserving Congressional seats and poll numbers.

"“She does think there are worse things than losing an election,” Susan S. Sher, the first lady’s former chief of staff, said shortly after the 2010 midterm elections. “Being true to yourself, for her, is definitely more important.” Back then, Mrs. Obama sometimes talked about what would happen if her husband lost in 2012. “I know we’ll be fine,” she told Ms. Sher."

From Political Wire: Quote of the Day   "I'm not accepting it. Your punishment is that you have to stay here and get this bill done. I'm not letting you off the hook."

-- President Obama, quoted in Jodi Kantor's The Obamas, not accepting Rahm Emanuel's resignation over a stalled health care reform bill.

Huffington Post: "That revelation is one of the more explosive included in The Obamas, a new book by Jodi Kantor of The New York Times about the first few years of the Obama administration and the strains that it produced on the president's marriage -- strains that were ultimately overcome."

OBAMA AS PHARAOH   "The movie The Ten Commandments came out when I was in elementary school. The Pharaoh would issue edicts and conclude with, “So let it be written. So let it be done.” 

Quoting Michelle Malkin: 

Like Yul Brynner’s Pharaoh Ramses character in Cecil B. DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments,” the demander in chief stands with arms akimbo issuing daily edicts to his constitution-subverting minions with an imperious wave of his hand. His entourage of insatiable usurpers never rests.
Can’t delude legislators into adopting a $1.5 billion Kabuki summer-jobs boondoggle? Create an unfunded program through executive fiat.
Can’t muster up a filibuster-proof majority for radical nominees? Czar-ify ‘em.