Michelle's sleeveless dresses -- the start of a new culture war?

[Cyrano]

Many wingnuts have gone off the deep end over Michelle Obama wearing sleeveless dresses and displaying her well sculpted arms.

"Oh my God. The horror. The horror. The First lady has no sleeves and is in great shape."

One can't help but wonder if the wingnuts would be throwing such a fit over this if Laura Bush had worked out and worn sleeveless dresses. (Oh yeah, I forgot. Laura is white.)

Michelle and Barack Obama will be attacked in ways that haven't even occurred to us yet. This "sleeveless, muscular arms" bullshit coming from the wingnuts is just the beginning. They have no shame or conscience, and I for one, question their humanity.

In the meantime, I just absolutely love our First Lady. Let's all protect her anytime some wingnut lunatic launches an attack against her. I've already told one acquaintance who bad-mouthed her to screw off and lose my number.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Nah. Possibly the start of a new *stupid* war, however.

[AndyA]

2. Jackie Kennedy used to wear sleeveless dresses frequently, and

few would dare say she wasn't appropriately dressed. In fact, she changed the way American women dressed, and it was a change for the better.

Really, Laura Bush would be the first to tell you there's just so much you can do with a wardrobe full of Lerner's polyester pant suits.

[EFerrari]

3. It must suck to keep having to re-hang your livingroom drapes.

[Vickers]

5. Or reupholster the couches...

:spank:

[grasswire]

10. Jackie wore them in the summer.

I haven't seen a photo of Jackie in sleeveless unless it is evening wear or summertime.

That is the distinction lost here.

[EFerrari]

14. It was colder in the sixties.

lol

[Iris]

25. did she wear jackets or sweaters in cooler weather? A lot of women wear sleeveless

blouses under jackets and sweaters.


In fact, I'm doing just that today!

(and I have my pearls on, too!)

[Captain Hilts]

26. They usually had jackets. Correige - I can't spell it - was big on matching jackets.

I don't think bare arms have ever been seen at the State of the Union.

Not bad, just a surprise. On a COLD night too!

Folks, it's not about race this time. Really.

[firedupdem]

113. You might want to rethink that...

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pro.corbis.c...


Jackie, state of the union.

[RaleighNCDUer]

33. Distinction?

that's from the "no white shoes after labor day" time.

it has long since passed.

No distinction necessary. If it looks good, WEAR IT.

[marmar]

35. Umm, the 60s have ended. (and for most of us, so have the styles)

:eyes:

[pnwmom]

44. Not true. She wore one to a State of the Union address,

just like Michelle was criticized for. Other ladies in the audience were wearing coats and even furs, though there was another woman in the front row also wearing a sleeveless dress. I saw the picture somewhere just last week.

[DevonRex]

46. Picture: Jackie Kennedy, sleeveless at the State of the Union address.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=%3Fsize%3D67%26uid%3D%257B61BCCF17-14BF-4950-8DA2-24D6870BC2AC%257D&imgrefurl=http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx%3FCID%3Disg%26mediauid%3D%257B61BCCF17-14BF-4950-8DA2-24D6870BC2AC%257D&h=432&w=640&sz=72&tbnid=BbO3B-9aOeJlHM::&tbnh=92&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJackie%2BKennedy%2BState%2Bof%2Bthe%2BUnion%2Bpictures&usg=__ZSJCxjzY43ztQT17MewVNZEC8q4=&ei=8Bq4SaWIG5mQsQO4tqBD&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=1

[xenussister]

48. Here's a picture of Jack sleeveless in winter

http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=isg&mediauid={25A7E78E-D7BC-4C30-970C-A5812B7C0601}

It may not be winter, exactly, but most of the other women look like they're dressed for cold weather.

[pnwmom]

52. That photo was from January 1963 which is definitely winter.

And it was from the same event for which Michelle was criticized for wearing sleeveless.

[xenussister]

99. Of course, I meant Jackie. It's a color version of the one DevonRex posted.

Thanks for confirming that it was a SOTU address.

[Cha]

59. And, I ask..so the fuck

what?

[DevonRex]

60. And, it ain't even true. See above links for Jackie at the SOU in 1963.

[BlooInBloo]

67. (facepalm)

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. I thought it said 'Michael Steele's sleeveless dresses!'

I was just reading something on MSNBC and then I saw this! LOL!

[Sultana]

37. Very bad imagery

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Bonn1997]

96. I actually thought the exact same thing but

there was no other mention of Steele, not on TV or anywhere. What does that say about me?! :-)

[EOTE]

6. Are you serious?

Is that really what they've sunk to attacking now? Where have you seen this?

[Cyrano]

13. Wish I'd made a list. I've read so many references to this over the

past two weeks that I just can't provide a link.

I've also heard some TV wingnut reference it, but I changed the channel so quickly I couldn't catch her name.

I do remember that MoDo made a reference to Michelle's muscles in her column last Sunday in the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/opinion/08dowd.html?_r=1

The best line she had was that Michelle looked like she could easily wind up and punch out Limbaugh.

[Blue Belle]

16. I think the Huffington Post is keep ing a running tally on the stories...

Just do a search of Michelle Obama on their site.

[EOTE]

21. Wow, I can't believe how low they've sunk.

The funny thing about it is I think Michelle Obama pulls off sleeveless remarkably well. On the plus side, I can't imagine this will do anything more than even further marginalizing the republican party. Just shows how incredibly sick and petty they are.

[onehandle]

7. She's a "Hussy."

Whatever the Hell that is.

[apnu]

8. If wingnuts want to go after Michelle, let them. That is lose-lose for them.

Seriously, she's more popular than her husband! If the GOP wants to go there, fine, they'll start alienating the 30%s at that point. Welcome to has-been status GOP,

[Frustratedlady]

9. The best comment I have used, is...

to look at them with a shocked and questioning expression and say, "You're kidding, right?"

That shuts them up and shames them at the same time.

[Bobbieo]

12. Sleeveless dresses and blouses - I stopped wearing them 20 years ago!!!

[DrDan]

11. it is hardly a precedent - Jackie was often photographed in sleeveless dresses

even at formal events

http://www.fanpix.net/gallery/jacqueline-kennedy-onassis-pictures.htm

[grasswire]

31. yes, summer dresses

If you'll look carefully, you'll see the distinction. Summer dresses and evening wear, okay.

[pnwmom]

47. Not just summer. Here's a photo from the 1963 State of the Union

with Jackie in a sleeveless dress.

http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=isg&mediauid=%7B25A7E78E-D7BC-4C30-970C-A5812B7C0601%7D

[xenussister]

101. Thank you for that link DrDan. So many great pictures of Jackie.

Such wonderful pictures, and I hadn't seen most of them.

[spinbaby]

15. It's a modesty thing

The born-agains and Mormons seem to feel that shoulders are naughty, hence the "modest" prom-dress and wedding-dress industry:

http://www.modestprom.com/

[DevonRex]

87. *gasp* Next thing you know, she'll be baring her ankles!!elevens11

I would love to see all those fundies clothed head to toe in the dead of summer, wouldn't you?

[MISSDem]

17. Maureen Dowd wrote a whole column about her bare arms.

Personally, I cringed when I saw her in the sleeveless dress at the address to Congress. Maybe I'm hopelessly old fashioned but I thought that a beautiful suit would have been more appropriate. And I am definitely not a wing nut.

[Cyrano]

18. As Max Bialystock said in "The Producers," "If you've got it, flaunt it."

But on a more serious note, Michelle might just kick off a wide-spread desire for physical health and fitness. What would be so bad about that?

[Captain Hilts]

28. My same, take. She looked great, but I think a jacket over it would have been appropriate.

And I like her in purple.

[amandabeech]

75. That dress cried out to me saying, "I need a matching jacket!"

I thought elbow length sleeves, cropped to the waist or above, charmeuse on the lapels, as the lining and trimming the sleeves, perhaps.

I thought that the charmeuse bodice of the dress made it look a little more like a gorgeous cocktail dress. Jackie's sleeveless looked to be a solid matte fabric with no trim. I think that was the difference for me.

[Ilsa]

19. They are so jealous! It's jealousy. She looks FABULOUS and they can't stand it. nt

[sweetpotato]

23. Jealousy is absolutely correct

petty, isn't it?

[blues90]

20. People who even pay any attention to this

Are in their own star struck world , who the hell should even care what she wears or if it should even matter in the first place.

There are far too many pressing issues that any of this is complete none sense and insanity no matter how one goes about trying to justify it as important.

[MISSDem]

29. It does matter what impression Michelle makes. She is the first lady and

the whole world watches what she does for Gosh sake. You may not like that but there it is. She has a certain responsibility to present our "best foot forward" so to speak.

[marmar]

32. But who under the age of 70 gives a shit?

Nobody I know bristles at the thought of a First Lady in a sleeveless dress.

[DevonRex]

36. Apparently some people from Mississippi.

:shrug:

[DevonRex]

34. Some people will always insinuate that Michelle doesn't have the class to mix with polite society.

[MISSDem]

38. I don't think that is what people mean and I know it is not what I mean.

I just think that, especially, since money is no object, a beautiful suit would be much more appropriate on these occasions. It is kind of like wearing sweats to the office.

[rvablue]

39. Who said "money is no object"???? And a classy, knee length silk sleeveless dress is hardly

"like wearing sweats to the office."

What century do you live in?? Do you and the gals get together for tea every afternoon donned in white gloves and bonnets, or something??

This is the most ridiculous thing I've read here in a while. Thanks for the laugh! :rofl:

[DevonRex]

40. "Personally, I cringed when I saw her in the sleeveless dress at the address to Congress."

You meant what you said.

[MISSDem]

42. So now you know better than I what I meant.

I'm outta here.

[pnwmom]

45. Funny, no one thought that when Jackie Kennedy wore sleeveless in winter.

http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx?CID=isg&mediauid=%7B25A7E78E-D7BC-4C30-970C-A5812B7C0601%7D

[DevonRex]

50. Great minds think alike. And it took us, what? One minute to google it?

Yet some folks turn up their snooty noses and imply that Michelle doesn't know how to conduct herself in public.

This one really, REALLY pissed me off today.

[pnwmom]

54. People pulled the same thing on the Clintons, promoting a "trailer trash"

image. The Bushes, by contrast, were the aristocracy.

It's disgusting.

[DevonRex]

56. Yes, it is. As if Laura and Ma Bush are the last word on etiquette.

Hmmph. Babs is the last word on disgusting ethics if you ask me.

[pnwmom]

49. Why not present our best arms forward?

I haven't seen any better.

I'm totally jealous.

[DevonRex]

53. I'm jealous, too. They're slim and strong. Plus, mine are pasty white.

I have to sun in the back yard or put self tanning stuff on before I can go out in public in shorts or sleeveless tops.

So, as a slightly pudgy white woman, I can only dream of having those long, slim, beautiful mocha arms to show off. And you know what? It makes me happy to see her like that. I can live a bit vicariously through her and it gives me a tiny bit more incentive to work on my upper body. I think that's a good thing.

[pnwmom]

55. Please give up on the sunning, fellow pasty-white. It's not worth it, in terms of

problems later -- trust me. (My younger brother's already had a skin cancer.)

But we can appreciate Michelle's beautiful skin, and work on toning our own arms, if not tanning them.

We are what we are.

[DevonRex]

58. *sigh* Do you mean I really have to grow up and accept reality? Dammit!!

Maybe in my next life I can come back as a beautiful, tall, slim mocha goddess. You know, the type that stays that way throughout life, instead of the beautiful early years fading into the matronly years. I'm valiantly staving off the Aunt Bea image but it's hard work. Dammit again.

:)

[pnwmom]

62. Maybe the trick is to skip the beautiful early years,

so you'll never know what you were missing.

;)

Although, in retrospect, just about everyone is beautiful in the early years -- some just feel it more.

Here's a present for you -- maybe it will put things in better perspective. Think about Aunt Bea this way: she wasn't retouched.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/03/09/opinion/1194838469575/sex-lies-and-photoshop.html#

[roody]

115. We can all get involved with some free weights.

[DevonRex]

117. That's what I'm thinking. Start light, more reps. It'll be good for us.

[blues90]

74. All it amounts too is a fashion statement

I doubt if the whole world watches or cares. If you factor in the massess of the world most are too poor or beaten down to give a crap about clothing statements.

This high society bullshit needs to end someday and the sooner the better.

What really matters are policy not clothing or fashion which appears to be one of the all time american distractions.

Just looking at the OP here , during the primaries people from both sides could nat bash Hillary enough for her pants suits as if it mattered , this is just how insane this issue of fashion and clothes means.

[DevonRex]

76. This day will go down in history. I agree with you.

:hi:

[JitterbugPerfume]

22. good grief

[BuyingThyme]

24. I hear she hangs with people whose parents visited

a nudist colony in 1974.

[UndertheOcean]

27. What's wrong with sleeveless dresses now ?

[BlooInBloo]

43. The fact that Mrs. Obama is wearing them.

[Starry Messenger]

111. That is no problem at all.

She looks gorgeous in them. :) And last I heard, those dresses sell like hotcakes when she wears them. I love her style. I'm way too short to emulate it, though.

[s-cubed]

30. She may have a very good reason for sleeveless dresses. She is in her

forties, and could well be subject to hot flashes. It's a lot better to be sleeveless than to rip off your clothes in public!

[pnwmom]

51. I've thought that, too. If so, she's lucky she looks so gorgeous in them. n/t

[emmadoggy]

41. I don't have a problem with her going sleeveless at all except,

for me, it just seems "seasonally inappropriate". It's a bit, well, WEIRD, for me to see it because I live in a place where winters are COLD and not only do I NEVER wear even short sleeves in the winter, but I will not allow my children to do so either. In the winter, we dress for the weather. I guess I just have that mindset from my childhood where you had to consider..."what if I'm on my way to school and the bus breaks down and we have to wait in the cold." Or, "what if my car breaks down, or I skid on the ice and end up in the ditch" or what have you. Even with a good winter coat on, if you have to be out for very long at all, you are in much better shape with warm clothes on underneath. Not to mention we keep our house a bit cooler than many do in the winter and I need the warmth!!

It does seem out of step with the weather/season, but I'm sure people all across the south go sleeveless in the winter - it's just a foreign concept to me! lol.

But DC is definitely warmer than where I live and the main point is if she is comfortable that way then who cares? She looks great!

[pnwmom]

57. You haven't hit menopause yet. You might be reevaluating layers by then.

Another thing you might not realize is how incredibly overheated many buildings are in the east. My daughter really suffered from the winter heat -- when she was in college in Boston!

[emmadoggy]

70. Oh absolutely! lol.

I'm sure when that "special time" hits, it will be different for me - although in winter, I still think it's a good idea to layer. Just instead of a long sleeve top with a sweater or fleece over it, maybe a short sleeve or sleeveless underneath so you can take the top layer off if a flash of excess warmth occurs, lol. Or just lighter weight items.

I can also get very warm in some places in the winter too because as you say, some places heat more than what I am acclimated to. I do some subbing in our school and I never know how to dress because some of the classrooms are very warm and others are cold. :crazy:

[PlanetBev]

61. What would they prefer?

Trailer park bat-wings?

You see those ladies on the national news, wearing short sleeves with their upper arms flapping in the breeze, saying "Why, that tornada come right through here and knocked over my double-wide!"

[AyanEva]

63. I'm not saying obsess over fashion

but srsly, people whining about her sleeves (or lack thereof) being inappropriate need to get out more and maybe pick up a copy of Vogue. I don't even like Vogue but in this case, I think it would be therapeutic and help move people into the 21st Century a little faster.

I mean, honestly. Next thing you know, there will be a huge scandal the next time she wears a dress short enough to show some ankle. :wow:

[dustbunnie]

64. Princess Di wore lots of sleeveless.

We're in a sixties/seventies fashion regurgitation period... (can't wait till we bring back the 80s full on. Blegh!)

That means sleeveless A-line dresses, etc will be around for awhile. Michelle is a little bit wider at the hips, and the sleeveless look off-sets that, as the eye goes to her upper body.

I can't remember a single thing Laura Bush ever wore, but find the fashion sense as exhibited by the late Lady Di and Jackie O, as well as Michelle Obama today, incredibly alluring and stylish. And memorable.

[fed_up_mother]

65. Place and time. Place and time.

Michelle tends to wear sleeveless dresses in professional settings where other women are wearing more professional-type clothing. Look at her dress at the "state of the union" address. She looked gorgeous, but didn't appear dressed for the occasion. Her sleeveless outfit would have appeared more "the norm" at a White House luncheon.

However, she's not the professional, or is the role of "First Lady" considered a professional one?

I live in a hot, Gulf Coast climate, and even here, most women are wearing suits or outfits with sleeves in the summer for professional settings. (Although they may take off a jacket to reveal a sleeveless top at some point.) That's just the expected "professional" wardrobe.

Again, should we expect Michelle to abide by that type of standard? I'm kind of fifty-fifty on this one.

[DevonRex]

73. Picture of Jackie Kennedy at the State of the Union address, January 1963. Sleeveless.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=%3Fsize%3D67%26uid%3D%257B61BCCF17-14BF-4950-8DA2-24D6870BC2AC%257D&imgrefurl=http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx%3FCID%3Disg%26mediauid%3D%257B61BCCF17-14BF-4950-8DA2-24D6870BC2AC%257D&h=432&w=640&sz=72&tbnid=BbO3B-9aOeJlHM::&tbnh=92&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJackie%2BKennedy%2BState%2Bof%2Bthe%2BUnion%2Bpictures&usg=__ZSJCxjzY43ztQT17MewVNZEC8q4=&ei=8Bq4SaWIG5mQsQO4tqBD&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=1

Now, what were you saying?

[MISSDem]

78. I'll bet she has a jacket to that ensemble

somewhere there.

[DevonRex]

79. I'll bet Michelle does, too.

[pnwmom]

92. If she does, it's no more visible than Michelle's. n/t

[DevonRex]

100. Yet somehow, for Jackie, it's "assumed." I guess if one begins with the premise that

a jacket is required in order to have taste and class, then of COURSE Jackie would have one and that OF COURSE Michelle would NOT. :eyes:

Well, I reject the premise to begin with, although common sense says that both women wore some sort of wrap to go out in January AND that said wrap was whisked away and carefully hung up in a coat closet.

And both women look absolutely lovely. They're young, fit and stylish in their photos. And they would naturally dress differently (yet just as appropriately) than, say, Barbara Bush did.

[fed_up_mother]

80. And your point is....

That if Jackie wore it, it's obviously standard attire? :) I'm sure that even the famed Jackie O made a few fashion faux pas in her time. :)

How many female lawyers argue in court in a sleeveless dress? It's just not done because a sleeveless dress doesn't carry the same "gravitas" as a suit or other more professional looking ensembles. A state of the union requires that kind of dress, imo.

KWIM? But is it something we should get our knickers in a twist over? I don't think so. :)

[DevonRex]

83. So you're equating Michelle at teh SOU with a female attorney at work in court???

Now that is JUST silly.

[fed_up_mother]

85. Not silly. Both are serious occasions where more professional dress is the norm.

However, deviating from the norm is not a damn crime!

[pnwmom]

90. Who decreed that women can't wear sleeveless dresses and be professional?

Have you been in NYC lately?

[fed_up_mother]

93. NYC is not D.C.

[DevonRex]

94. And Michelle is not the president.

[pnwmom]

89. She's not the President. She's a First Lady, sitting in the audience.

She doesn't need to project the "gravitas" of a lawyer onstage in a courtroom.

[MISSDem]

77. Be careful or you'll be accused of a whole litany of things:

being racist, being snooty or worst yet, being from Mississippi and having a thought on the subject.

[pnwmom]

107. It is possible that the views from Mississippi aren't shared by most

of the rest of the U.S.

[DevonRex]

118. I was born there nad still have family there. What you say is true.

Just visited in November. It's always a bit of a culture shock, going back to that very prim nad proper small town.

[MISSDem]

123. Well the conservatives across the country probably

don't agree with the liberals in Mississippi but I would think that other liberals/progressives across the country do share the views of some Mississippians. "Being from Mississippi" is not a dirty phrase, I am proud to say. I'm afraid that someone is stereotyping.

[pnwmom]

106. When she gets a salary for her work, then let's talk about her sleeves.

Until then, she's not a professional. She's the First Mom.

And we let our moms wear whatever they want.

[PopSixSquish]

66. l've Said this Before and I'll Say it Again

Mrs. Obama should take one of those bare arms upside someone's head. How about Limbaugh, Coulter, Boehner, Cantor and Jindal in that order.

[demokatgurrl]

68. I cannot BELIEVE we are still on this here

at DU.
On a repub site, I could see it, because they are looking for reasons to criticize. I don't think we should let them make this a focus. There are FAR more important things.

Having said that... I have to confess, she's driven me back to the weight room. And I WILL be flaunting arms very soon.

[malaise]

69. Who gives a flying fuck what wingnuts think

about Michelle Obama.

[Kitty Herder]

71. They're just jealous of her arms.

I know I am. Of course, my response is a little different. I say, good for her. I think it's great that she shows off her sculpted arms. I would too, if I had arms like that. She obviously works out so she's earned the right to show off her arms.

I think David Brooks in particular is jealous of her biceps. He's pretty heavy on the wimp factor. Men like that sometimes can't handle strong women.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

72. Maybe the building is overheated.

So that's why she's wearing a sleeveless (classy) dress in winter.

I think she looks fabulous.


They can go jump in the lake if they don't like it.

[tanngrisnir3]

81. People who give a fuck about First Lady fashion should be prevented from voting

[Cyrano]

97. Oh, tanngrisnir3. I am literally

laughing my ass off.

Your post deserved far more than a stupid ROTFLMAO.

And the reason is that you are so on target that I started laughing when I read it. I will be smiling for days. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[tanngrisnir3]

104. If I'd known you'd have been so pleased, I would have posted sooner!

You're welcome!

[noamnety]

98. Yep, that's the real culture war.

People who think women should be critiqued (positively or negatively) for their fashion, and those who think it's patriarchal crap.

[tigereye]

82. she looks great! I love it.

[Buns_of_Fire]

84. Obviously, this marks the beginning of a new Arms Race. n/t

[fed_up_mother]

86. Haha Best answer!

[MISSDem]

91. Now that's funny.

[Missy Vixen]

88. Michelle Obama is lovely

I would LOVE to have those arms. I have the dreaded "trailer park batwings", so I don't wear sleeveless anything.

Why are we letting the right-wing dictate the dialogue on this?

[dddem]

95. HEY! This is unconstitutional

What about the right to bare arms?!?!?

[Dukkha]

102. They're just jealous Michelle got her tickets

to the Gun Show! and brought her girlfriends Susan B Anthony and Sacagawea! and they've been drinking all day and are pumped up!

[dustbunnie]

103. For all the non-fashionistas, clothes do matter.

No one remembers the walk-through Barrack had with what's his name, where they both wore the same suit color, and exact same tie? :)

It was meant to be a coddling thing for the public that no, no major upheavals and extra wars are gonna happen, will be a smooth turn-over. It was actually funny, because I doubt two women would agree to dressing like twins.

She's not proposing anything yet, as Hill did with Universal Health Care... in the meantime people will watch what she's wearing. People watch what Barrack's wearing too.

[marshall]

105. Michelle's nude arms are beautiful!

I hope it starts a trend.

[Jennicut]

108. They are just jealous because Pickles never had the biceps to pull the sleeveless look off

[DevonRex]

119. Hey Jenn! That Pickles nick always cracks me up.

[Jennicut]

121. Hey! Michelle is such a welcome change from Pickles and her

dowdy suits.




Nope. no biceps.

[ddeclue]

109. They have puny girly-mahn bodies and need the Gobernator to PUMP them up..

:rofl:

I think a lot of them suffer from bicep envy and need to start getting in a regular upper body workout at the old LA Fitness.

:rofl:

Perhaps they could start a special membership discount plan for weak and whiny Republicans...

www.lafitness.com

[Waiting For Everyman]

110. If her arms "flapped" when she waved, THEN she shouldn't wear sleeveless.

These critics are clueless no-style clods. Michelle's arms are a "+", not a "-".

[pnwmom]

112. All these fashion critics make me so glad I live in the northwest.

I was at a shoe store with my then second grader, trying to pick out sneakers. He was mesmerized by all the choices. Trying to narrow it down, I said, "High tops? Or low tops?" He didn't answer. I tried again. "Well, what do your friends wear?"

He looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Mom," he said, "NO one EVER notices what ANYONE ELSE wears!"

Alas, that's not true, even in Seattle. But I can say with complete confidence that NO real Democrat here cares a BIT whether Michelle wears sleeves or not.

[DevonRex]

120. Same here in Colorado. As long as it's sufficiently dressy for the occasion

it's fine with us, sleeves or no sleeves.

[MISSDem]

124. Is that kinda like

"real men don't eat quiche".

[flvegan]

114. No sleeves, in great shape? Let her be an inspiration to us all.

"sleeveless, muscular arms" should be a positive for her and us. Fuck the wingnuts anyway.

[mwei924]

116. It's cause half of Americans are obese. .

..they probably think a fit first lady is too "European".

[lib2DaBone]

122. I really miss the cross-eyed Pickles and her fine taste in clothing...

..not