Results tagged “michelleobama”

While game 1 of the World Series didn't end the way Yankees fans wanted it to, fans were happy to see legendary catcher Yogi Berra. During the pregame ceremony honoring the country's veterans (the MLB has been "welcoming back veterans" all season), Berra was accompanied to the mound by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden—and Yankees captain Derek Jeter gave both women a kiss on the cheek.

Sure, you probably know by now that the First Couple dined at locally-sourced Greenwich Village restaurant Blue Hill on Saturday night, but there are still lots of juicy details to pore over! Like the wine: a 2007 Hirsch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, according to Eater. Besides the vino, the First Lady was also observed knocking back two martinis! (It's unclear if she had any of the Pinot.)

    

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made their first, joint trip to NYC a "personal" one—it was date night for the First Couple. The President released a statement explaining, "I am taking my wife to New York City because I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished."

First Lady Michelle Obama has made two visits to NYC since the inauguration, but the Big Apple will finally get to welcome President Barack Obama today. The First Couple will be making a "personal visit" to the city; the Caucus reports they will go to the 8 p.m. performance of the critically acclaimed and Tony-nominated play Joe Turner's Come and Gone, written by August Wilson. It's unclear whether there will be street closures in Midtown (expect at least some flashing lights and a motorcade). No other details of their plans have been leaked. The Daily News adds, "The First Couple will be traveling on one of the smaller planes in the Air Force VIP fleet instead of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet," which might be because it's a "personal visit" or maybe because the last time the Boeing 747 was here...well, you know.

      

Yesterday Michelle Obama was in town for a second time since becoming the First Lady, this visit emphasizing the important role of the arts. She helped reopen the newly renovated American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where she commented on how she spent her first date with the President at a museum), and later on attended the American Ballet Theatre's Spring Gala. With our cultural institutions suffering during the current financial climate, it's nice to hear the First Lady remind people, "Nearly 6 million people make their living in the nonprofit arts industry. Arts and cultural activities contribute more than $160 billion to our economy every year."

While Barack Obama hasn't visited New York since becoming President, First Lady Michelle Obama has returned time and again. She was just on Sesame Street earlier this month, and now she's back with a few cultural stops on her schedule today. "This visit is crafted, according to East Wing guidance, to allow Mrs. Obama to continue to demonstrate her interest in and support for the arts by attending the ribbon cutting for the Metropolitan Museum of Art American Wing. In the evening she will attend the American Ballet Opening Spring Gala at the Metropolitan Opera House." Doesn't sound like she'll be visiting the portrait of her at the New Museum, but expect high security in those other areas today and tonight! [via Mrs. O]

Michelle Obama has experienced a lot of exciting, historic stuff this year, but yesterday she visited Sesame Street and according to Newsday declared it to be the most exciting thing to happen since her time as First Lady.

       

Last night, Time magazine held its annual Time 100 Gala at the Time Warner Center. Emceed by Jimmy Fallon, the night celebrated those featured in the issue, a range of people from the First Lady to the Twitter guys, from Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. to financial advice guru Suze Orman. The attendee list was long and glittering, including a wide variety of people, like Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman (a Time 100 honoree), SNL producer Lorne Michaels, former JFK speechwriter Ted Sorenson, and the joined-at-the-hip celeb-trio of Liv Tyler, Stella McCartney and Kate Hudson.

First Lady Michelle Obama is in New York City today. She spoke at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations this afternoon, where she drew a small crowd. According to Newsday, "Dozens of star-struck workers waved, called and snapped pictures with their cell phones." Before her visit, some protesters (drawing attention to the troubles in Darfur) were outside while the Secret Service and other authorities checked the premises (it took a golden retriever bomb-sniffing dog about 30 minutes to check the property). And for the fashionistas, looks like she's wearing the Tracy Feith dress she wore the day after the Inauguration.

There's nothing like a tizzy over Barack and Michelle Obama's meeting Queen Elizabeth. First of all, there's the Obamas' gift to the Queen—apparently an iPod loaded with Broadway showtunes, photographs of the Queen's 2007 U.S. visit, and some Obama speeches plus a rare Richard Rodgers-signed songbook. Gawker points out that the Queen gave them a signed, silver-framed photograph of herself but the NY Post thinks the president's gift was an "iDud". But get the smelling salts ready: The Daily Mail reports the Queen, commenting on Michelle Obama's height, "put her arm around Mrs Obama and rested her gloved hand on the small of her back," so the First Lady put her arm around Her Majesty: "No-one - including the ladies-in-waiting standing nearby - could believe their eyes. In 57 years, the Queen has never been seen to make that kind of gesture and it is certainly against all protocol to touch her." Other Brits are happy with Michelle Obama's touchy-feely nature—a cancer patient said, "I didn't think I'd be allowed to touch her, but she just stopped and wrapped her arms around me. It was amazing."

Fine, President Obama may have delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress, but let's really get down to brass tacks: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal sound eerily like Kenneth the Page during the GOP response. That crossover audience of 30 Rock fans and presidential address watchers were probably expecting Jindal to break into "Top That." The other dominant non-policy observation was that Michelle Obama was going sleeveless again (this time, in Narciso Rodriguez), with the Times' The Caucus blog noting, "Mrs. Obama’s super-sculpted arms are the result of years of effort." However, we expect this bit of news to blow everything out of the water: The Obamas are looking for a rescue Portuguese water dog to join them in the White House this April.

Fashion designer Jason Wu's world turned upside down last week when First Lady Michelle Obama selected his white chiffon design as her Inaugural gown. Wu, who is just 26, told the NY Times that he wasn't quite sure if she was really wearing his dress at first, but then, "I was over the moon. I know I am an unusual choice for a first lady. I didn’t think it was my turn yet.” The Times' details his interest in fashion from a young age (his mother would drive him to bridal stores so he could sketch!) and, when asked to submit inaugural dress designs, how he was told "it had to sparkle." Also: "He was not paid for that dress or two more colorful designs he submitted later, he said, but made them with the understanding that if Mrs. Obama should end up wearing one, the dress would be donated to the Smithsonian Institution." For more First Lady fashion fun, check out the chat between Washington Post style writer Robin Givhan and WaPo readers.

While Inauguration excitement is focused in D.C., there's plenty of smiling in New York—especially for fashion designers Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu. Toledo designed Michelle Obama's first First Lady ensemble, a "lemongrass yellow" coat and dress in Swiss wool lace worn during the swearing-in and parade, while Wu's ivory silk chiffon and organza gown was selected as the First Lady's Inaugural gown. The two designers appeared on the Today show this morning and they still seemed stunned and emotional about their creations being part of the historic day.

     

At last! Not just the first song that President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama danced to, but now we have seen the First Lady's much-anticipated inaugural gown. The white gown, designed by Taipei-born, New York-based designer Jason Wu, has a full, slightly trailing skirt with, as the AP reports, "a strap across her right shoulder, a ruched bodice, fluffy appliques and sparkly beading." The President, in white tie, approved, asking the crowd at the Neighborhood Ball, "How good-looking is my wife?"

First Lady Michelle Obama, who must save the American fashion industry (at least, according to the NY Times), did not disappoint with her first outfit of her husband's administration: She wore a "lemongrass yellow" Isabel Toledo dress and coat with teal green Jimmy Choo kitten heels and olive green J.Crew gloves. Toledo, a New York designer who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba when she was eight, didn't know that Obama picked her outfit until watching the TV and told the Times that 13 people worked on clothes—"Chinese ladies, Polish ladies, Spanish ladies"—and added, “We’re all grateful for this opportunity, and we don’t even have a PR person!” As for Obama daughters—Sasha in pink and orange and Malia in blue and black— they were wearing clothes made exclusively by J.Crew's Crewcuts girls' line; those outfits and coats will be available this fall.

It's almost time for the Presidential torch to be passed, and, in keeping with tradition, President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama met with President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush for the pre-Inauguration coffee at the White House. Michelle Obama, who is wearing a yellow Isabel Toldeo dress and coat with teal pumps (ooh), gave Laura Bush a gift—the NBC commentators did not recall seeing an incoming Presidential family giving the outgoing family a gift before.

We wondered if last week SNL's Joe Biden cold opening might be signaling the end of Fred Armisen's tenure as Barack Obama. Now word comes that Lorne Michaels is in fact auditioning four black comedians to take over the role. Speculation is that the four contenders are The Colbert Report's Jordan Carlos, The Daily Show's Wyatt Cenac, (recently canceled) MAD TV's Jordan Peele and 30 Rock writer/Derrick Comedy's Donald Glover. There's no word if casting for an ebony comedienne to portray Michelle is likely to follow. But with Armisen out as Barack, that's one less politically incorrect hurdle for the show. As for SNL being called out for their recent "homoverload," the show's guy-on-guy action probably isn't going away any time soon. We realized this upon stumbling upon a famous NY Mag cover story on the show from 1995 where then cast member Janeane Garofalo said, “They love the anal sex here. That’s considered incredibly funny.”

     

President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush have arrived in NYC for Veterans Day events. Bush will be awarded the 2008 Intrepid Freedom Award at the USS Intrepid; the award is for "world leaders who embody the ideals of world freedom and democracy." Air Force One landed at JFK Airport, and then the Bushes took a helicopter to the aircraft carrier off Manhattan's West Side.

After dropping his daughters off at school in Chicago this morning, President-elect Barack Obama and Michelle Obama flew to Washington D.C. to visit the White House. President George Bush and Obama are expected to discuss transition while the First Lady Laura Bush will give Michelle Obama a tour of the White House and private residence.

This is the cover of a later editon of Daily News' "Election Extra" with Barack and Michelle Obama. The paper printed an additional 100,000 copies! However, it's unclear if that will feed the fever for post-election newspapers.

Today the New Museum will unveil a painting "in tribute to incoming First Lady Michelle Obama." The portrait, titled "Michelle and Sasha Obama Listening to Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention August 2008," will be a new component to the exhibition Live Forever: Elizabeth Peyton. Stop by the 4th floor to see it for yourself!

Good news and bad news for SNL fans this weekend. Tina Fey allegedly will not return in her role as Sarah Palin (though she did last night), but former cast member Maya Rudolph will return to play the role of Michelle Obama, TMZ reports. Does that mean Barack Obama himself will appear to accompany his faux-Michelle, or will Maya return the weekend before the election, when he's rumored to be making an appearance? SNL will likely pull out all the stops through Election Day, as their ratings are sure to go down afterwards.

        

The Democratic National Convention's first night in Denver was capped off by a speech by Michelle Obama, but the emotional highpoint was a speech from Senator Ted Kennedy. The ailing lion of the political dynasty surprised many by speaking, as he has been undergoing treatment for cancer. Introduced by his niece and Obama adviser Caroline Kennedy, Kennedy stirred the crowd:

Nothing, nothing is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight...

Continue reading "Democratic National Convention Kicks Off with Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama"

Barack Obama’s campaign spokesman Bill Burton is calling this week’s New Yorker cover art “tasteless and offensive.” The illustration by Barry Blitt depicts the Illinois senator in the Oval Office wearing traditional Muslim garb while doing a “terrorist fist jab” with his wife Michelle, who is dressed in fatigues, with an Afro and an AK-47 slung over her shoulder. To complete the scene, there’s a portrait of Bin Laden over the fireplace, in which an American flag is ablaze.

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama's weekend bicycle ride is still being parsed. To some, his bicycle seat seems too low. To others, his tires seem flat. And to many, his outfit just seemed like a way to look dorky, maybe because he's so cool.

The Democratic presidential candidates have just wrapped up their debate, but right before the debate, Barack Obama released his and his wife Michelle's tax returns for 2007, showing they made $4,238,165 last year. Most of it--$3,943,378--was from royalties from Obama's books.

The Wisconsin, Washington and Hawaii primaries have been going on today, and while John McCain is expected to further solidify his presumptive nomination, the Democratic race is tight as ever, with a Gallup pole now showing Clinton closing the gap on Obama after his string of eight straight victories.

Interesting, fluffy political article in the NY Times about the diverging political allegiances of two high-profile friends. Oprah Winfrey has made no secret of her support for Senator Barack Obama - she's throwing him a fund-raiser at her California home. Maya Angelou, however, has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton (and even appears in a video on HillaryClinton.com). Neither woman had comment for the Times.

Obama held his first big NYC fundraiser last night, and its being feted as a blowout success-- more than a million dollars raised, and wild adoration from his legion of fans: