Thoroughly modern Michelle, Obama's other half

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

DENVER, Colorado (AFP) — Fans adore her as an inspiration and style icon. Right-wing foes have dubbed her an angry black radical. But for first-lady-in-waiting Michelle Obama, she is first and foremost a mom.

As her husband Barack Obama is poised to make history by being crowned the Democratic Party's first black presidential nominee, Michelle, 44, is doing her best to stay level-headed.

Initially she had sought to stay in the shadows, partly out of a natural tendency to shun the limelight, but mainly for the sake of their young daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

But amid the excitement whipped up by Barack's electrifying campaign for change, Michelle was thrust increasingly into the fore, emerging as a feisty, engaging and charismatic woman with a fierce...