On Monday, July 21, at the top floor of the Hearst Tower, a crowd of wealthy-looking women gathered for a reception and panel discussion sponsored by Every Woman Counts, a nonpartisan endeavor of Redbook magazine and the Lifetime Network encouraging ladyfolk to participate in the coming election. And by “participate,” we assume they mean to wave placards around, perhaps; to knock on doors, sure—but also to just plain vote!

Redbook editor in chief Stacy Morrison said the event correlated nicely with her goals for the magazine: to bring women together. “I think women are resistant to the polarizing aspect of politics,” she said, conjuring a lovely, idealistic image of Our Bodies, Ourselves-era post-hippies braiding one another’s hair and clasping hands over “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.  read more »

There has apparently been a collapse of comic literacy in the United States of America, as the magazine-reading class in this city has deteriorated to the point at which it can no longer absorb a political cartoon. Barry Blitt’s assault on the bias and profiling leveled at Mr. and Mrs. Barack Obama, “The Politics of Fear,” on the cover of the July 21, 2008, issue of The New Yorker embodies the kind of wit that was once standard issue in great cartooning from John Tenniel to Herblock.

Mocking the racial preconceptions that the yahoos have tacked onto the Chicago politician Barack Obama—whose first name isn’t much stranger to the American palate than Adlai’s or Lyndon’s once were—was Blitt’s really good idea.  read more »

Slate's Christopher Beam has something to get off his chest.

In a post last night, Mr. Beam, who writes the website's 'Trailhead' blog, confessed that he may have accidentally set off the ridiculous Barack and Michelle Obama "terrorist fist-bump" meme that found its way into this week's New Yorker's cover illustration by Observer contributor Barry Blitt. That cover has spawned more op-eds, blog posts, news segments, and articles than, frankly, Media Mob is willing to link to, making it the most talked about magazine moment in history since Miley Cyrus bared her back in Vanity Fair, lo, two months ago.

According to Mr.  read more »

Women’s bodies are revolting! I don’t mean that the way it sounds. The girls of the world have simply had enough. They are mad as hell and they are not going to take it anymore. Anarchy and change are in the air.

But what exactly is going on? Is the super-skinny trend coming to an end? Are real women—remember back when being naturally curvaceous was good thing?—about to make a giant comeback? Are Michelle Obama’s arms too thick or too thin? Will Angelina Jolie’s womb continue to burst with babies? Is the anorexic-but-busty trend—that ho look against which I inveighed in my most recent book, Eccentric Glamour (Simon and Schuster, $24), finally beating a retreat? So many questions!  read more »

Let’s start with the ho trend.]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/style/teen-chic-tired-women-are-back#comments Style Carla Bruni Michelle Obama The Real Houswives of Orange County Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:02:38 -0400 Simon Doonan 71832 at http://www.observer.com http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/soft-media-spots-work-obamas

In his media column today, David Carr revisits the hubbub surrounding Barack Obama's decision to allow Access Hollywood to interview his daughters. Obama eventually told Matt Lauer that the family "won't be doing it again," but Carr suggests that the whole incident ultimately worked to the Obama campaign's advantage.

To be sure, the Obamas haven't shied away from softer media outlets, and at least one expert thinks that is a good thing for them.

In an e-mail exchange last week, I asked Jin Chon, Hillary Clinton's press secretary for specialty media, who had a fair amount of success putting Clinton in the generally friendly confines of entertainment shows, about the merits of politicians using entertainment-focused media.  read more »

Michelle Obama or Cindy McCain?

That's what Tim Gunn was asked as part of Time 's 10 Questions feature, and to which it seemed he gave a fairly benign answer:

Michelle Obama. Absolutely. She looks so comfortable and relaxed in her style, in her fashion, and she exudes that. She has a presence that gives you confidence in her.

But New York Magazine's The Cut fashion blog discovered that in the videotaped version of the Q&A, the Project Runway host gave a rather more severe answer. After giving praise to Mrs. Obama, he compares her to Mrs. McCain, whom he says "looks like someone has twisted her ponytail into a knot and tried to give her a face-lift." Zing!

Also, of note: Mr. Gunn refers to himself in third person, beginning the interview by saying: "Tim Gunn is absolutely, completely floored, and exhilarated and thrilled to be here!" O.K., wow.

In an upcoming four-part interview with Access Hollywood (click 'play' above, or here to view a preview on their Web site), the Obama family was grilled by the bubbly Maria Menounos about the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's fashion status. 

Senator Obama's 10-year-old daughter, Malia, told Ms. Menounos that she recently spotted her "papa" in People magazine, which was weird because she typically sees people like Angelina Jolie in there, "a real important person, no offense," she said, laughing with her mother.

Malia and 7-year-old Sasha also said that they give their father fashion tips, to which Senator Obama said, “Malia basically avoids me embarrassing her by giving me these tips, especially when I am around her friends.  read more »

Not everyone in the crowd at the Waldorf Astoria last night, where Michelle Obama addressed gay activists at a fund-raiser for the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee, was bowled over by her talk of “robust civil unions,” even as she received a generally warm response for the rest of her speech.

Obama, who followed New York first lady Michelle Paterson and took the stage to the theme song “Michelle, My Belle,” mostly spoke about how her husband would continue to hold onto his principles through the campaign. She made no explicit mention of his calculated decision to absorb a big editorial hit by opting out of the public financing system, except to say how happy she was about the large number of small donors the campaign had attracted.  read more »

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Michelle Obama did her part for Democratic unity here today, referring to Hillary Clinton as an "extraordinary woman" at a round-table event with former New Hampshire Governor Jeanne Shaheen.

"Because of Hillary Clinton's work, the issues of importance to women and working families are more at the forefront than ever before," Obama said, the day before Barack Obama will appear with Clinton for the first time since the primary ended.

Naturally enough, she sought to portray herself and her husband as closely in tune with female concerns.

One of the first rounds of applause during her brief speech came when she paid tribute to her mother for resourcefulness.  read more »

Another sign of a thaw between the Obama campaign and some of the powerful women who have long been allied with the Clintons: Michelle Obama will speak at a lunch for the National Partnership for Women & Children tomorrow.

The release from the campaign notes that Emily's List founder Ellen Malcolm and Cheryl Mills, who was deputy White House counsel under Bill Clinton, are both on the board of the organization and will be at the event.

Here's the announcement:

Chicago, IL – This Friday, June 20, Michelle Obama, wife of Senator Barack Obama, will speak at the National Partnership for Women & Families 2008 Annual Luncheon.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2008/michelle-obama-address-clinton-women#comments Politics Barack Obama Bill Clinton Cheryl Mills Ellen Malcolm Hillary Clinton Michelle Obama National Partnership for Women & Families Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:25:19 -0400 Katharine Jose 70977 at http://www.observer.com