Michelle Obama Tired of Being Painted as an 'Angry Black Woman'
First Lady Michelle Obama said she is tired of being labeled as "some kind of angry black woman," in an interview with CBS News.
This stems from recent assertions that she's forcefully imposed her will on White House aides. New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor’s new book paints Mrs. Obama as a behind-the-scenes force in the Executive Mansion.
Her viewpoints are said to cause conflicts with her husband, President Obama's top advisers.
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Mrs. Obama spoke with "CBS This Morning" host Gayle King on a variety of issues, as well as her negative characterization. She stated that she hasn’t come across Kantor’s book as of yet.
Kantor’s book, The Obamas, portrays a White House where tensions developed between Mrs. Obama and former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and former Press Secretary and Presidential Adviser Robert Gibbs.
She is also described as a silent force in the White House when it comes to pursuing President Barack Obama’s goals.
"I never read these books," she told CBS's Gayle King when asked about the book. "So I've just gotten in the habit of not reading other people's impressions of people."
"I'm sure we could go day to day and find things people wished they didn't say to each other. And that's why I don't read these books. It's a game, in so many ways, that doesn't fit. Who can write about what I feel? What third person can tell me what I feel?"
Mrs. Obama also said, "I guess it's just more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here. That's been an image people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced, that I'm some kind of angry black woman."
When asked if she felt the immense pressure of being in the White House as the First Lady, Mrs. Obama said she doesn’t feel it at all. "No, I don't,” she said. "And I think that that's one of the reasons why I think I have the better job, you know? I mean, as first lady, I get to pace the issues, because I wasn't elected. "
"And there aren't people sort of expecting a certain set of things within a certain amount of time," she continued. "I have the luxury, truly, of defining the issue and laying out a set of goals and adjusting them where needed. The pressures are just very different, in that regard."
Mrs. Obama said she enjoys her current role as the White House First Lady. She faces the challenges of her position head on. "I love this job,” she stated. "It has been a privilege from day one."
Mrs. Obama let it be known that she's "just trying to be me, and I just hope that over time, that people get to know me."
