Michelle has a really novel new approach to her campaigning and one that I find brilliant.
Starting in New Hampshire a few weeks ago, she now does these "roundtable discussions" with groups of women where she zeroes in on issues like getting adequate child care and the Family Leave Act. She still has a stump speech (and it's a great speech), one that wraps around relevant policies, but a lot of what she does is listen to other women and their concerns and then responding with her own thoughts.
Like The View basically.
Anyway, this framework really plays to her strengths. When she was in New Hampshire right before the Unity event, she got GLOWING press, not only in newspapers but on the local news. She came across as incredibly warm and intelligent (and beautiful! She wore this very striking white and gray dress that I am still looking for).
It's basically the PERFECT format for her.
Today she appeared in Pontiac Michigan with Jennifer Granholm and has gotten more really great local press.
Below the fold, a press roundup.
From Mlive.com (A local news site)
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm said one of the few differences between herself and first lady-hopeful Michelle Obama is fashion sense.
"I will not show my arms in public," Granholm said with a laugh Wednesday at The Crofoot.
Obama, wearing a simple sleeveless dress, made her first Michigan stop of the campaign season at the entertainment venue in Pontiac. She talked mostly about issues facing working women, and hosted a discussion between herself, Granholm and four other Michigan women about the challenges they face.
Granholm, who supported Hillary Clinton during the primary race, pointed out the similarities between herself and Obama — both attended Harvard Law School, both married Harvard Law alumni and both came from working-class families.
"I feel like we have so much in common," Granholm told Obama.
....
The crowd of mostly women erupted in applause, cheers and the occasional "Amen" as Obama talked about problems with health care, wage discrepancies between men and women, and the tough economy.
"People make decisions about whether to put gas in the car to get to work, or buy groceries," she said.
....
"I want all of our children to have the opportunities that we, our mothers and our grandmothers have only dreamed of," Obama said.
From detnews.com (Detroit paper)
Mixing campaign rhetoric with heart-to-heart stories about the struggles of working women, Michelle Obama campaigned for her husband in Oakland County on Wednesday.
Speaking to a racially diverse and nearly all-female crowd of about 200 at a downtown Pontiac ballroom, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said her husband's life experience has equipped him to understand the worries and hopes of women balancing work and parenting.
"Barack was raised by two strong women. He wouldn't be here but for the women in his life, his mother and his grandmother," she said of her husband, whose father left his family at an early age. "Barrack carries our stories as women with him every single day and those stories have really shaped who he has become as a man."
....
But the event was built around Michelle Obama, sitting beside Gov. Jennifer Granholm, listening to stories of working women worried about losing their jobs or their health care or their children's education.
From wlns.com (Lansing local news)
Michelle Obama has made her first Michigan stop of the campaign season at a packed bar and music venue in Pontiac.
The first-lady hopeful was given a standing ovation Wednesday as she walked on stage with Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Obama talked mostly about the issues facing working families and opened up the stage to hear the stories of several Michigan women, including Granholm.
After answering questions from the audience, Obama ended the event by promising that she and her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, are "committed to the state of Michigan."
This is just a sampling; most local news outlets are writing about it.
To check out Michelle's new stump speech (it's very worthy of a read) click here. (Scroll down slightly to get to the transcript.)
Anyways, Go Michelle!!