From AP

Nov 17th, 2008 | WASHINGTON -- Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downtown, the Agriculture Department reported Monday.

The department's annual report on food security showed that during 2007 the number of children who suffered a substantial disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than double the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998.

have a little dignity.

See, now this has been the stuff of racism. Focus on crap and a reluctance to return

to racial transcendence.

Michelle Obama is not a baby mama with junk in the trunk. It's offensive, just as it has been for the past 30 years while Fox has been painting African Americans as ever-more ridiculous modernizations of Amos 'N Andy. I know why THEY do it. Shame on a black woman who finds stereotypical broad strokes something to be proud of.

But why here?

This is a well-educated, well-spoken intelligent, genteel woman who represents the best of ALL of us. Where is the need to drag her into ghetto caricature.

That's what all those Joe Six Packs in Arkansas are waiting for, people.

You wrote: I have loved Erin Aubry Kaplan's writing since before I joined Salon, and I'm proud of this piece. If having a black president and first lady is going to narrow what we talk about, wow, that would be sad. But I promise it won't -- at least not on Salon.-- Joan Walsh

Since when does not harping about "boo-tay" preclude interesting, intelligent and jubilant discourse on having a black president and first lady? Or relevantly "narrow" what we talk about. I'm amazed you see no alternative to trashy, superficial stereotyping of a wonderful addition to our nation's history.

Honestly, you sound like a kid arguing. Well, if we can't talk about the First Lady's butt, then we just can't say anything at all. Not on my watch. Hmmmph. Free speech! Democracy.

I thought you were better than this. And better able to make reasonable distinctions.

I don't see how this is any better than the Republican committee person who sent around the flyer with pictures of fried chicken and watermelon. Would you fight for that? There is really only a nuanced difference here. The difference is a black woman wrote the article this time. But the effect beyond her cackling "look at my butt it's in the White House" is that it diminshes our elegant First Lady on the national and world stage. Is that who we really are?

Will Kaplan be disappointed if Obama doesn't rap the oath of office?

I've met Michelle Obama and her family. With her hard work and her many accomplishments, I think she would find the fact that someone has aspired to see their body type get to the White House, offensive.

You are so wrong.

Ditto!!!!

but this is the caption under the photo of Michelle Obama in this article:

Michelle Obama waves to the crowed at the Democratic convention in Denver on Aug. 25, 2008.

Anybody see anything wrong there...or were the editors too busy looking at her butt?

"That's who I am"

That's not who he is.

Unless that's the new definition of backbiting, opportunistic, self-serving weasel.

are mistaken in their surly and narrow assessment of the tidal wave of public support that brought Obama into office.

Daily Kos, Huffington Post, MoveOn, Campaign for America's Future, Democracy Now, and a dozen other groups that got a lot of us off our behinds to get out the vote were important in terms of a well-recruited ground war. Along with the campaign, and various permutations of the DNC. I worked with several, along with veteran's groups. Grassroots, baby, grassroots.

However, it was Obama's message of change and hope and a constituency hungry for those very things that brought about this victory. Despite that,it wouldn't have had a chance, against the GOP hate-machine without those legions of passionate foot soldiers spreading the word and leaving bread crumbs to the polling places.

Notice the anonymous source was an "aide". I campaigned nationally as a surrogate for Kerry, and what we found was that some aide's carried around a lot of petty resentment that it didn't all seem to be about them. Amateurs. How dare we!

It's a sad Democrat who would gleefully spit in the face of the foot soldiers that brought them victory. Shame.

Five days sifting through the complicated life of a political and social power broker like Bill Clinton is nothing. Why should it seem sinister?

This needs to be vetted thoroughly, or ... we know what will happen. The Obama team knows its politics...anticipate and diffuse.

No more George Bush shooting from the hip and glancing into people's eyes like twin crystal balls.

Thank goodness.

Fortunately, the snarling chop-licking right isn't going to listen to her. Not even the ones who DON'T haul their bibles everywhere to smote the infidels in the face while hijacking their secular institutions.

Bill O'Reilly who noted with exaggerated (but obviously genuine racist) amazement that the customers in a famous soul-food (Sylvia's?) restaurant in NY were just like normal people, behaving themselves? After all, they were Black. And no one was rapping in his ear or trying to steal his wallet. Huh?

He's a jerk. No one should invite him to San Francisco.

Since Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are sucking up his oxygen more every day, I'm just going to ignore his infuriating propaganda.

where entertainment is ok, but the biggest stories aren't about Michelle Obama's behind, and the sex appeal of a not-so-gracefully aging actor/pathetically degenerate (though possibly rehabilitated) criminal. Only in America. Sadly.

when you need it?

I'm still looking. Maybe it's really the shadow world of slobbering Right revisionists.

Unfortunately, the people pulling the strings are clever, with agendas. The audience of bigoted, anti-intellectual, easily propagandized cretans wag their tails and go nuts over the squeaky toys on cue.