These are suppose to be letters to the editor. I'd like to hear from someone at Salon as to why they think this is an important topic to have an article on and why it's so important as to be the lead article.

Come on, defend yourselves!

Barack didn't get elected because of how Michelle looks or doesn't look. Thankfully, we have come at least that far. Hopefully one of these days we won't talk about womens' body parts at all in judgmental terms.

I'm white, living about 2 miles outside of Detroit, and I've never heard of any great Big Black Butt Fear that white people are supposed to have. :-) My white friends and I don't talk about big black butts. We do talk about our cool, new president who is smarter than our current president and how we were proud to vote for him. We talk about how having a black president might ease tensions between whites and blacks, so maybe one day in 40 more years we can get past it.

To the whites I know, people who don't speak coherent English (Sarah Palin! Snoop Dogg!) seem ghetto, and in both of those examples, it seems like an affectation. And butt size has nothing to do with that.

Content of our character? Content of of our panties is more like it.

Track record of accomplishments? Present.

Governing principles? Who needs 'em? They look like me, that's enough.

I wish I could say I expected more from Salon. The truth is, I don't. Congratulations on your new lows.

Salon articles are not journalism. Salon is not journalism. The point of this article was to sell me an '09 F-150. I've seen the ad a few dozen times now. Thanks, Salon for doing your part.

what?

...and this stupid article is the reason why,

That there are no "editor's choice" letters regarding this piece.

I agree to an extent. White's don't fear black's booties(although I admit that when I discovered that I had fairly recent black ancestry, the first thing I thought of was my large butt--who knew it was ghetto?) Anyhoo, people did elect Obama based, in part, on how his wife looks. Can you imagine if she were white? He never would have been elected. However, I think what this article is attempting is to say is code for: Michelle isn't light skinned, and black women really appreciate this.

...it's another to decide that *2* pages of piffle are required to point out that Michelle Obama has some.

I suppose it's a change from whinging about her not reinventing the role of First Lady though.

I think this article resembles the New Yorker cover with the Obamas - Noble intent, poor, execution.

As an African American woman who did read the article, I understand the writer's perspective, but the article is cringe worthy. Diminishing someone for their body is cruel, but elevating them isn't actually much better. Two points:

1) If you really want to go there, and celebrate her rear and how proudly she is 'black', why not get into a conversation about why her hair is processed straight instead of sporting her natural texture? Should little black girls feel ashamed of their hair? Of course not. So why should we feel 'pride' about a particular shape of her ass?

2) Stereotyping of any sort isn't helpful. Without meaning to, the writer has raised the eyebrows of African American women who do not have the same body type as M. Obama, because the writer is implying that African American woman = Large rear. Many do, but many don't. Condi Rice, anyone? I don't like her politics, but since we're claiming black women, let's claim them all.

I'd prefer that girls look at M. Obama and say, wow! I feel great that smart, ethical females just like me can do good. But okay, great: Large assed women: you can be more than a girl in a rap video. I suppose that's.....um, a good point?

Daily answering the question, "Can we get any sillier?" with a bold, forthright and unashamed, "Yes we can!"

I cannot believe that Salon published this crap. I canNOT believe this is the same site that publishes Glenn Greenwald and Juan Cole. I imagine that in the author's shallow mind that she was being edgy and sticking it to the white man with a crude form of black booty chauvinism. (Personally, I like black booties that I can cup my hands around). There is a segment of the black immaturegencia such as Tom Joiner, commedians and gangsta rappers that make their living throwing things up in white people's faces in a sophomore in high school sort of way. However, they are opening the doors for everyone to objectify Black women in the same way that the slave masters did in the old days. Can I now talk about the African sweat that emanates from Michelle's booty? What about an ass-off? Let's see pictures of Michelle's black booty and Erin's black booty and Joan Walsh's tender vanilla booty and let the readers vote on which one they would like to hump. I could go on and on. If Joan Walsh thinks this is such a worthy topic, why doesn't she bring it up on the Rachel Maddow show. Surely, it would top the ratings and I am also sure that the boys at Fox news would pick it up. Is this anyway to start a new beginning? CAn you believe we're discussing this instead of health care reform and torture. Joan - save these articles for the sluthouse. Glenn- Leave while you still can before they start analyzing your penis.

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.