Can The First Lady Eat A Damn Hamburger In Peace?!? Sheesh.

Michelle Obama Navel Gazing© is a fun, frequent activity for Conservative sites. Take a quick trip to National Review, The Drudge Report, or the infamous Fox Nation, and you'll inevitably come across a mundane public interest story about the First Lady, with a sensationalized title (Michelle Obama Wears $400 Sneakers... To Feed The Homeless!!!) to draw in the crazies. These stories are like dog whistles, intended to drum up anti-Obama animus and guaranteed web traffic. It's a surefire way for a lazy web editor to get some easy hits without much actual work.

I assumed the venerable Washington Post was above such silly tactics. I assumed wrong.

First lady Michelle Obama ordered a whopper of a meal at the newly opened Washington diner Shake Shack during lunch on Monday.

A Washington Post journalist on the scene confirmed the first lady, who’s made a cause out of child nutrition, ordered a ShackBurger, fries, chocolate shake and a Diet Coke while the street and sidewalk in front of the usually-packed Shake Shack were closed by security during her visit.

According to nutritional information on Shake Shack’s Web site, the meal amounted to 1,700 calories.

Obama, who launched the “Let’s Move” campaign to combat childhood obesity last year, has previously admitted to having an “obsession with french fries,” which she says are fine to indulge in occasionally. “It’s all about moderation,” Obama told reporters.

In case you were wondering, this ever important tidbit didn't appear in the Style section, or the Food section, or the Health section, or even the gossipy Reliable Sources column.

Nope, it showed up in the very popular 44 Blog, which is all about "Politics and Policy in Obama's Washington".

How does the First Lady going to get lunch get categorized as "Politics and Policy in Obama's Washington"?!?

ABC News got in on the hype too.



Interestingly, whereas the comments on The Fox Nation for this story were full of anti-"Moochelle" hatred, most of the comments on the WashPost story questioned the point of including such a news item. I, for one, was delightfully surprised. Good work Post.com readers! You suck, Washington Post.com!

Still, 3 years into this bullsh*t, I can't help but wonder why this woman is bashed for mercilessly by Conservatives. I think this disturbs me so much, because I obviously hold the First Lady (and all First Ladies) in high regard and think she should be somewhat off limits when it comes to this sort of criticism. I don't recall prior First Ladies being bashed to this degree, but then again, blogs (and their comment sections) weren't nearly as prevalent in the past as they are now.

She's clearly in great shape for a woman her age, and can obviously shake off a high calorie meal better than most people. So does she bring some of this on herself by advocating healthy eating and workout habits for children? Is this backlash because of the media's obsession with her arms/general fitness? Is this just typical partisan hackery? Or is this largely about race? Ya'll tell me?

Question: Why does it seem like some (key word: some) Conservatives hate Michelle Obama so much?