Bruni: Michelle Obama Called 1st Lady Gig "Hell"

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS News/AP

French first lady and former model Carla Sarkozy-Bruni is quoted as saying in a new book that Michelle Obama told her life as a president's wife was "hell," according to the Daily Mail newspaper.

The book says Sarkozy-Bruni asked Mrs. Obama what life was like for her since her husband, Barack Obama, won the U.S. presidency.

"Don't ask. It's hell. I can't stand it," Sarkozy-Bruni claims Mrs. Obama responded, the newspaper reports.


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/16/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main6871675.shtml?tag=stack

[bluestateguy]

1. Strikes me as false

nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. Why? If you were a young mother trying to raise two daughters

and were a naturally private person to begin with, how would you react to being dropped into a fishbowl?

No matter what she does she gets publicly excorciated for it - going on vacation, dressing down in T-shirt and jeans in public, wearing a designer shirt while painting in a PR pic.

She can't win, whatever she does. I'd not be surprised, nor blame her, if she called it 'hell'.

[wisteria]

11. I would think that Michele Obama is a smart enough woman to keep some thoughts private.

She may not like the idea of being in a fishbowl, but I am sure she takes a lot of pleasure in and is honored to be the First Lady. And, making a statement that could go public and be used against her to a political acquaintance, just does not seem like Mrs. Obama's style.

[Xithras]

23. She may have thought that she was speaking to a sympathetic ear.

She allegedly made the statement in a private conversation, as the First Lady of one country speaking with the First Lady of another. I'm a bit appalled that Sarkozy would repeat a statement that was obviously meant to be a private remark.

[chimpymustgo]

30. Obviously. Carla knows better...

[trayfoot]

40. I totally agree!!!!!

How utterly gauche of the French "First Lady"!!!

[BonnieJW]

45. And she would share this with the first lady of France?

After they just met??? I cannot believe it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

58. 'Creative editing' maybe.

We don't know, it was not reported, what Bruni said to her to get that response - it could have been something on the lines of "Know what bothers me most? The paparazzi. I thought I knew something about that from being a model, but this is ridiculous - I have NO privacy, have to be on my guard every minute." To which Michelle replies "I know,..." Commiserating with someone who is in the same position who just shared with her. It's how women bond.

Going from being a Senator's wife to a President's wife would be a traumatic change - not unlike going from being a somewhat successful model to being a President's wife. If nothing else, they have that in common. It would only be natural for them to bond on such an issue.

Of course, that is pure hypothesis, but I don't see where the logic fails.

[JDPriestly]

36. Europeans do not understand the way that Americans joke.

(We don't get some of their jokes either.) Self-deprecation -- like saying your life is Hell when you are in a very envied position -- is typical American humor. There is probably a certain amount of truth in the statement. Life in the White House, your husband flying from one end of the country to the other, your family being under constant scrutiny and perhaps even in constant danger, secret service personnel watching your every move and listening to your every word probably is not altogether easy. But then, being First Lady is also glorious and can mean that other people feel a kind of awe and behave in a distant fashion in your presence. It would not surprise me if Michelle Obama made an exaggerated statement about how horrible it is. That is the way that we Americans try to put ourselves on the same level with people who may look up to us. That is how we try to let the other person know we are just human.

So, Michelle may have made the statement or not. Either way, it would not surprise me. She is a lovely, wonderful lady, and most Americans really respect her and love her. She is one of the best First Ladies ever to live in the White House -- really at the top of the list -- educated, poised, kind, loving, generous, a wonderful example for all citizens of our country.

[Marnie]

42. I agree.

Being both a Black, a female and a politicians spouse, as well as intelligent and a lawyer: I am sure Michelle has learned to parse her words very carefully.

[Steerpike]

2. lol

it probably is!

[Enrique]

3. omg she cussed!

:scared:

[MineralMan]

4. Doesn't sound like Michelle Obama at all.

Ce n'est pas vrai.

[movonne]

5. I don't doubt it ....It is probably hell and for him to...

[hlthe2b]

6. strikes me as a joke...

perhaps the joking manner of delivery was lost in "translation?"

[dogfacedboy]

19. Exactly. Probably sarcasm.

[Phil The Cat]

50. While there are "creature comforts"

I cannot see how being First Lady would NOT be Hell on Earth!

Thousands, probably MILLIONS of people around the world want to hurt you, your husband, and / or your children!

Every action, every word, every though you have is attacked, not only by your enemies, but by your (so called) friends!

Living in a golden cage, surrounded by body guards, unable to make a trip to the grocery store, the bank, the cinema, ANYWHERE without timetables and security!

The only thing that describing her job as hell says is that she is smart and sane!

[dipsydoodle]

8. Was posted in LBN earlier and moved to GD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=4542276

[Judi Lynn]

53. Good idea. n/t

[wisteria]

9. It sounds false to me too. I thought the two women had a warm relationship actually.

This is either entirely wrong or it's meaning or words taken wayyyyyyyy out of ontext.

[monmouth]

10. Don't buy it. Isn't this a Murdoch rag? Michelle is way too smart

to make such a comment. Of course it probably is hell but still....

[dipsydoodle]

13. From the sound of it smarter than you

No - its not a Murdoch rag.

[monmouth]

17. Oooooo, ouch! It was such a crap article I just assumed...n/t

[dipsydoodle]

18. Private Eye

has always referred to The Daily Mail as The Daily Lie. :)

[Tempest]

27. Who is the book's publisher?

That will go a long way in finding out how much fiction is in the book.

[dipsydoodle]

51. Couldn't find that

but apparently there were two other authors she with whom she wrote the book.

[SargeUNN]

12. of course she could think so, just think

she puts on clothes and she gets bashed for it. She goes to some event and she gets slammed no matter how worthwhile it is. She has to be kept in a bubble so the crazies don't try to kill her for some wacked out crap Beck, or Limbaugh stirs. Sure, it has to be hell to put up with and anyone who thinks it is all wonderful is not being fair.

[jonnyblitz]

14. oh please, I am sure it IS hell, how can anyone hold this against

her if she DID say it, it makes her sound NORMAL and quite HUMAN. I also see how the context of this comment is key to knowing how it was intended and how it can be "re-interpreted" to portray her in a certain light unfairly. Sadly, I know how this will be used against her, shades of the flag pin or along that line. "Michelle Obama hates America" :eyes:

I like the first lady and don't hold against her whatever issue I may have with the president politically.

[tabatha]

15. "And she (Carla) admits: ‘I am a femme fatale, my dear."

Carla Sarkozy-Bruni has issues.

[krabigirl]

26. Yep.

[madmax]

16. If I were in Michelle's shoes I'd think it hell too

FLOTUS must be perfect. Forfeit all privacy, not offend any segment of our society, remain calm, poised and not a hair out of place. That's just my prsonal thumb nail evaluation.

Being FLOTUS is overated and underpaid. Give me a BREAK. just my 2 cents.

[edbermac]

20. It's hell? She can't stand it?

I can't figure out why... :shrug:

[Karenina]

21. While trying to educate her daughters...

[Nikki Stone1]

22. It was certainly hell for Hillary. Michelle's got an easy gig by comparison.

At least until Barack decides to stray....

[emulatorloo]

24. How much Cable News Time will this suck up today?

[otohara]

28. At FOX, I'd Say 99.9%

for the next two days....

Bruni will then come out and say she did not say this, or the authors got it all wrong....blah,blah,blah....,

Why Carla?

[krabigirl]

25. I don't trust that at all.

[MilesColtrane]

29. What's French for, "Shut the hell up, you empty-headed heiress"?

I liked France better when they were disposing of their elites, not elevating them to power.

[Dogmudgeon]

31. Sounds like a paparazzo got in there somewhere

It sounds more like scandal-sheet-shit than reality.

--d!

[sabra]

32. French Embassy: "The words attributed to the First Lady of the United States were never said"

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/16/report-michelle-obama-thinks-first-lady-is-hell/#more-122865

<snip>

But French Embassy spokesman Emmanuel Lenain says Bruni "distances herself completely from the content of the book….which was not authorized."

"The words attributed to the First Lady of the United States were never said," said Lanain.

[Bette Noir]

33. That sounds most likely.

Just because something gets published in a book doesn't mean it's true.

[wisteria]

34. Ah, there you have it, the book was not authorized. n/t

[mainer]

44. So both Carla and Michelle deny it.

I wonder what the author's source was if both parties say it never happened.

[Judi Lynn]

55. According to this article, both women deny it, also:

16 September 2010 Last updated at 15:02 ET
Book claims Michelle Obama is living first lady 'hell'

The White House has denied claims in a new book that Michelle Obama told French first lady Carla Bruni that her life in the White House was "hell".

"Don't ask! It's hell. I can't stand it," Mrs Obama was quoted as saying in a private conversation at the White House in March 2010.

"The first lady never said that," Mrs Obama's spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld said on Thursday.

A French embassy spokesman also stated that the remarks "were never said."

"Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy distances herself completely from the content of the book Carla and the Ambitious, which was not authorised and the authors alone are responsible for its contents," embassy spokesman Emmanuel Lenain said on Thursday.

More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11335076

Absolutely pathetic!

[aquart]

35. Hell and UNPAID.

That's the truth whether anybody said it.

[RamboLiberal]

37. Michelle Obama Denies Telling Carla Bruni White House Life is "Hell"

A spokesperson for First Lady Michelle Obama is denying a book's claim that first lady Michelle Obama told French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy that life in the White House is "hell."

"The First Lady never said that," Katie McCormick-Lelyveld said.

French Embassy spokesman Emmanuel Lenain also called the claim false.

"Mrs. Bruni-Sarkozy distances herself completely from the content of the book 'Carla and the Ambitious,' which was not authorized and the authors alone are responsible for its contents," Lenain, spokesman at the French embassy in Washington DC, said. "The words attributed to the First Lady of the United States were never said."



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20016678-503544.html?tag=stack

[RayStar]

39. Liar

Carla has her own problems. She just wants to steer the media in another direction. LIAR

[totodeinhere]

46. Somebody is lying but we don't know who it is. I would tend to believe Michelle Obama but

of course I can't prove it.

[mainer]

49. Carla denies it too. Both women agree.

Not Carla's fault the "biographers" are making up stuff.

[Dappleganger]

38. Was that before or after

she confessed that she consulted Bo for fashion advice on a regular basis?

:sarcasm:

[Marnie]

41. Stay classy Carla.

I doubt Michelle would be that careless.
But regardless of the accuracy of the statement, future conversations Mz. Bruni has with anyone will be very guarded and probably will not beheld without at least a voice recording and one witness.

Very unwise act for the a person in Bruni's position to disclose personal conversations real or false.

[cosmicone]

43. This was first reported in The Daily Mirror in London

a Rupert Murdoch rag .... enough said.

[Abq_Sarah]

47. I doubt Michelle would ever say that to anyone outside her circle

Family, close friends.

But I have no doubt that the job IS hell.

Life under a microscope can't be fun.

[DallasNE]

48. Shame On CBS

This woman is trying to sell a book so she needs red meat to help sales and CBS took the bait. End of story.

[Old Troop]

52. It sounds like a throw away response to me. In other words, maybe Michelle

had a bad day and answered as just about anyone would. Why is it considered a big deal anyway?

[butterfly77]

54. I don't blame her..

with all of the shit they have had to deal with...

[donheld]

56. That must be why every picture you see she's gloomy looking &

sad. :sarcasm:

[ibegurpard]

57. Even if she did who fucking cares?

who wants to live in a bubble with bodyguards?

[disndat]

59. Well, it will sel Sarkozy-l Bruni's books. nt.