Michelle Obama's Message: All You Need Is Love . . . and a Good Education

FOTUS has left London in body, if not in spirit. It appears that the Brits will be talking about her for a long time to come. If Lady Gaga didn't exist in another woman's body, I think Michelle might carry the name.

The world is smitten by our first lady.

I'll write in a moment about the First Lady's unexpected visit yesterday, and her inspiring remarks to the young women of London’s Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School. Right now, I'm perusing another story in the London Times, one written on August 24, 2008: "Michelle, Obama's iron belle, faces her big test".

The timing was her prime time speech before the Democratic convention. The article sums up everything we now know to be true about Michelle Obama, who verifies the article's essential observations on a daily basis.

Last August, the London Times called Michelle a "bold and beautiful Glamazon", rather than "the wife next door like Laura Bush". She is at ease on the cover of high-fashion glossies and tabloid magazines. She will wear clothes from Gap one day and Alexander McQueen the next; the first time I ( writer Sarah Baxter) met her, at a black-tie dinner in Washington, she was wearing a daring champagne silk bustier and had the look-at-me quality of Diana, Princess of Wales.

More now-standard Michelle commentary:

• the $180 black-and-white-floral dress sold out in hours
• Michelle has "toned arms"
• At 44 (then) she doesn't have lumps and bumps, because she works out four times a week, often rising at 4:30 am to hit the gym.

“Occasionally it gives campaign people heartburn,” David Axelrod, Obama’s chief strategist, once said. “She goes out there, speaks her mind, jokes. She doesn’t parse her words or select them with an antenna for political correctness.”

All in all, this excellent, in-depth London Times article sums up the Michelle who is captivating hearts in Europe this week.

Speaking before the totally surprised girls at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington yesterday, Michelle returned to the inspiring themes that define her.

First and foremost, "being smart is cooler than anything in the world."

As she gets her stride, Michelle is increasingly willing to talk about herself, creating context around her educational experiences and her life growing up on the South Side of Chicago.

Education, rather than background, counts the most in life, FOTUS told the students.

“I never cut class. I loved getting As, I liked being smart. I liked being on time. I thought being smart is cooler than anything in the world. You, too, with these values, can control your own destiny. You, too, can pave the way.” She urged them to believe in their dreams.

“For nothing in my life ever would have predicted that I would be standing here as the first African-American First Lady. I was not raised with wealth or resources or any social standing to speak of. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago — that’s the real part of Chicago.”

Michelle reminded the girls that Britain is the home of the "most extraordinary women", including the Queen and Maggie Darling, the wife of the Chancellor, whom she called a "true firebrand". F

FOTUS described Sarah Brown as a "phenomenal woman who has been charming and delightful".

Reading her comments and thinking about Michelle's comments this week, I can't help wondering if this trip will redefine our First Lady in yet another way.

Acknowledging that "I do hugs", makes me think about FOTUS and her PDAs.

It occurs to me that Michelle will be hugging a lot of people around the world, in the coming years. It's likely that no single woman will share more physical contact, with more women of every age and nationality, than Michelle Obama.

Besides Education, All You Need Is Love

In terms of authentic visual imagery, the hugs may be even more important than her words, although words have a way of being tossed and turned in the blogosphere. I keep thinking of the Beatle's tune "All You Need Is Love."

Out of nowhere, the world suddenly has this totally visible, commanding, vibrant and powerful woman, who is "walking the talk" to this song.

Under our obsession with celebrity, fancy clothes, "American Idol" and a zillion other trappings of modern life, isn't this what most of us want: Love? Being special in someone's eyes? Believing that someone actually cares enough to motivate us and become our champion?

The London Times reports that after admitting that "I do hugs", Michelle was immediately mobbed by dozens of girls, as she leant over the stage to greet as many as possible.

This week will be transformational for Michelle Obama, who never dreamed in her wildest ones, that she would become the equivalent of a global rockstar.

Throughout yesterday's visit to London’s Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, the girls yelled: "We love you".I read these words lay strewn all over the streets of London.

Newspaper reports suggest that FOTUS was "overwhelmed" by the affection the girls showed her.

Too bad that Michelle doesn't keep a journal. Or does she?

I'd love to know the private thoughts going on in that cerebral, focused, Glamazon mind, the "Michelle Obama Show: Biggest Hugger on the Face of Planet Earth". Anne