Contrary to Published Reports, Michelle Obama Did NOT Break Her Silence in Russia

Robin Givhan writes this morning that Michelle Obama broke her silence in Russia. She did NOT.

It doesn't help the cause of womens right's in the world, when we women distort the reality of what happened on Michelle's trip to Russia.

Reading Robin's story just now, I was so confused by the last third of it, that I went looking for another page.

What had I missed? Michelle Obama did NOT break her silence in Russia. She behaved perfectly, adapting her style to the expectations of women in Russian culture.

Michelle Obama was a 'perfect' American first lady. Unless you believe that her predecessors lacked any social and diplomatic graces -- which I do not believe-- then FLOTUS was a lovely, gracious woman with a beautiful smile, like other First Ladys who make us proud. 

Thankfully, POTUS grabbed her hand, not expecting her to always walk steps behind him for the whole trip. Forgetting where he met her only added to Michelle's inner stress this week. The facts of women's lives fade quickly, if we're not vigilant.

Bonnie Fuller, who gave Michelle a D for derailing important matters in Europe by hugging the Queen, will give Michelle an A+ for her behavior in Russia.

FLOTUS did not make a transgression here, because critical global politics are at stake. Russians expect their women to behave a certain way, and Michelle will not risk upsetting that apple cart, deflecting attention away from the men and their important negotiations.

Writers on the Michelle Obama Beat

Robin's WaPo article is timely, following on the heels of Howard Kurtz's WaPo opinion piece this weekend Black Reporters on the Beat of Michelle Obama. The highly-credentialed Givhan is quoted extensively in the article, with Kurtz suggesting that African American women have a vested interest in writing flattering press about Michelle.

Kurtz didn't intentionally set a trap for Givhan, but I think she confirmed the thesis of his article with this morning's portrait of Michelle in Russia.

The best story written this week is the AP story Michelle Obama Bringing Glamour to Moscow.

AP writer Catrina Stewart had the guts to write what Robin Givhan didn't. Stewart informed us about Michelle's challenges in Moscow, without writing a puff piece.

The enormously competent, dynamic, highly vocal Michelle Obama visited a nation where women are expected to behave differently. Catrina Stewart writes about the gender landscape in Moscow:

Women in Moscow

But the American first lady, who has wowed publics in the U.S. and Europe with her easy elegance and charm, will perhaps face a bigger challenge in winning over a Russian public that has scant respect for women who grab the limelight from their powerful husbands.

In a country where a presidential candidate once quipped he'd sooner pack his wife off to a convent than allow her to dabble in politics, Russia still has trouble with the concept of an empowered woman behind the throne.

Stewart writes that Raisa Borbachev, wife of the late Russian leader Mikhail Borbachev, was much loved around the world for her Michelle-like behavior. In Russia she was seen as strong-willed and ambitious.

"A wife should be sitting at home, creating comfort and cooking food," said Zoya Getmanova, a female pensioner living in Moscow. "She could express her opinions over the dinner table, but she shouldn't meddle in politics."

Michelle Obama understood that this is the society she was entering in Russia, and she 'properly' kept quiet and out of the limelight. Maybe now I understand why Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wasn't on the trip. (NOTE: I forgot about the broken elbow and physical therapy, but I'm still not convinced.)

The Story that Wasn't

In the warmth of the orphanage, had one of the children come to Michelle for a hug, and she responded -- this would be a legitimate story that FLOTUS 'broke her silence in Moscow'.

To the best of my knowledge, women are 'free' in Russia, unlike the Middle East. Russian women have chosen to live quietly in the shadows of men, just as women 'choose' the burqa in Muslim societies.

You know I don't believe this concept, but the pundits and my friends are saying that women 'choose' burqas, so I should get off POTUS's back.

I also remember trying to break up with a Russian man over 30 years ago. He left me at our dinner table at Maxwell's Plum but returned enraged about 30 minutes later, yanked me up from my chair and out onto the street. I was ending our relationship because I was afraid of him.

Furious, he hit me with such force that he sliced through the wooden handle of my handbag (thankfully). A gentleman from Rochester, NY ran out onto the pavement, picked me up and took me to New York Hospital, where I was bandaged up with broken ribs.

Michelle's trip to Russia has been a good look at how other women live. She adapted beautifully.

In the process Conservatives should give her high marks for good behavior. As a Smart Sensuality woman, I understand and support her need to behave appropriately, as a silenced, 'good woman' in Russia.

Readers First

At the bottom of my coffee cup this morning, I'm left wondering about Howard Kurtz's premise in Black Reporters on the Beat of Michelle Obama. Reading his words, I understood that he probably believes that I fawn over Michelle, too. It's difficult not to, because she's so fabulous.

I adore First Lady Michelle Obama and I make no apologies for that fact.

Would I hesitate to 'rat her out' if I knew she had done a 'bad, bad thing'? No I would not.

As an armchair journalist, I try to stay focused on the truth of events, and I will 'turn' on Michelle in a heartbeat, if she violates her integrity with the American public.

Today, I feel comfortable giving my views on the story that wasn't.

I repeat, Michelle Obama did NOT break her silence in Russia, and that's great loss to the Russian people who got no real chance to know this extraordinary woman up close and personal. Anne