One day after stirring up a mini-tempest for saying that the movement around her husband's presidential run made her proud of her country for the first time in her adult life, Michelle Obama did a short bit of explaining in Rhode Island today, as described by the Associated Press here.
Asked by WJAR-TV if she would like to clarify her comment, Obama replied that she has been struck by the number of people going to rallies and watching debates -- and said: "What I was clearly talking about was that I’m proud in how Americans are engaging in the political process...For the first time in my lifetime, I’m seeing people rolling up their sleeves in a way that I haven’t seen and really trying to figure this out — and that’s the source of pride that I was talking about." She said she "absolutely" has been proud of her country and that she and her husband would not be where they are now if not for the possibilities of America, which is a variation on the statement that the campaign issued on Tuesday.
This is a course correction of a few degrees. She did not plunge into explaining the political frustration she said on Monday that she's felt in recent years. Obama fans have said they knew what she was talking about, but conservative voices have described her statements as "aggrieved" and worthy of further questioning.
See a CNN story on her comments here. Related video from her speech in Rhode Island is below.
Dan Janison