On the February 20 edition of MSNBC's Tucker, discussing recent comments by Michelle Obama, host Tucker Carlson said: “I have thought from Day One that Michelle Obama, impressive as she is, clearly intelligent, very handsome, self-possessed -- I think that she's got a chip on her shoulder.” Carlson continued: “I think it's very obvious, and I think she's a distraction from her husband's campaign. And I think that this is going to be a significant problem going forward. And I thought her remark was telling.” Later, Carlson stated: “I don't think it's a question of a strong personality. I know that I like strong personalities, particularly in women. I'm married to one. I like that. I just don't like the sense that she has a sense of aggrievement. And that's the feeling I get from her.”

Additionally, in a February 18 post on the Slate.com blog Kausfiles, Mickey Kaus wrote of Michelle Obama: “For whatever reason, she sure seems to have a non-trivial chip on her shoulder and it's not a winning quality.” Kaus' entry about Obama remained at the top of the Kausfiles homepage three days later. A February 19 USA Today article headlined “Michelle Obama's comments under fire” quoted Kaus' post.

In a February 19 blog post on VDARE.com, contributor Steve Sailer -- also a columnist and film critic for The American Conservative -- discussed a February 16 Newsweek profile of Michelle Obama, writing that she “sounds like she's got a log-sized chip on her shoulder from lucking into Princeton due to affirmative action.” In a December 25, 2007, Washington Times op-ed, Sailer asserted that “Barack Obama, who, as he made sure to tell us in the opening words of his famous keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention, is half-Kenyan and half-white, has cornered the market on Ethnic Electricity.” Additionally, Sailer wrote in a column posted on VDARE.com on January 2, 2007: “The brutal truth: Obama is a 'wigger'. He's a remarkably exotic variety of the faux African-American, but a wigger nonetheless.” Sailer's column linked to a Wikipedia entry on the word “wigger,” which, at the time, read: “Wigger (alternatively spelled wigga or whigger or whigga) is a slang term that refers to a white person who emulates mannerisms, slangs and fashions stereotypically associated with urban African Americans; especially in relation to hip hop culture.”

Sailer has previously written that African-Americans “tend to possess poorer native judgment than members of better-educated groups.”

From the February 20 edition of MSNBC's Tucker:

CARLSON: Michelle Obama ruffled more than a few feathers earlier this week when she told a gathering of supporters that the movement surrounding her husband's candidacy made her proud of her country for the very first time in her adult life. Reactions were split between indifference -- the feeling of a lot of Obama supporters -- and indignation, the publicly expressed feeling of people like John McCain's wife, Cindy. Today Mrs. Obama elaborated on her original remark. Here's part of what she said.

MICHELLE OBAMA [video clip]: I'm proud of this country and I'm proud of the fact that people are ready to roll up their sleeves and do something phenomenal. But let me tell you something, I know I wouldn't be here, standing here -- Barack and I, our stories wouldn't be possible if it weren't for fundamental belief and pride in this country and what it stands for.

CARLSON: Here again, associate editor of The Hill A.B. Stoddard and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Bill Press. A.B., I know that we're not allowed -- look, the press is so deeply in the tank for Barack Obama that there's, like, hostility if you mention this. But I have thought from Day One that Michelle Obama, impressive as she is, clearly intelligent, very handsome, self-possessed -- I think that she's got a chip on her shoulder. I think it's very obvious, and I think she's a distraction from her husband's campaign. And I think that this is going to be a significant problem going forward. And I thought her remark was telling. I'm in the minority on this, but I did think it was telling.

STODDARD: Well, I disagree. I think that I would put it this way: There's always strong resistance to strong personalities in these potential first spouses. And Hillary Clinton experienced this herself in 1992. And I think that there have been some comments throughout the year -- 2007 -- from Michelle Obama that ruffled -- didn't sit well with people. Jokes that fell flat, et cetera.

CARLSON: Strong personalities.

STODDARD: I think that she has a strong personality.

CARLSON: Barbara Bush had a strong personality, and she's the most popular person ever.

STODDARD: Well, you know what? She's actually not the most popular person ever, Barbara Bush.

CARLSON: Well, not among people that know her, but she's popular with the public.

STODDARD: But anyway, I think that speaking her mind can get her into trouble. I think that what she said was unfortunate, because it can be read like she's never been proud until this moment.

CARLSON: What do you mean, “can be read”? That's what she said. That's what she said, point-blank. She said --

STODDARD: It is true, and she's trying to sort of backtrack and so is the spokes-team for the campaign. But I think that she needs to be aware that strong personalities in that spouse role always run up against trouble. It's always resisted.

CARLSON: Boy, I respectfully disagree. I don't think it's a question of a strong personality. I know that I like strong personalities, particularly in women. I'm married to one. I like that.

STODDARD: I think what she said -- I think she --

CARLSON: I just don't like the sense that she has a sense of aggrievement. And that's the feeling I get from her.

PRESS: Where I would have to give her credit, Tucker -- and I criticized her this morning on my radio show and took a lot of crap from Obama supporters for it. I think what she said was really outrageous. I'm -- I mean, even Ralph Nader could find something about America that he's proud of in his entire adult life. For her to say that --

But I give her credit. She corrected it today. She realized she had overstepped. Look, she is a strong personality. She's also new at this. I think she's a huge asset to Barack Obama. She's new at it. She's going to make some mistakes, but I think she's learning fast.

From Kaus' blog post:

If Michelle Obama's default position is set to “Aggrieved,” it also suggests something personal, no? Maybe, like many strong wives, she wonders why her husband is the one on the top of the family ticket--which might also explain her strange occasional habit of belittling him in public (“snore-y and stinky” ). Beats me. For whatever reason, she sure seems to have a non-trivial chip on her shoulder and it's not a winning quality.

The homepage of Kaus' blog continues to highlight the 3-day-old post:

From Sailer's February 19 blog post:

Newsweek has a long article on the wonderfulness of Mrs. Obama, but she sounds like she's got a log-sized chip on her shoulder from lucking into Princeton due to affirmative action. For predictable reasons, being admitted into one of the Big Four super colleges and being given lots of financial aid didn't instill in her a feeling of gratitude toward the benevolence of white people. Instead, it just fed her adolescent self-consciousness and racial paranoia. The bad news is that she doesn't seem to have gotten over it yet. (She's 44).