Michelle Obama has taken her image makeover tour to ABC’s The View this morning. But so far, we’ve learned more about The View‘s regular hosts than today’s honored guest host, including that Barbara Walters– “out of respect for you,” Michelle– today “put on panty hose” (close-up leg shot) and that Whoopi Goldberg is grateful to Michelle Obama for… flossing? (Goldberg: “Most of the time when we see black folks on the news, particularly women, they have no teeth and the teeth that they have have gold around them and they can’t put a sentence together. You’re helping change a perception.”).
Also: Obama has used the phrase “in this media age” more than once (On press coverage of her: “In this media age, with 24-hour news…I fill up space.”)
Also: Telling? When Obama spoke of her husband being “sweet, empathetic,” both I and one of my colleagues (and at least one of the women of The View) heard “sweet and pathetic.” Which would surely have been a departure from “image makeover tour” talking points.
Liz Cox Barrett is a writer at CJR.