Michelle Takes Barack's Case to Black Voters

Transcending race means that Barack Obama often keeps black voters at arm’s length, but his wife is taking the contest to African Americans, Newsweek reports. Born on Chicago’s South Side, Michelle Obama has more in common with black Americans than her Indonesia- and Hawaii-raised husband—and has no qualms about speaking candidly.

Michelle Obama, a Princeton and Harvard grad, said last week that “too many little black girls” can’t live the dream as she is. But shifting demographics have changed the candidate’s tone, the New York Times reports. Building up to the primary in South Carolina, where African Americans make up 60% of the Democratic electorate, Obama appeared before a black audience. "We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing each other down," he said. (More race stories.)