STRASBOURG, FRANCE — So far on her trip to Europe, Michelle Obama has hugged the queen of England, double cheek-kissed the glamorous first lady of France and electrified the celebrity-obsessed tabloids.
When she talked to students at a school for underprivileged girls in London, though, her message was about her working-class childhood and her success gained through strong values and hard work in school.
In other words, she may be wearing Jimmy Choo kitten heels these days, but the first lady pulled herself up by an old-fashioned pair of American bootstraps.
In President Obama's first official visit overseas, he is preaching a new foreign policy, calling on Europeans to set aside negative feelings toward the U.S. in favor of an era of friendship and cooperation.
And Michelle Obama is unveiling her own policy of foreign engagement, one that blends a high-wattage celebrity with a message about self-reliance and personal possibility -- a story of special resonance on a continent where no minorities have risen to such prominence.
The president is asking the world to embrace a new regard for his country. The first lady appears to be trying to show them why they might want to.
Her reception by world leaders and the European public has been exuberant, with ardent crowds gathering at every stop. Audience members at one event were so excited to get the hugs she was dispensing that Secret Service agents got a little nervous.
The BBC in one report described Michelle Obama as her husband's co-star in Europe. The London Times, noting the European love affair with former supermodel and current French First Lady Carla Bruni, asked, "Carla who?"
The tour brings to mind the reception for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy on her husband's 1961 European trip, which prompted President Kennedy to introduce himself as "the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris."
No doubt, Michelle Obama's style evokes the glamour of a Kennedyesque order. She has sported creations from Thakoon Panichgul, Jason Wu and Junya Watanabe, and caused a particular stir with the black-and-white Isabel Toledo dress she wore at events during the G-20 summit in London.
The fashion press pronounced her every bit the equal of Bruni, with whom she seemed to have formed a friendship during the NATO summit here. Onlookers thought the two appeared sad as they parted ways Saturday after a visit to the Strasbourg cathedral.
