Michelle Obama: Mom First, Political Wife Second

Jan. 24, 2008— -- Michelle Obama wants you to know she's a mom first, political wife second.

So while she's flying to South Carolina to spend four days campaigning for her husband, she'll take a minute to check an e-mail from her 9-year-old daughter Malia's teacher.

The e-mail this morning caught her off guard. It said that Malia had been talking about "scary people" and "kidnapping" being one of the things she finds "un-cool" during a class discussion. As it turned out, Obama told a gathering of women in Greenville there was nothing to be concerned about.

Little Malia was only joking, she told her panicked mom by phone.

"I shouldn't say that in front of the cameras," Michelle Obama said as she quickly glanced at a gaggle of reporters in the back

Just three days before the South Carolina primary, there is an intense focus on the words of the spouses of the front-runners. Just ask former President Bill Clinton.

"Look at all these people! Where did you all come from?" Michelle Obama asked as she entered the ladies lunch in Greenville.

She seemed genuinely surprised to be the subject of so much attention.

Michelle Obama spoke to the 150 or so women at the Lazy Goat restaurant, shook some hands and posed for photos. She declined to take any questions from reporters and said nothing directly about Hillary Clinton -- or her famous spouse.

But she did speak passionately about her life as a working mom and the reasons she thinks she deserves to be first lady.

Michelle Obama still holds a part-time position as vice president for community and external affairs at he University of Chicago Hospitals. Last year she scaled back her hours to part-time to make room for helping her husband's campaign.

She has said that she carries two BlackBerries while out on the campaign trail -- one for work and the other for the campaign trail.

Michelle Obama's speech Wednesday stood in contrast to the typical speech former President Clinton has delivered on the trail.

He dwells on the details of policy -- exhaustive explanations of his wife's positions on health care, Iraq, education and other subjects. The Illinois senator's spouse highlights the personal.