Michelle Obama's comments under fire

— -- Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, is taking heat for saying Monday at a Milwaukee rally that "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country — and not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change."

Among the critics: Cindy McCain, wife of GOP candidate John McCain. "I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier. I'm very proud of my country," she said Tuesday in Brookfield, Wis.

"She sure seems to have a non-trivial chip on her shoulder," Mickey Kaus wrote at the liberal online magazine Slate.

Among conservatives, National Review's Jim Geraghty called the remark "strikingly ungracious." John Podhoretz at Commentary said it reflects a view that America is "only occasionally good."

Obama defended his wife on Texas radio. "What she meant was, this is the first time that she's been proud of the politics of America," he said. "She has seen large numbers of people get involved in the process, and she's encouraged."