Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Obama---wife of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Michelle came to Durham, NC to campaign for her husband. She was supposed to speak at 12:30pm but due to bad weather in the Midwest, she arrived and spoke more than two hours later. But her tardiness didn't seem to matter to the standing room only crowd. While waiting, we actually sat around and talked to each other---black, white, hispanic, young and old. It was a refreshing site to see. Not one hate monger in the crowd.

Michelle is even more impressive in person than she is on television. She is poised and assertive. She has a sense of humor and she can deliver a speech without NOTES. It's so obvious she and Barack have a REAL relationship and not something they have to make up for the cameras. She is also a beautiful example of what it's like to grow up in humble beginnings---unlike the way she and Barack have been depicted by some media as "elitists." She reminds me a lot of myself.

Following her speech I had a chance to actually meet her and gave her an autographed copy of my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age, along with a T-shirt donning the face of my grandson wearing an OBAMA hat.

If I had been on the fence in this campaign, Michelle would've definitely won me over! She has all of the qualities needed to represent her husband as the "First Lady."