Michelle Obama: I Could Be "Very Competent" Deciding American Policy Putting in Only a "70 Percent" Effort

My, my. This couple certainly is very taken with itself. The four-way sex with the Obamas and their throbbing, outsized egos must be pretty hot.

In context, the quote isn't quite as bad as it is out-of-context... but it's still kinda bad. The "N.B" below is an editorial annotation by Newsbusters.

Q. A friend of yours said you are purposely not engaged in policy because, as an attorney, you so over-prepare that if you can't master something you won't dive in at all. Is that true?

Michelle: On some level I view myself – as do many women in my position – as 120-percenters, meaning we feel good about what we're doing when we're doing it at 120 percent. So, I could be very competent putting 70 percent in, but I don't feel good about it. I feel like, if I'm going to master it, I'm going to master it. Where I've had to come – not just in this campaign, but in my life of having so much that I'm doing, my career, the role of mom and exercise and all these other things that I have come to believe are just as important – is I've had to sort of let go of that 120-percent thing and say, I can't do everything. I am not going to realistically be the policy expert on every opinion and position that Barack has because I don't have the time to do it, quite frankly. And I have to be okay with that.

So, how does putting in a 70% effort help Michelle Obama's kids?

Q. I'm not sure people will buy that. They see you as so strong and smart and assertive [NB: tough interview!], that it's natural to assume that you're weighing in on policy.

Michelle: That is the internal struggle that I, and a lot of women, have. You listen to the outside, which says you have an obligation – because you're smart and well-educated – to do this. And it's like, 'Yeah, but I also have these kids.

Ah.

It has to be noted that studies have consistently found that incompetent people tend to wildly overstate their competence.

And, realistically, many people put in a 70% effort at work, and manage to get by with that. I can't help but think that Michelle Obama has gotten used to being, basically, lazy (racism alert!), but consoles herself that her own 70% effort is worth the 120% effort of most people who don't have superpowers.

Question: How many hours is Michelle Obama actually putting in at her $200,000+ hospital administration job these days? Does she still work there? Or, let's not ask about "work" per se -- does she continue drawing a salary?

What's the attendance rate at that political-posting gig these days? I have a feeling that the hospital would count itself lucky to get 70%.

posted by Ace at 02:37 PM

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