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The Fayetteville Observer, N.C., Kim Hasty columnDec 26, 2011 (The Fayetteville Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- It has always been a battle, and the results have always been far from perfect. But I never quit trying. The weights, the running, and, for a time, a fun and grueling fitness boot camp right after work three days a week -- all in an effort to combat the effects of age and childbirth and a penchant for pasta. Healthy? By all indications. At least, I know I feel good. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model? Ha. Not unless they want us to model muumuus. So it was that I bristled when I read the comments that a Republican lawmaker, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin, made about Michelle Obama. According to news reports, Sensenbrenner was at the Reagan National Airport in Washington last week when someone overheard him saying loudly over the phone that the first lady "lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself." Sensenbrenner reportedly first criticized the first lady at a church dinner in Wisconsin. A female member of the church told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Sensenbrenner implied Obama's initiatives to combat childhood obesity are not serious enough. "He said something like, look at her big butt," the church member was quoted as saying. Now, hold it right there, buster. It doesn't matter what political differences you might harbor, you have no business insulting a woman's backside. Or any other part of her body for that matter. I mean, how dare you. The first lady's accomplishments toward battling childhood obesity are documented. Through her Let's Move! initiative, she has increased awareness among children and their families of the importance of healthy eating and exercise. She has fostered change for healthier menus in school cafeterias and promoted the virtues of fresh food by starting the White House kitchen garden. She has enlisted the help of celebrities, businesses and chefs to encourage other healthy initiatives in schools. Does she look perfect doing it? Maybe not perfect. Should that matter in the least? Absolutely not. But as a matter of fact, Michelle Obama is a perfectly elegant and beautiful -- and quite fit -- wife and mother who seems committed to a healthy lifestyle for herself and others. And her husband seems to absolutely adore her. It probably isn't easy for her. Like many of us, she probably finds it difficult to come up with enough time and energy for running shoes and elliptical machines. I know that part has never been easy for me. "You look great," my husband always says. I bet Barack Obama says the same thing to his wife. It's called respect. It's something that comes naturally to real men. Community news editor Kim Hasty can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3591. ___ (c)2011 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |