From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

Michelle Obama and the power of America's First Lady.

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

White House historians say first ladies are windows into America's cultural and social ideas.

Mamie Eisenhower gave parties and kept her mouth shut.

Jackie Kennedy and Nancy Reagan embodied high fashion.

Hillary Clinton was a liberated woman who botched health care reform.

Laura Bush advocated literacy in a much quieter way.

As the first African-American spouse

in the White House, Michelle Obama's unique.

But her style, her personal background,

and her persona make her novel in other ways.

Beneath her remarkable round of activities

is there a message?

What about the bare arms

and the vegetable garden?

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. McArthur

Foundation, and the Skoll Foundation, supporting social entrepreneurs around the world, uncommon heroes

dedicated to the common good. Learn more at Skoll.org. Hello again, Worminalni, back with To The Point.

A former American president once said, I'm the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.

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