It's not that Michelle Obama is trying to conceal her true feelings, it's that she does not want to be a political liability to her husband.

Every presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romneys is backed by the Mormon belief that the United States was chosen by God to play a special role in history, its Constitution divinely inspired.

People who face too many demands - two careers, two children - often scale back somehow. The Obamas scaled up.

Interpreting anyone's marriage - a neighbor's, let alone the president's - is extremely difficult.

Michelle Obama kind of has two identities. In private, she is actually often much more vehement than her husband about Republican opposition. It was very hard to get sources to put it on the record, but they would describe the way she talked about Republicans and opposition in private. And, you know, her remarks were scorching. The level of heat that she can give off in these conversations is often much greater than what Barack Obama does.

I would say that Barack Obama has always been a real optimist about what can be accomplished. He believes that government can be used to create systemic, long-term, real change. And the first lady is more of a skeptic.

Candidates' wives are supposed to sit cheerfully through their husbands' appearances.