Misunderstood Michelle Obama

Barack Obama tried to clean up after his wife Michelle made a mess on Monday.

In spite of her troubling statement that "for the first time in [her] adult life, [she is] really proud of [her] country," it didn't keep voters from supporting her husband in Tuesday's primary elections.

The voters gave Obama a decisive victory. It was a smackdown. Hillary lost big, really big, embarrassingly big.

BROOKFIELD, Wis. -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama sought Tuesday to clarify his wife's statement that she is proud of the U.S. "for the first time in my adult life." He said her newfound pride is about the political system and was not meant to disparage her country.

...Barack Obama, interviewed on WOAI radio in San Antonio, Texas, expressed frustration that his wife's comments became political fodder.

"Statements like this are made and people try to take it out of context and make a great big deal out of it, and that isn't at all what she meant," Obama said.

"What she meant was, this is the first time that she's been proud of the politics of America," he said. "Because she's pretty cynical about the political process, and with good reason, and she's not alone. But she has seen large numbers of people get involved in the process, and she's encouraged."

In Milwaukee on Monday, Michelle Obama said: "Let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change."

Michelle Obama graduated from Princeton. She has a law degree from Harvard.

The woman knows what she's saying. She knows that words have meaning. As a lawyer, surely she understands the importance of words and the need to avoid saying anything that could be misinterpreted. She isn't an inexperienced speaker.

She blew it.

I think her statement is very clear.

Of course Obama would try to spin her remarks and make excuses. What other choice does he have? He has to tell Americans that his wife didn't say what we heard her say.

That doesn't matter. We did hear her, and we learned a lot about her.