How Large Is Michelle Obama's "Staff"?

Plenty Large...Read It And Weep

"In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much," she said. "See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service, " Michelle Obama.

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.

How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public:

I have no idea what Michelle Obama is referring to with her "left my job at a big law firm for a career in public service.", as her no-show hospital job as diversity specialist...paying her $400,000 per year, mind you... has yet to be re-filled since her leaving for the White House. Maybe she thinks that hiring all of the following people is a "public service".

1. $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)

2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)

3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary)

4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady)

5. Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

6. $90,000 - Medina, David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

7. $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady)

8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the First Lady)

9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for the First Lady)

10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)

11. Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary)

12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator For The First Lady)

13. $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director for the First Lady)

14. Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady)

15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press Secretary To The First Lady)

16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and Traveling Aide To The First Lady)

17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence For The First Lady)

18. Tubman, Samantha (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)

19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)

20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)

21. Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)

22. Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady)

The combined annual salaries for the 22 staffers we can specifically identify as working for Michelle Obama come to $1.6 million. For the 18 we could identify as working for Laura Bush in 2008, the total is $1.4 million.

On second thought, Laura Bush was a gorgeous First Lady, and certainly didn't need as many staffers, particularly the ones whose jobs entailed keeping her foot out of her mouth or pimping her hair, etc, etc. Laura could have somehow found a way to survive with less...even though her charitable work was quite detailed and Michelle's in non-existent...and Michelle is, sorry to say, butt-ugly and stupid. Way more of a high-maintenance First Lady. 

I mean, hey now, just the job of cutting off the sleeves from alla them tops and dresses has got to be a full-time job for a gang of seamstresses.

Also, please note that the above information is not up-to-date with regards to the voluminous staff that accompanied Michelle to Spain this month, as it entailed far more Secret Service staffers than usual because of the high risk of travel abroad, particularly when a WAR IS BEING FOUGHT AND BRAVE MEN ARE DYING EVERY DAY.