Michelle Obama: Don't vote because 'she's cute'

Michelle Obama asked voters today to make their choice on the issues, "People shouldn't make a decision this time based on, 'I like that guy' or 'she's cute,'" she said.

The line won a big round of applause. Before it subsided, she interjected: "And I'm talking about me."

Barack Obama's wife, however, is not on the ticket in the presidential election. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is.

Michelle Obama's remarks came at a women's roundtable on the economy in Charlotte, North Carolina. She told the audience of 600 that her husband is the only candidate focused on equal pay, health care, affordable college, teacher recruitment and other issues of concern to women. She said that's what the election should be about.

"We need you," Michelle Obama told the women she addressed in Charlotte. "Our families need you. Our country needs you."

Trisha Redwine, a lifelong Democrat in Charlotte, said women didn't seem to be needed by the Democratic ticket until recently. "It's almost like we didn't even matter until Sarah Palin came into the picture," she said.

Redwine backed Clinton in the primaries and now speaks favorably of McCain's efforts on family medical leave and family-friendly workplaces.


Photo courtesy of Getty Images. Text courtesy of Mike Baker, Associated Press