Maureen Dowd on the Obamas:

Usually, I love the dynamics of a cheeky woman puncturing the ego of a cocky guy. I liked it in '40s movies, and I liked it with Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel, and Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis in "Moonlighting."

So why don't I like it with Michelle and Barack?

Er, because they're Democrats?

Gosh, that was easy.

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I won't bore you with an excerpt from the column -- click on the link above to read it free -- but if ribbing your politician-hubby in a speech is so emasculating, as Dowd claims, why did the White House send Laura out to do it at the '05 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner? And why did it get rave reviews from the press and the right-wing blogosphere alike?