NEW YORK — The Right to Bare Arms. Sleeve gate. Up in Arms. The Upper Body Stimulus Plan.
If nothing else, the hullabaloo over Michelle Obama’s occasionally sleeveless attire has unleashed a torrent of clever puns from headline writers — the better to distract us from that economic news we would rather not be hearing.
Why, then, so much attention to Michelle Obama’s well-toned biceps and triceps and delts?
“Let’s face it,” wrote New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. “The only bracing symbol of American strength right now is the image of Michelle Obama’s sculpted biceps.” In a recent column, she went on to imagine that Obama “could easily wind up and punch out Rush Limbaugh, Bernie Madoff and all the corporate creeps who ripped off America.”
To others, the arms serve as an example of a woman who has the self-esteem, willpower and diligence to keep in shape.
“Arms are one of those things you notice when you age — they can look very poor,” says Lesley Jane Seymour, editor of the magazine More, a magazine for women over 40. “So when you’ve got it, flaunt it, babe.”
