Michelle Obama gave her husband the silent treatment at one point in his campaign for president because so many women “pushed their bodies up against his, slipped phone numbers into his pockets” and whispered lewd suggestions in his ear, a new book out today claims.

In “Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage” (William Morrow), Christopher Andersen reports, “On more than one occasion, Barack tried not to look startled when some random woman in the crowd would grasp him firmly by the derriere — and sometimes try to hold on.”

After an appearance in Peoria, Ill., the future president slid into the back of his SUV, and allegedly said, “Jesus, I wish they’d stop grabbing my ass.”

“Michelle, understandably was not amused,” Andersen writes. He quotes her as saying, “. . . I want to tell these women, ‘Back off. Get a life.’ It’s just embarrassing, that’s all.”

The book relates, “Michelle knew that all the unseemly fawning nourished Barack’s admittedly already oversize ego. ‘He’s loving it,’ she muttered at one point. ‘He’s a man, isn’t he?’ Once again, she resorted to giving him the silent treatment.”

Andersen cites rumors “that it was more than just the random flirting from strangers that was getting to Michelle. Her husband, it would later be reported, had grown close to an attractive young African-American woman [working for the Obama campaign] named Vera Baker.

“When Baker suddenly and inexplicably vanished from the campaign and resurfaced on the Caribbean island of Martinique, tongues reportedly began wagging. A jealous Michelle, it was suggested, had engineered Baker’s departure.”

Andersen writes that Baker later told a reporter, “Nothing happened . . . I don’t have anything to say.”

It’s a good thing Obama resisted temptation or he could have had a messy John Edwards-type scandal!

President Obama finds humor in the race controversy.

Last night, Obama was a guest on David Letterman’s Late Show.

Letterman asked the President about Jimmy Carter’s comments that recent criticism of his health care reform efforts has been grounded in racism.

President Obama quipped, “I think it’s important to realize that I was actually black before the election.”

The comment got lots of laughs from the audience. Letterman followed-up with: “How long have you been a black man?”

The President did get a chance to be serious and after talking about health care. Letterman ended on a light note, “Your job is more difficult than my job, that’s what I learned here tonight.”

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Apparently, some people are actually losing their shit over Michelle Obama wearing shorts.

We can only imagine them saying, “First she shows us her arms and now we are looking at her legs. Oh my gosh!”

Seriously people, get over it.

They’re free! Thanks to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, that is.

It’s freedom for Lisa Ling’s sister and another journalist who were jailed in North Korea.

The two Americans, convicted for what that government deemed “hostile acts,” were officially pardoned on Tuesday – the same day that former President Bill Clinton met with them and with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il for what were termed wide-ranging, “exhaustive” talks.

Clinton’s visit with Laura Ling and Euna Lee was part of a high-stakes mission to North Korea, which maintains a volatile relationship with the U.S.

Lee and Ling were initially detained by North Korean soldiers on March 17 near the country’s border with China. In June, they were sentenced in June to 12 years hard labor for “committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry.”

Clinton is the first former American president to travel to North Korea since 1994, when Jimmy Carter (during the Clinton administration) attempted to seal a deal to suspend North Korea’s nuclear work in exchange for concessions from the U.S., reports The New York Times.

During the first episode of filming The Colbert Report in Iraq, titled Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando, Stephen Colbert sacrificed his hair for the troops.

The host wore a camouflage suit and tie as his first guest, Gen. Ray Odierno, accepted a video message from President Obama to shave Colbert’s head.

The purpose of this show was to bring attention to the six year war which has been overshadowed by economic news.

Colbert even poked fun of the troops by saying, “It must be nice here in Iraq because I understand some of you keep coming back again and again. You’ve earned so many frequent flyer miles, you’ve earned a free ticket to Afghanistan.”

Claiming the war must be over because nobody’s talking about it anymore, Colbert announced that it was time to “officially declare we won the Iraq war.”

The Colbert Report’s trip to Iraq marks the first time anyone has broadcast a taped show from a tour in order to entertain U.S. troops.

Congrats, Stephen!

Elizabeth Edwards has written a new memoir, “Resilience” to be published on May 12.

She discusses her reaction to Senator John Edwards‘ affair with Rielle Hunter. Her husband’s infidelity made her sick – literally.

In her new book, Elizabeth says she vomited in a bathroom after hearing news of her husband’s affair.

“I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up,” she writes in Resilience, according to an excerpt by New York’s Daily News.

The 59-year-old who is ill with terminal breast cancer, says she had actually wanted John to quit the presidential race to protect the family. Edwards admitted the hanky-panky to her days after declaring his candidacy in 2006 – almost a year before the National Enquirer reported it.

She was afraid of the destructive questions Edwards’ affair with videographer Rielle Hunter would raise.

Later events proved her right. “He should not have run,” she says.

Rielle Hunter received $114,000 from his political action committee to produce Web site documentaries for the Edwards campaign. We wonder how long Rielle continued to work on John’s presidential campaign once he fessed up about the affair to Elizabeth.

Edwards did not publicly admit the affair until last August – seven months after he quit the race, and the National Enquirer had reported he was the father of Hunter’s infant daughter.

Edwards denied paternity, and Elizabeth’s book doesn’t address that issue.

Elizabeth does discuss her anger and sorrow at being duped by a man whose four children she’d borne and whose political ambitions she’d passionately supported for so many years.

Hunter initially seduced Edwards using a worn-out come-on line. Elizabeth writes: “You are so hot,” Hunter told John outside a swank New York hotel.

Although Elizabeth never addresses 49-year-old Rielle Hunter by name in the book, she refers to her as a parasitic groupie who invaded the Edwardses’ life and Elizabeth states that her own life may be tragic, but Hunter’s is “pathetic.”

Who is Rielle Hunter? Click here to read more about her.

Even when Edwards confessed to his wife, he lied, claiming he had slipped up just once, Elizabeth writes. His original version of the story “left most of the truth out,” she writes.

While Elizabeth still hasn’t fully come to terms with her man’s cheating, the memoir is laced with forgiveness.

“I lie in bed, circles under my eyes, my sparse hair sticking in too many directions, and he looks at me as if I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. It matters,” she writes.

Oh, our heart aches for Elizabeth!

First dog Bo runs with President Obama in the White House.  Cute!

Keeping his promise to his daughters, President Barack Obama did indeed let his daughters get a dog.

After months of anticipation, a 6-month-old Portuguese Water Dog named Bo is now calling the White House home.

Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, chose the name because their cousins have a cat named Bo and because Mrs. Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, as in, you guessed it, Bo Diddley.

Sen. Ted Kennedy must have reccomended this type of dog because he owns three dogs of the same breed himself. The breed is known for high spirits and is said to be a good fit for kids with allergies (such as Malia). Kennedy had been lobbying the Obamas to get a Portuguese Water Dog (or PWD) for months. The Obamas originally discussed rescuing a dog from a shelter, but valuable and highly-bred PWDs rarely show up at shelters.

The dog was going to be “re-homed” to the Obamas from the kennel, and presented to the Obamas by the Kennedy family — the reason it’s important that the dog was “re-homed” is because the Obamas could not accept the dog as a gift, and re-homing averts the problem. The dog will be officially presented to the Obamas by the Kennedys on Tuesday

Bo is said to have lived with a family that decided not to keep him, but that explanation might not satisfy animal rescue advocates who wanted the Obamas to take in a stray. According to The Post, to help ease disappointment, the first family will make a donation to the District of Columbia Humane Society.

Check out President Obama’s visit to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno!

Here is a portion of the Matt Lauer interview with President Obama.  Our President talks about his daughters, the troops, the stimulus package, his Blackberry, and Jessica Simpson — sort of. 

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off their first dance of the night to Beyonce singing “At Last,” the signature song of blues singer Etta James, at what was dubbed “the neighborhood ball.”

First Lady Michelle Obama also showed off her white, one-shouldered flowing gown, studded with applique embroidery and accessorized with thin diamond bracelets, a huge ring and dangling earrings, with peep-toe white shoes.

The dress was designed by young Taiwanese-born designer Jason Wu, who has been in the fashion business for just three years.

“We got the idea of the neighborhood ball, because we are neighborhood people. And I cut my teeth doing neighborhood work,” Obama, looking dapper in a black tuxedo and white bow tie, told the crowd.

Ailing U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy collapsed at an inaugural luncheon for new Democratic President Barack Obama just moments ago.

It was thought that Kennedy suffered a seizure at the end of the lunch, and it lasted a while. He had been sitting with Vice President Biden and second lady Jill Biden during the lunch portion of the program when he began convulsing.

He was taken out on a wheelchair and had to have his legs lifted up to get him out of the room. He was loaded onto an ambulance and removed.

Kennedy, 76, is battling a life-threatening brain tumor.

Kennedy is the brother of the late President John F. Kennedy and one of the Senate’s most respected Democrats.