Michelle Obama's remarks on breast-feeding draw criticism from Palin, Bachmann

By Anne E. Kornblut

Washington Post Staff Writer 
Friday, February 18, 2011; 9:29 PM

It began with a modest remark during a roundtable discussion with reporters: First lady Michelle Obamasaid she supports making it easier for mothers to breast-feed their babies, because "kids who are breast-fed longer have a lower tendency to be obese."

Within days, the sentence - and a new Internal Revenue Service policy offering tax deductions for breast pumps - had touched off a political firestorm. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) blasted the Obama administration for trying to impose a "nanny state" on mothers. Another potential 2012 presidential candidate, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, mockingly said the first lady was trying to compensate for high milk prices. The East Wing withdrew, issuing a brief statement calling the subject "personal."

[ LINK: The Washington Post ]

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