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Editor's Note: Angela Burt-Murray is the editor-in-chief of Essence magazine. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and two sons. Read veteran journalist Gwen Ifill's interview with Michelle Obama on Essence.com

Angela Burt-Murray says Michelle Obama shouldn't be pressured to hide her considerable ability.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- She's been clear about her priorities.

The self-professed Mom-in-Chief is focused on getting her family settled into a new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, buying a puppy, and enrolling daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, in their elite new private school.

Admirable concerns and certainly ones that every mother, or father, would consider in the face of any move -- let alone a move to the most famous address in the world. But when you're discussing a woman as accomplished as Michelle Obama, you can't help but wonder: Can't there be more?

Perhaps, but for the nation's first black first lady, it won't be easy.

When black women initially met the statuesque double Ivy League-degreed hospital exec with coiffed hair and smart outfits, it was love at first sight: supportive spouse, loving mother -- the total package.

On the campaign trail, many journalists noted she was a gifted speaker, pulling in large crowds at solo events, capturing the attention of audiences for 40 minutes and more, without notes, even holding her own while sharing the stage with megawatt personalities like Oprah Winfrey and Maria Shriver.

For us she was instantly recognizable. She was a self-made six-figure sister who was like so many women in our communities -- leading church boards, chairing neighborhood programs, running the show at work -- as well as a reflection of the women we saw in our own mirrors. But for some whites, she was different, a bit unsettling. Not what they were used to. And then she made that infamous comment:

"For the first time in my adult life, I'm really proud of my country."

You could practically hear white folks saying, "Aha!" The sound bite heard around the world would be impossible for her to fully recover from, at least during the campaign. She was vilified -- labeled Mrs. Grievance and Angry Black Woman.

Like Michelle, Hillary Clinton was attacked for everything from her cookie-baking and Tammy Wynette comments to the national health care debacle she led during her husband's administration. The attacks on Michelle, though, were rooted in racist stereotypes.

There was the Fox News producer who dubbed her Obama's Baby Mama; the incendiary New Yorker magazine cover that featured an Afro-wearing, fist-bumping, Uzi-toting Michelle; the hunt for a videotaped panel that didn't exist, in which Michelle Obama was allegedly featured with controversial Minister Louis Farrakhan, talking about "Whitey" as if channeling 1970s TV character George Jefferson.

The Huffingtonpost.com ran a piece called "Why Do We White People Dislike Michelle Obama?" It was based on a New York Times/CBS News poll showing that 24 percent of white Americans had an unfavorable opinion of her.

Huffingtonpost.com later pointed out that they omitted the number of people who said they were "Undecided" (17 percent) or "Haven't Heard Enough" (37 percent) about Michelle Obama, but the negative perception had by then been encoded.

More recently, there was the misguided Salon.com essay by African-American journalist Erin Aubrey Kaplan about Mrs. Obama's behind, a piece that harkened scarily back to the story of Saarjite Baartman, the young South African woman who was brought to Europe in 1810 by an English surgeon so fascinated by her large bottom that he changed her name to Venus Hottentot and displayed her naked in cages in museums for more than five years. Seriously, people?

The attacks got so bad at one point that blogger Gina McCauley of Whataboutourdaughters.com said Michelle was becoming a "verbal punching bag." So she launched a Web site called MichelleObamawatch.com to keep track of every article, video clip and interview to mobilize her visitors to voice their concerns.

"Whether you support her husband or not," McCauley wrote on the site last July, "Let's be clear, any and every black woman who walks in her footsteps can expect the same treatment, so we might as well pull a Gandalf, draw a line in the sand and yell, 'Thou shall not pass!' "

White America may be trying to relax -- after all they really like her husband. Yet even after Barack Obama's decisive victory, it still seems that Michelle's team wants to dial down her fabulousness. And black women know why.

Allison Samuel's recent Newsweek cover story "What Michelle Means to Us" clearly articulates the double-edged sword she faces: "While every first lady -- and plenty of professional women -- walk the line between being confident and seeming like a bitch, African-American women are especially wary that being called 'strong' is just another word for 'angry.' "

It's the thing that many black woman face at their jobs -- the appearance of confidence and ability can be threatening to people. And so Michelle's smart outfits were replaced with sensible sweater sets. Her focus became military families and photo-ops of her packing supplies.

There's certainly value in Michelle Obama playing the traditional first lady role as she greets heads of state, travels the world meeting with foreign dignitaries, and continues her important work with military families.

But lest everyone decide that Mom-in-Chief is enough to keep her busy for the next four to eight years, Michelle has said in interviews that she and her family always try to get involved in the communities in which they live.

In Washington, which has some of the nation's worst high school graduation rates, and HIV/AIDS infection rates that rival African countries, there will be no shortage of issues for the new first lady to tackle.

Perhaps her team could take a bit of inspiration from the hit NBC series The West Wing. During the fictitious first term of President Jed Bartlett, played brilliantly by Martin Sheen, his administration is unable to achieve any of its goals because it tries to manage to the middle and not upset anyone. Ultimately, they decide to create the sort of change they campaigned on by letting "Bartlett be Bartlett."

Like most black women, I look forward to watching Michelle be Michelle, no matter what form that takes.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday that "no representatives of mine" engaged in any deal making with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich over who would fill the state's U.S. Senate vacancy.

President-elect Barack Obama says he has never spoken with the Illinois governor about the vacant Senate seat.

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FBI agents arrested Blagojevich on Tuesday on federal corruption charges related in part to the selection of a replacement for Obama's Senate seat, which became vacant after the presidential election.

Federal officials allege Blagojevich was looking to sell or trade the position.

Obama said the Senate seat is not for "any politician to trade," and he said he had never spoken to the governor on the subject.

He said he was confident that "no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat."

The Senate position "belongs to the people of Illinois, and they deserve the best possible representation," he said.

Obama said he's asked his staff to gather the facts of any contacts made with the governor's office.

The president-elect added that the public trust has been violated.

"Part of the reason that I got into politics, ran for the state Senate, ran for the United States Senate and ultimately ran for the presidency is because we have to reclaim a tradition of public service that is about people and their lives and their hopes and their dreams. And it isn't about what's in it for me," he said.

Obama also repeated his call for Blagojevich to step down.

"So let me be absolutely clear: I do not think that the governor at this point can effectively serve the people of Illinois." Watch as Obama says Senate seat belongs to the people »

Earlier Thursday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said she is prepared to "take action" against Blagojevich if he does not resign.

"Obviously, the easiest way for us to move on in the state of Illinois is for Gov. Blagojevich to do the right thing for the people and to resign," Madigan told CNN's "American Morning."

"If he fails to, the two other options are obviously the Legislature moving forward on impeachment, or I have the opportunity to actually go to our Illinois Supreme Court and ask them to declare basically that our governor is unable to serve," she said.

In that case, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would become acting governor, Madigan said.

Meanwhile, Quinn said if the governor did not resign, he would likely be impeached. "Hopefully, upon reflection, the governor will decide that the interest of the common good and the people of Illinois require that he step aside and resign from office," Quinn told NBC.

"If the governor doesn't act, he will be impeached," he said, adding that he believed the impeachment process would be unhealthy for Illinoisans.

The lieutenant governor said if he becomes acting governor, he may appoint someone to the vacant U.S. Senate seat, rather than hold a special election.

"In general, I'm for the voters deciding who the next senator would be, or any other public official," he said. However, "we may have extraordinary circumstances," he added.

"Illinois does not want to go to Washington in this time of economic crisis without having two senators, so if I am governor, I'm going to evaluate everything at that moment and decide what's best for the people."

Obama's former partner in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, also has called on Blagojevich to step down immediately.

"Beyond guilt or innocence, the charges against you raise serious questions about your ability to carry out your duties as chief executive of our state," Durbin wrote in a letter sent to Blagojevich. Explainer: Federal complaint against Blagojevich »

Durbin also asked Blagojevich not to name a successor to Obama.

"Because of the nature of the charges against you, no matter whom you were to select, that individual would be under a cloud of suspicion. That would not serve our state, our nation, or the United States Senate," Durbin wrote.

Even if Blagojevich named a replacement for Obama, it is unclear whether the Senate would seat the governor's choice. The Constitution gives the Senate the sole authority to decide who is qualified to serve as a senator. Watch whom Blagojevich has considered »

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president-elect supported legislation that Illinois lawmakers will consider next week to authorize a special election to choose his successor. Explainer: Illinois governor is in hot water »

The Illinois Legislature will begin a special session Monday to consider legislation that would authorize a special election to choose Obama's successor.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, a spokeswoman for Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, said a House committee was scheduled to consider the bill Monday afternoon and then the full House would vote afterward. iReport.com: Do you trust your leaders?

The Senate could consider the legislation as soon as the next day, Davidsmeyer said. Watch what was in the complaint against Blagojevich »

After the arrest Tuesday, Obama said he had not contacted Blagojevich about his possible successor, adding, "I was not aware of what was happening."

But Obama adviser David Axelrod told a Chicago television station in November that Obama had spoken to the governor about his successor.

Axelrod corrected himself Tuesday, saying, that the president-elect and Blagojevich "did not then or at any time discuss the subject."

The Senate Armed Services Committee report accuses Rumsfeld and his deputies of being the principal architects of the plan to use harsh interrogation techniques on captured fighters and terrorism suspects, rejecting the Bush administration's contention that the policies originated lower down the command chain.

"The abuse of detainees in U.S. custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of 'a few bad apples' acting on their own," the panel concludes. "The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees."

The report, released by  Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and  John McCain (R-Ariz.) and based on a nearly two-year investigation, said that both the policies and resulting controversies tarnished the reputation of the United States and undermined national security. "Those efforts damaged our ability to collect accurate intelligence that could save lives, strengthened the hand of our enemies, and compromised our moral authority," it said.

The panel's investigation focused on the Defense Department's use of controversial interrogation practices, including forced nudity, painful stress positions, sleep deprivation, extreme temperatures and use of dogs. The practices, some of which had already been adopted by the CIA at its secret prisons, were adapted for interrogations at Guantanamo Bay and later migrated to U.S. detention camps in Afghanistan and Iraq, including the infamous Abu Ghraib prison.

"The Committee's report details the inexcusable link between abusive interrogation techniques used by our enemies who ignored the Geneva Conventions and interrogation policy for detainees in U.S. custody," McCain, himself a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, said in a statement. "These policies are wrong and must never be repeated."

White House officials have maintained the measures were approved in response to demands from field officers who complained that traditional interrogation methods weren't working on some of the more hardened captives. But Senate investigators, relying on documents and hours of hearing testimony, arrived at a different conclusion.

The true genesis of the decision to use coercive techniques, the report said, was a memo signed by President Bush on Feb. 7, 2002, declaring that the Geneva Convention's standards for humane treatment did not apply to captured al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. As early as that spring, the panel said, top administration officials, including National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, participated in meetings in which the use of coercive measures was discussed. The panel drew on a written statement by Rice, released earlier this year, to support that conclusion.

In July 2002, Rumseld's senior staff began compiling information about techniques used in military survival schools to simulate conditions that U.S. airmen might face if captured by an enemy that did not follow the Geneva conditions. Those techniques -- borrowed from a training program known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape, or SERE -- included waterboarding, or simulated drowning, and were loosely based on methods adopted by Chinese communists to coerce propaganda confessions from captured U.S. soldiers during the Korean war.

The SERE program became the template for interrogation methods that were ultimately approved by Rumsfeld himself, the report says. In the field, U.S. military interrogators used the techniques with little oversight and frequently abusive results, the panel found.

"It is particularly troubling that senior officials approved the use of interrogation techniques that were originally designed to simulate abusive tactics used by our enemies against our own soldiersand that were modeled, in part, on tactics used by the Communist Chinese to elicit false confessions from U.S. military personnel," the report said.

Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that "SERE training techniques were designed to give our troops a taste of what they might be subjected to if captured by a ruthless, lawless enemy so that they would be better prepared to resist. The techniques were never intended to be used against detainees in U.S. custody."

Defenders of the techniques have argued that such measures were justified because of al-Qaeda's demonstrated disregard for human life. But the panel members cited the views of Gen. David H. Petraeus, now the head of U.S. Central Command, who in a May, 2007 letter to his troops said humane treatment of prisoners allows Americans to occupy the moral high ground.

"Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right," wrote Petraeus, who at the time was the top U.S. commander in Iraq. "Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy."

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, left, and Barack Obama attend a 2007 rally for Chicago's 2016 Olympics bid.

"The president-elect agrees with [Illinois] Lt. Gov. [Pat] Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

FBI agents on Tuesday arrested Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, on federal corruption charges related in part to the selection of Obama's successor to the Senate.

Obama's former partner in the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, has also called on Blagojevich to step down immediately.

"Beyond guilt or innocence, the charges against you raise serious questions about your ability to carry out your duties as chief executive of our state," Durbin wrote in a letter sent to Blagojevich. Explainer: Federal complaint against Blagojevich »

Durbin also asked Blagojevich not to name a successor to Obama.

"Because of the nature of the charges against you, no matter whom you were to select, that individual would be under a cloud of suspicion. That would not serve our state, our nation, or the United States Senate,"

Even if Blagojevich named a replacement for Obama, it is unclear whether the Senate would seat the governor's choice. The Constitution gives the Senate the sole authority to decide who is qualified to serve as a senator. Watch whom Blagojevich has considered »

Gibbs said Obama also supported legislation that Illinois lawmakers will consider next week to authorize a special election to choose his successor. Explainer: Illinois governors in hot water »

Obama believes the lawmakers should "put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois," Gibbs said.

The Illinois Legislature will begin a special session Monday to consider legislation that would authorize a special election to choose Obama's successor.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, a spokeswoman for Illinois Senate President Emil Jones, said a House committee was scheduled to consider the bill Monday afternoon and then the full House would vote afterward. iReport.com: Do you trust your leaders?

The Senate could consider the legislation as soon as the next day, Davidsmeyer said. Watch what was in the complaint against Blagojevich »

Obama on Tuesday declined to comment on the arrest, saying, "Like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the U.S. attorney's office."

Obama also said he had not contacted Blagojevich about his possible successor, adding, "I was not aware of what was happening." Watch Obama's ties to the Illinois governor »

Under the plan, unveiled by Democratic leaders, the Treasury Department would cut checks for the car companies as soon as next week. The proposal also calls for President Bush to name a "car czar" to manage a vast restructuring of the firms and restore them to profitability.

Democrats bent to the will of the president on several key demands, most notably in agreeing that the emergency funding would be drawn from an existing loan program aimed at promoting fuel-efficient technologies.

Still, the White House objected yesterday to several elements of the Democratic proposal, congressional aides said, including requirements that the car companies notify Washington of any transaction of more than $25 million and that they pull out of lawsuits against states seeking to enforce tougher tailpipe-emissions standards.

Under the proposal, the car companies would be required to submit detailed plans for restructuring by March 31, when they would be eligible for additional government assistance. The Bush administration was pressing to strengthen those provisions to make clear that only companies that were either financially viable or taking steps to achieve viability could receive more federal cash.

In a statement, White House press secretary Dana Perino said the two sides had "made a lot of progress in recent days" and that discussions were continuing over how to "help automakers restructure and achieve long-term viability."

"Long-term financing must be conditioned on the principle that taxpayers should only assist automakers executing a credible plan for long-term viability," Perino said.

Appearing briefly before reporters, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Democrats, too, are determined to force changes in the domestic auto industry, which had been losing customers to more nimble foreign competitors even before a deepening recession slashed demand for new cars to the lowest level in 25 years.

"Come March 31, it is our hope that there will be a viable automotive industry in our country with transparency and accountability to the taxpayer. We think that is possible," Pelosi said, adding that auto company executives, their employees, their shareholders and their network of local dealers all will be expected to make concessions.

"We call this a barbershop," Pelosi said. "Everyone is getting haircuts."

Talks continued late yesterday in Pelosi's Capitol Hill offices. Despite the administration's last-minute objections, both sides remained optimistic that a deal could be finalized and quickly presented to lawmakers for a vote.

"It is overwhelmingly likely that a bill will be on the president's desk by the end of the week," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, whose staff was taking the lead in drafting the measure.

Blagojevich Arrest Muddies Illinois Political Waters

The arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges has far reaching political implications. (Amanda Rivkin/AFP/Getty Images)

The news that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) has been taken into custody on charges of seeking bribes in exchange for an appointment to the Senate (among other allegations) fundamentally reshapes the Illinois political landscape.

The impact of Blagojevich's arrest is far-reaching, with tentacles into the Senate, governor's mansion and the national political scene.

The most obvious fallout is in the race for the seat vacated earlier this month by President-elect Barack Obama. Under state law, Blagojevich is given total authority to replace Obama -- an authority he allegedly was using as collateral to extract concessions from those interested in the seat.

As long as Blagojevich remains governor -- and whether he will stay in office remains to be seen -- he retains the power to appoint the next senator. But, if an appointment from Blagojevich was problematic before (due to the long-running investigation into his Administration on other corruption charges) it is entirely tainted now.

According to conversations with several Chicago political sharps, the thinking now is that if Blagojevich makes the appointment, the only possible pick is a caretaker with an unimpeachable record on ethics who will hold the seat for two years and then step aside in 2010.

It's nearly impossible to imagine that anyone Blagojevich picks at this point would be able to run for a full term 2010 as they would immediately be labeled as the hand-picked choice of a scandal-tarred governor.

Given those realities, the new frontrunner for the appointment could well wind up being Secretary of State Jesse White who had been floated in the past as a safe -- and inoffensive -- pick. People like Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and former congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth may now have to turn their attention to the 2010 open seat as it seems increasingly unlikely that either of them would get (or want) an appointment from Blagojevich.

In the event Blagojevich resigns in the coming days, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, would step into the job and would be tasked with the appointment. If that happens, all bets are off and everyone is back in the mix.

In terms of the gubernatorial race, it now seems increasingly unlikely that Blagojevich will run for a third term in 2010. (Yes, we realize how insane that last sentence sounds but remember that Blagojevich was considering a reelection bid with job approval numbers in the mid teens.)

Assuming the seat is open, expect a contested primary fight between state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulas -- all three of whom were considering the race before today's news. Madigan had been prominently mentioned as a possible appointee to the Senate seat but apparently was far more interested in running for governor.

In terms of Blagojevich's arrest on national politics, remember that House Minority Leader John Boehner released a campaign memo earlier this week in which he makes clear that his party will push the idea of a culture of corruption within the Democratic party over the next few years.

Blagojevich, although a governor, spent six years in the House and, as a result, has ties to a number of sitting members. Expect House Republicans to use his arrest as a cudgel against their Democratic colleagues over the coming weeks.

This is a developing story with all sorts of twists and turns. We'll be following it closely. Stay tuned.

The arrest of Blagojevich, 51, and his top aide, John Harris, 46, capped a lengthy investigation into public corruption at the highest levels of state government.

The two men will appear in a federal courthouse in Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Central time before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Grant held a news conference at 11 a.m. in Chicago to provide details on the case.

"This is a sad day for government. It's a very sad day for Illinois government," Fitzgerald said at the news conference. "Governor Blagojevich has taken us to a new low . . . he attempted to sell the Senate seat, the Senate seat he had the sole right to appoint to replace President-elect Obama . . . The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave." 

Rush Limbaugh has seldom been a fan of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. But the conservative radio pundit has given his blessing to her selection as the next secretary of state.

He calls it "a brilliant stroke" by President-elect Barack Obama, who opposed Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Limbaugh weighs in on the new administration as one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2008," which airs Thursday on ABC.

Says Limbaugh: "You know the old phrase, 'You keep your friends close and your enemies closer?' How can she run for president in 2012? She'd have to run against the incumbent and be critical of him - the one who made her secretary of state."

On Monday, Obama announced Clinton as his nominee for secretary of state.

Police built a massive cordon around anti-government protesters occupying Thailand's main airport Saturday, raising fears of an imminent confrontation in a standoff that has disrupted the country's economy and the travel industry worldwide.

About 2,000 policemen were deployed around Suvarnabhumi international airport, where protesters calling themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy have camped out since late Tuesday, forcing the halt of all flights.

With no sign of the standoff easing, the airport authority said Suvarnabhumi will remain closed at least until Monday evening.

The protesters also have occupied Bangkok's domestic airport and the prime minister's office compound, virtually paralyzing the government in their campaign to force its resignation.

The confrontation, severing the capital from civilian air traffic, has taken a heavy toll on Thailand's economy and reputation. According to Thai media reports some 100,000 tourists are stranded, and schedules of airlines around the world have been disrupted.

So far security forces have only issued a warning to the protesters to leave and refrained from using force. The protesters say they will not leave until the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat resigns.

But it appears the government's patience is wearing thin.