Michelle Obama

Whether he's defending Michelle Obama for her stance on healthy eating or agreeing with President Obama's education policy, Gov. Christie is somehow able to serve up occasional praise for the darlings of the left while simultaneously being a darling of the right. On Tuesday night, at a New York City gala honoring Time magazine's Top 100 most influential people (Christie made the list), the guv toasted, of all people, JFK. Politico quoted Christie's toast to the 35th president, "who has influenced my public life from the first time my grandmother took me to the museum of broadcasting in New York and showed me the inaugural address: John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

RADIO BIG MOUTH Rush Limbaugh has taken another verbal swing at the first lady, this time accusing her of being a hypocrite during a family ski trip to Vail, Colo. Get this: He took issue with her short-rib lunch. Really, Rush? The idea of this plus-size pundit even thinking of implying that Michelle Obama is overweight is downright laughable. What reality is he living in? And when's the last time that Limbaugh stepped on the scale? Those 90 pounds he reportedly lost in 2009 are back, and from the looks of things, he and his treadmill once again aren't on speaking terms.

A column by Annette John-Hall on Thursday misquoted the author Hilary Beard. Beard said: "People criticize Michelle Obama because they say her abs aren't flat and she's got a big butt. But she's a healthy size. " A story Thursday about the unusually mild winter incorrectly stated the job title of Doylestown Borough Manager John Davis. The Inquirer wants its news report to be fair and correct in every respect, and regrets when it is not. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, contact assistant managing editor David Sullivan (215-854-2357)

I CAN'T BELIEVE what I'm reading! ("Acquittal for cop caught on tape," Daily News , Feb. 27.) If a cop can get away with that, then there is nothing to stop them. All citizens beware of the blue uniform. The video clearly shows Lt. Josey coming from behind her. That judge, what were you thinking? You can spin it and flop it, but in the court of public opinion you blew it. Don't pull your cellphones out to take an abusive cop doing something because nothing will happen to them. Bobby LaVelle, Philadelphia The envelope, please Here's how we'll learn that a new pope has been chosen: Television and radio programming will be interrupted by Michelle Obama in the White House, saying: "And the winner is, Cardinal . . . " Jim Acton, Collegeville

DALLAS - In just the last few days, she has danced with cheering schoolchildren, chatted with troops, swapped ideas with busy parents, and engaged in a friendly cooking competition with stars from Top Chef . Michelle Obama is on a national tour to promote the second anniversary of her campaign against childhood obesity. The images have been disarming, intriguing, and nonpolitical - just the type of thing her husband's reelection campaign can't get enough of. Michelle Obama's travels this week offer fresh evidence of what an outsize role she has assumed in the public eye and how powerful a political ally a first lady can be. She said she was "incredibly enthusiastic" about making the case for her husband's reelection.

GARY TUMA, press secretary for the Senate Democratic Appropriations Committee, wrote to you about Christine Flowers' op-ed on Vince Fumo. After laying the groundwork by saying it was amusing that Flowers indicated that the rest of the state doesn't understand Fumo, and his slavery comments were just another example of Philadelphia officials hurting the city's cause in Harrisburg, Tuma said, "This came, ironically, as he successfully achieved his...

In an initiative that will be highlighted Wednesday at the University of Pennsylvania, the nation's nursing schools have pledged to increase training of current and future nurses about the "invisible wounds of war": post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and post-combat depression. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will speak on campus about the new program as part of a two-day national tour celebrating the one-year anniversary of their Joining Forces campaign to help soldiers and their families.

New word: doxxing , the practice of piecing together detailed personal information from initial stuff you glean from Internet-available sources - such as when you find an e-mail address, then burrow through that to find phone numbers, addresses, info on chat rooms. It's a form of stalking. Hacker(s?) on the website exposed.su have either doxxed or hacked directly into celebrity private info, publishing photos, credit reports, mortgage details, Social Security numbers, etc. And now, says the FBI, the louts are "using" the info.

Two confess to Auschwitz theft WARSAW, Poland - An Israeli couple have confessed to stealing objects from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp memorial and have settled for a suspended prison term and a fine, officials said Saturday. The man, 60, and woman, 57, who were not identified, were detained Friday at Krakow airport on their way to Israel after border guards found a few old items, including knives, scissors, and spoons, inside a plastic bag in their luggage, memorial spokesman Bartosz Bartyzel said.

Just a few hours before he sat behind first lady Michelle Obama to watch the president's State of the Union address last night, Brandon Ford calmly finished his lunch and went to his hotel room to rest. Afterward, he was interviewed by CNN and local radio stations. Then he was whisked away to the White House to meet with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and top-level science and technology staffers in the East Wing to discuss policy matters and the state of the country. Well, not quite, but you catch the drift.