Michelle Obama has said she goes on "covert" shopping trips in an effort to escape the confines of the White House and mingle with the American people.
In an interview with the late-night comedian David Letterman, the first lady said she was able to go for "little jaunts out" despite protests from her phalanx of Secret Service bodyguards.
During a trip to a supermarket last year a small woman approached her in the detergent aisle and reportedly asked Mrs Obama, who is nearly six feet tall, to reach up and grab a product from a high shelf. The shopper, apparently oblivious that she was speaking to president's wife, said merely: "Well, you didn't have to make it look so easy."
The shopping trip - on which Mrs Obama disguised herself with sunglasses and a baseball cap but was still found by an Associated Press photographer - came under fire from Republicans who branded it a publicity stunt.
The interview was filmed shortly before Mrs Obama took part in two New York fund-raisers for her husband's November re-election effort. The Obama campaign often says the the president "has a day job" and in his absence the first lady has become their strongest fund-raising draw, overtaking even Vice-President Joe Biden. This month, Mrs Obama has spoken at at least seven campaign events.
The Daily Telegraph
201734 GMT Mar12
