A new book has claimed that U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama prevented Hillary Clinton from becoming her husband's vice-presidential nominee.
The book’s author, Christopher Andersen, claims Michelle Obama favoured Joe Biden, the president's eventual choice.
"Do you really want Bill and Hillary just down the hall from you in the White House? Could you live with that?" she reportedly asked Barack Obama.
Barack Obama later thought of the masterstroke of appointing the woman he narrowly defeated as his secretary of state.
According to the New York Daily News, Michelle Obama was "fascinated" by the choice of the unknown Sarah Palin as Senator John McCain's vice-presidential pick.
The book by the bestselling writer, Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage, also claimed that it was Mrs. Obama who persuaded the reluctant candidate to use the winning campaign slogan "Yes We Can!" during his 2004 senate race.
He thought the catch phrase was "childish" and "corny", when it was proposed by his adviser David Axelrod, but Michelle told him: "It will work. Trust me."
Andersen, who has written 28 books, including best-sellers on the Clintons, Princess Diana and Caroline Kennedy, claimed that Obama dragged his feet over marriage and that Michelle talked to friends about adoption because of early difficulties in conceiving.
