Politics | Michelle Obama Michelle Touts Obamas as 'Just Folks' Once struggling wife battles hubby's 'elitist' reputation By Matt Cantor Posted Apr 20, 2008 6:43 AM CDT Copied Sen. Barack Obama and his wife Michelle join together on stage after speaking at Obama's Super Tuesday presidential primary election night party in this Feb. 5, 2008 file photo, in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file) Michelle Obama is hammering home a message that she and her husband are just “regular folks" of humble backgrounds. She has become a key weapon as the candidate continues to be buffeted by criticisms that he's "elitist" in the wake of his characterization of rural America as Bible-thumping, gun-toting and "bitter." Michelle Obama is focusing on her upbringing on Chicago’s South Side and Barack’s as the son of a poor single mom. "We are not so far away from life,” she tells audiences. The Obamas earned $4 million last year, and there’s a dearth of documentation to prove Michelle’s claims of past struggles with debt, reports the Chicago Tribune. But to many in her audiences, that doesn’t seem to matter. “She's just plain folk, you know?” said one audience member. Read These Next White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. New York Times ranks the best movies of the 21st century. A man has been deported for kicking an airport customs beagle. Report an error