Right-wing pundits have practically perfected the art of attacking a first lady since Michelle Obama moved into the White House in 2008, and the heckler who interrupted the first lady at DNC fundraiser provided the latest round of fodder.
It began with Matt Drudge, of the right-wing Drudge Report, who tweeted that the first lady seemed "ready to explode."
Audio of First Lady vs. heckler is concerning. Tight and wound up, like ready to explode, even before interruption...— MATT DRUDGE (@DRUDGE) June 5, 2013
Then Rush Limbaugh joined the chorus on his radio show Wednesday.
"Michelle in typical totalitarian, authoritarian, look says--'I'm not good at this,'" he said. "She's not good at having conversations with people and she's not good at listening to what other people say."
"Who do you think you are, asking me that? Don't you know who I am? I am Moochelle My Belle Obama and you're here to listen to me," he continued. "You're here to be dazzled by me. You're here to be impressed by me. You're here to wish you were me. And you dare to ask me--You either shut up or I'm outta here."
"Rush doesn't know the difference between authoritarian and righteous indignation," Joe Madison said on Wednesday's PoliticsNation. "The reality is that the first lady can't issue an executive order. Secondly, the people paid $500 not to hear a heckler but to hear the first lady."
Lauren Ashburn insisted that the first lady's reaction was "classy," talking about how hard it can be for a woman to avoid criticism whenever she stands up for herself.
"Walking that line, that very fine line, between being aggressive and overbearing, and saying your mind and standing up for yourself is very thin," she said. "You step off of it a millimeter and you are vilified in the press."
The first lady has suffered from regular vilification from the right. Most recently she was bashed for her appearance at the Oscars.