GOP Activist Likens Gorilla to Michelle Obama

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports:

A South Carolina Republican activist has learned the perils of social-media sites, with a Facebook posting where he joked that an escaped gorilla was probably related to First Lady Michelle Obama.

The activist, a former state senate candidate named Rusty DePass, responded to news of a gorilla breakout at a local zoo by posting to Facebook on Friday: “I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors — probably harmless.”

(The entry was deleted — along with DePass’ Facebook page — over the weekend. But the South Carolina political blog FITSNews.com captured a screen-grab.)

DePass apologized: “I am as sorry as I can be if I offended anyone. The comment was clearly in jest,” he told a local television station, according to the New York Daily News.

But he added: “The comment was hers, not mine,” claiming that the first lady had recently made a remark about humans descending from apes. (It’s not clear what he was referring to.)

DePass is a former chairman of the Richland County (S.C.) Republican Party. He was an early supporter of George W. Bush’s campaign in 2000, and of Rudolph Giuliani’s in 2008.

Michelle Obama Immortalized in Wax

ABC News’ Dean Norland reports:

Michelle Obama has arrived — in wax.

A likeness of First Lady Michelle Obama was unveiled at a wax museum in downtown Washington Tuesday.

The figure of the first lady stands beside a likeness her husband that was already on display at Madame Tussauds DC. She is the third presidential wife to be featured in the famous wax museum, after Jacqueline Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.

Artists in London starting working on the figure of the first lady in December, after studying hundreds of photos and watching hours of video.

As far as the wardrobe for the wax first lady, this is a description provided by the museum:

“The incredibly lifelike figure is dressed in a red, custom designed sleeveless dress inspired by the purple dress she wore the night her husband claimed the Democratic presidential nomination. Her dress is accessorized with a classic pearl necklace and simple back heels.”

The real Michelle Obama was not at the unveiling.

However, Shameka Lloyd, the marketing manager of the museum located just six blocks from the White House, is hoping they will get a first family visit.

?I am keeping my fingers crossed and the Obama family has an open invitation to Madame Tussauds DC,? she said.

‘Top Line’: Huffington on Michelle Obama, Geithner, Stewart v. Cramer

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: On today’s “Top Line,” we chatted with Arianna Huffington about a range of topics — the G-20, the example Michelle Obama is setting for women, Tim Geithner, and her new investigative journalism project.

Huffington, the editor-in-chief and cofounder of Huffington Post, had glowing words for the first lady:

“Michelle Obama is so authentic and so much herself at a time when the whole world is longing for authenticity, for people who are just really teaching us things as they go through their life, and look how much she has already taught us,” she said.

“She had her mother move into the White House, which I love because I’ve been a big proponent of grandparents playing a bigger role in the raising of their children. She has this fabulous vegetable garden for organic food at a time when obesity is becoming a huge problem in this country. She wears flats on many occasions, which gives women around the world permission to throw away their high heels. And all those teachable moments, as well as the fact that she’s beautiful, smart and elegant, have made her a huge attraction.”

She’s less impressed with the treasury secretary: “My problem with Tim Geithner was never his communications job. It was not his delivery it was what he’s delivering. I just think that the Geithner plan is not going to work,” Huffington said.

Click HERE to see our full interview with Arianna Huffington.

And click HERE to see us talk through the day’s news with Republican strategist Kevin Madden — on the G-20, the budget battle on Capitol Hill, and whether Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., should be worried about his political future. (The answer to that, Madden says, is yes.)