By Jill Nelson

From 1950 to 1967, “What’s My Line?,” the longest-running game show in television history, consisted of a panel of celebrities questioning three contestants in order to discern which one was in a rather strange line of work. The big “reveal” came after the host intoned “Will the real _______ please stand up?”

One could ask that question of Michelle Obama, but without expectation of the satisfying “reveal” provided by the game show. Not only are the stakes way too high, but the object of our attention and affection is too smart, pragmatic, in control, and cognizant of history and her own recent experience to fall for the fleeting drama of full disclosure. Besides, she’s First Lady of the United States: she’s already won the game and the prize. The question now is how to use her position and power most effectively.

Until the advent of Michelle Obama, there had never been a time in American history when a black woman was absolutely central to the national dialogue. Even before Barack Obama’s election, the creation of the iconography of Michelle Obama was in full swing. What she did, said, didn’t do, didn’t say, wore or didn’t wear immediately represented both far more and far less than what was intended, reasonable, or even possible. As did her husband, Michelle Obama instantly became a screen upon which diverse communities could project, depending on their perspective, persuasion, and political agenda, their greatest aspirations or deepest fears.

For some, that projection was of the angry, uppity, vengeful black woman who resides in a part of American’s collective psyche. Updated by Michelle Obama to the 21st century and armed with degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, she was no less frightening, and perhaps more so. This is the Michelle Obama illustrator cartoonist Barry Blitt sought to spoof on the July 21, 2008 cover of the New Yorker,  in which she was portrayed with a huge afro, rifle and bandolier slung over her shoulder, wearing fatigues, combat boots, and giving her husband a fist bump.

Then there was the disarmingly honest, candid Michelle Obama, the very real black woman who transcended education, class, and sometimes race, during the presidential campaign. This woman told it like it is, not as she wished it would be or intended to make it. In doing so, she made more tangible her sometimes aloof, ethereal, politician husband.

This is the Michelle Obama who during a speech in Wisconsin on February 18, 2008 stated, “What we’ve learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. For the first time in my adult lifetime I’m really proud of my country,” a comment that in truncated form created a focal point of attack, an opportunity to portray her as ungrateful, radical, un-American, and a liability to her husband’s campaign.

What was erased was her explanation that this feeling of pride was “…not just because Barack has done so well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I’ve seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic, common issues and it’s made me proud. I feel privileged to be a part of even witnessing this.”

Out of these came the Michelle Obama who spoke at the Democratic Convention on August 25, 2008, and, pulling back from the brink of radicalism, marginalization, and defeat to which they were being pushed, eloquently and deftly situated herself, her family, and her husband’s candidacy squarely in the mainstream of a collective American experience, history and values. “I come here as a mom, as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world. They’re the first things I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to bed at night. Their future—and all our children’s future—is my stake in this election,” Obama said that evening. In doing so she took command of her own iconography, defined herself as a daughter, sister, wife, and perhaps most resonantly, a mother, refusing to be relegated to the edges of the American family. She rooted herself, her family, their story and her husband’s campaign at the center of the American family narrative.

Black women, Michelle Obama’s biggest natural constituency, are no less likely than others to project our dreams, expectations, and stories onto her, perhaps more so. At the same time, we are deeply pragmatic about the limitations; our individual and collective experiences as black women make us uniquely sensitive to the minefields she has to navigate. Given this, her recently announced intention to focus on childhood obesity, healthy eating and exercise as First Lady, is simultaneously a disappointment for a woman of her education and political acumen and a brilliant reflection of both. Surprise!

The First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign, with its focus on children, family, and empowerment repeats the themes of her crucial speech at the Democratic Convention, the speech that served to disarm critics and immeasurably help her husband’s election. “There’s no question that there are a dozen issues this super-smart sister could have chosen,” says writer Valerie Wilson Wesley. “This was clearly a politically ‘safe’ choice, but a meaningful, smart one as well. Poor black and Latino children are childhood obesity’s victims, and making parents aware of what they feed their kids is essential.”

“I’m sure that she realizes she has to be very, very careful with what she says and how she says it. She has a voice, but she doesn’t want to make any mistakes,” suggests Gwen Maristany, a retired public school teacher. “She is definitely addressing the children, the environment, the future, and she’s trying to stay family oriented.”

Yet understanding the pragmatism that may be behind the First Lady’s choice doesn’t sit well with some. “It does a total disservice to women my age, I guess to all women, because it says work hard, go to school, be smart and fierce, marry your equal intellectually and he can become President while you, too, can tell Americans how not to make their babies fat,” says S. Khalilah Brann, 30, an educator. “What’s safe is for Michelle to plant gardens, eat vegetables, and talk about our nation’s childhood obesity problem. Yawn. I bet there are tons of things she would rather be dealing with: education reform, healthcare, energy reform. She might want to try her hand at peace in the Middle East. But all that would be too embarrassing and risky. Ask Hillary Clinton.”

For now, Michelle Obama’s chosen lines of work have been as First Mom and now as an advocate against childhood obesity—one in three American children are overweight or obese—and for healthy eating and exercise. It may not be the emphasis some would have chosen for her, but when was the last time a smart, uppity black woman did what anyone told her?

As for when the real Michelle Obama will stand up, more than likely it won’t be until 2016 at the earliest, after her husband is out of office. A ways away, but does anyone doubt the “reveal” will be well worth the wait?

Jill Nelson is a journalist and author of five books. She lectures widely on race, gender, politics and media.