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Michelle Obama does not have a larger staff than any other first lady
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This rumor has been floating around ever since an article was published on The Last Crusade arguing that Michelle Obama is spending too much money on staff considering the current economic state of the country. This article then got forwarded around with an additional paragraph at the end claiming
One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayer expense, when even Hillary, only had three; Jackie Kennedy one; Laura Bush one; and prior to Mamie Eisenhower social help came from the President's own pocket.
This last section is simply and completely false and easily proven so. For example, Jackie Kennedy had a staff of 40 (not 1), and Hillary Clinton had 20 plus another 15 interns and volunteers (not 3), according to The White House Museum. First Ladies have had a staff ever since Caroline Harrison's niece served as social secretary in 1889, but it wasn't until 1978 (many years after Mamie Eisenhower) that PL95-570 was passed authorizing "assistance and services . . . to be provided to the spouse of the President in connection with assistance provided by such spouse to the President in the discharge of the President’s duties and responsibilities."
White House staff information can be obtained from the "Annual Report to Congress on White House Office Staff" available in pdf form from WhiteHouse.gov. It appears "The Last Crusade" pulled out all employees with "First Lady" in the title and also included any "social" positions (e.g. social secretary).
An article from National Journal has a similar list for the Bush white house in 2007. Just going by job titles (some are farily vague) there are at least 15 with the words "First Lady" in the title. Including positions with the word "social", the list grows to 17, minimum. That's a few more than the "one" that the e-mail claims Laura Bush had.
The table below compares the Obama staff list to the Bush staff list:
| Obama Staffer | Salary | Job Title | Salary | Bush Staffer |
| Susan Sher | $172,200 | Chief of Staff | $168,000 | Anita McBride |
| Jocelyn Frye | $140,000 | Director of Policy and Projects | $108,000 | Cherie Harder |
| Desiree Rogers | $113,000 | White House Social Secretary | $108,000 | Amy Zantzinger |
| Camille Johnston | $102,000 | Director of Communications | ||
| Melissa Winter | $102,000 | Deputy Chief of Staff | $84,700 | Sonja Miller |
| David Medina | $90,000 | Deputy Chief of Staff | ||
| Catherine Lelyveld | $84,000 | Press Secretary | $90,000 | Sally Niemiec |
| Frances Starkey | $75,000 | Director of Scheduling and Advance | $75,000 | Deanna Ballard |
| Director of Advance | $65,000 | Charity Wallace | ||
| Trooper Sanders | $70,000 | Deputy Director of Policy and Projects | $65,000 | Carrie Underwood |
| Erinn Burnough | $65,000 | Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary | $50,000 | Dorothy Thornton |
| Joseph Reinstein | $65,000 | Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary | ||
| Jennifer Goodman | $62,000 | Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events Coordinator | $50,000 | Marisa Etter |
| Alan Fitts | $60,000 | Trip Director | ||
| Deputy Director of Advance | $50,000 | Kristin King | ||
| Dana Lewis | $60,000 | Special Assistant and Personal Aide | $47,500 | Lindsey Lineweaver |
| Semonti Mustaphi | $52,500 | Deputy Press Secretary | $43,000 | Tarah Donoghue |
| Kristen Jarvis | $50,000 | Traveling Aide | ||
| Tyler Lechtenberg | $45,000 | Associate Director of Correspondence | $59,700 | Misty Marshall |
| Joseph Boswell | $40,000 | Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff | $46,200 | Kimberly Rawson |
| Sally Armbruster | $36,000 | Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary | ||
| Deilia Jackson | $36,000 | Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence | $42,500 | Campbell Vogel |
| Assistant Press Secretary to the First Lady | $39,000 | Jonathan Block |
It's obvious that the Obama "First Lady Staff" is not much different than the previous one. And this is just going by job titles. There are most likely many other staff who answer to the First Lady but have more generic titles like "secretary" or "director". Whether or not the First Lady (who is not elected and has no official duties) needs this large of a staff funded by taxpayer dollars is clearly a matter for debate. However, the current administration is not far exceeding its predecessors as the e-mails would have you believe.
For more info: The White House Museum, White House Staff List - Obama, White House Staff List - Bush
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