Michelle Obama quits board of big Wal-Mart supplier

The Chicago Tribune is reporting tonight that Michelle Obama has resigned her board of directors' position with the TreeHouse Foods. Her husband, presidential candidate Barack Obama, has been a frequent critic of the world's largest corporation and told a union crowd just last week, "I won't shop there."

The Tribune reports that Michelle Obama made a little more than $100,000 last year for serving on the board of Treehouse.

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In recent weeks, Obama supporters have maintained that the tie between Michelle Obama and Wal-Mart was a loose one. TreeHouse, based in west suburban Westchester, is one of many suppliers to the retailing giant and provides a small portion of its merchandise, they said.

But critics have noted that TreeHouse depends heavily on Wal-Mart for its business, according to the company's annual report.

In Michelle's own words, here is why she quit:

As my campaign commitments continue to ramp up, it is becoming more difficult for me to provide the type of focus I would like on my professional responsibilities.

But just two days ago, she explained things differently to ABC News:

When asked if she had considered resigning from her position, Michelle said that ultimately any changes that she made would be based on her own moral and ethical compass.

"I'm going to have to make a range of changes in my life. I've reduced my work hours at work. I will probably have to take a leave at some point. I will probably not be able to maintain my commitments," she said. "But if I make a change, it's going to be based on ... what I think is right."

That doesn't sound like someone who was within a couple of days of quitting.

It looks like Barack Obama's people are reading the blogs closely.

Related posts:

The Obamas: The Audacity of hypocrisy

Obama and Wal-Mart

More Obama: Wife serves on board of company whose biggest customer is Wal-Mart

Wal to Wal Hillary coverage

Hat tip to Tom Mannis at Rogers Park Bench.

UPDATE 11:37 PM CDT: Here is a free AP link on the story.

UPDATE May 23: Just last month, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, Michelle Obama was re-elected to a term on its board ending in 2010. Until the uproar began, one can surmise, Michelle appears to have been planning to stick around at TreeHouse.

Technorati tags: Obama politics Barack Obama politics 2008 election Wal-Mart business retail TreeHouse Chicago