Shine women of the year

<img alt="AP via Yahoo! News" title="AP via Yahoo! News" style="" src="http://a323.yahoofs.com/phugc/W8fUEZVhRVSc/photos/5c64f245c8d94fa42c4d07733b70abdd/ori_b8bf0dfed9c054.jpg?ug_____DtxbOP2nE" align="left" width="334" height="370">When the editors of Shine decided to name our 2008 Women of the Year, it took all of five seconds for us to agree that Michelle Obama was top of the list. The reasons, well, they are many.<br><br>Sure, we have gushed about her style and how quickly <a rel="nofollow" href="http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/obama-wins-also-america-gets-a-new-style-icon-303405/#photoViewer=1"><strong>she has become a fashion icon</strong>.</a> Who isn’t curious to see <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/top-designers-sketch-michelle-obama-inauguration-dress-ideas-for-womens-wear-daily-mdash-we-grade-their-efforts-324149/#photoViewer=1">what she will wear to the inauguration</a></strong>? Caring about the clothes she wears and the style she creates to set herself apart from first ladies before her is a bit of luxury we are allowing ourselves in this dark economic hour. But Michelle Obama wins our hearts and minds with what she brings on the inside, not for her outward flair. <br><br>She is smart, strong, sassy, funny, and empathetic. Raised by loving, hard-working parents on the South Side of Chicago, she pushed herself to do as well as her high-achieving older brother, and her drive landed her at Princeton and then Harvard Law School. She is a working mom with an accomplished career all her own, yet she makes it clear her daughters come first. (Her mom is moving with them to the White House!) So when she says that issues facing women and military families balancing work and home will be high on her list as first lady, we believe her, and we welcome her sharp-eyed attention. She has lived the work-life balancing act, and is living it now in a way she surely did not foresee when her daughters were born. Read More »