Uninformed views of the Obamas

I find it extremely sad that so many people are uninformed or misinformed when it comes to Sen. Obama and his wife Michelle.

A Warrenville reader complained that Michelle Obama had spent $900 on a dress and said that the money spent on the dress could have been given to the poor. Does the reader also know that Michelle Obama wore an "off-the-rack" dress that cost $148 for her appearance on "The View" on national television? Does she also know that Cindy McCain is a millionaire who wears designer clothes costing thousands of dollars and even has her own private jet worth millions of dollars? How much more could the poor be helped with the millions Cindy McCain could donate were she to buy clothes off the rack like Michelle Obama?

The reader also made the statement that Sen. Obama is elitist because he's never been poor. Does that reader not know that Barack Obama was raised by a single mother and his grandparents? Does she not know that he and his mother lived in a small apartment and his mother was forced to rely on food stamps to feed her family during one period? Does she not know that Michelle Obama grew up on the south side of Chicago, that her dad was a blue collar worker and the family lived in a small two-bedroom apartment?

Both Barack and Michelle Obama were very fortunate to be raised by parents who taught them the value of hard work and the importance of getting a good education. With the help of student loans, scholarships and part-time jobs they graduated from college and, having done well, earned their way into Harvard Law School where both excelled.

I think all voters need to learn the truth about the candidates and not fall for reports from biased media and/or Internet rumors.

Roberta Kent

Winfield