Originally Posted by Ronin-Talgar

Nice work Raeka, not a bad showing. I have to say I'd never seen that 1st video before- only the one where shes in the purple top. You go too far though with the usual conclusions you draw however.

First, you haven't shown that her earlier speeches used that exact language- to me it'd be easy to lose a word here and there- indeed we can see from other parst of that speech that its not verbatim each time.

Secondly, you can't just narrate what the dem strategists were thinking- as far as I'm aware no controversy broke until after she'd given that 2nd speech- and her detractors drew enough problems from the words "really proud" to show it wasn't the best 'spin'.

Third, in an actual direct clarification which you can see here:

YouTube - Michelle Obama clarifies remark.

so if 'spin' has occured than it lies not between the two speeches, but in this interview. For this interview itself I'd say it make sense- context is right, and word usage; consider if she had been talking about a sports team, she wouldn't use the words 'American swim team' for example, she'd say 'America'- knowing full-well the context was clear.