The news is suddenly awash in reports that, on May 6, Netflix and the Barack and Michelle Obama production company will premiere a documentary about the book tour Michelle Obama did in connection with her memoir.  Both the memoir and the documentary are entitled Becoming.  What's interesting is that this premiere is a surprise:

Michelle Obama 'Becoming' documentary is a surprise new Netflix release

[snip]

"Those months I spent traveling — meeting and connecting with people in cities across the globe — drove home the idea that what we have in common is deep and real and can't be messed with," she wrote in Monday's press release announcing the documentary.

"In talking about the idea of 'becoming,' many of us dared to say our hopes out loud. I treasure the memories and that sense of connection now more than ever as we struggle together to weather this pandemic, as we care for our loved ones, tend to our communities and try to keep up with work and school while coping with huge amounts of loss, confusion and uncertainty.

"Even as we can no longer safely gather or feed off the energy of groups, even as many of us are living with grief, loneliness and fear, we need to stay open and able to put ourselves in other people's shoes," she added. "Empathy is our lifeline here. It's what will get us to the other side."

Am I the only one who finds this "surprise" an amazing coincidence when taken in conjunction with Joe Biden's declining candidacy?

Additionally, Michelle has been popping up all over the place.  She recorded a PSA for the District of Columbia, as well as setting up robocalls and radio ads.  She's suddenly popped up on PBS reading books to children ("Mondays with Michelle Obama").  She's also out there pushing for voting by mail and is generally making more appearances.

In an almost desperate manner, Joe Biden is also putting her name out there as his preferred running mate:

Joe Biden, the apparent Democratic presidential nominee, had an update about his search for a vice presidential partner: He said he would choose Michelle Obama as his running mate "in a heartbeat."

"She's brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman. The Obamas are great friends," the former vice president told KDKA-TV of Pittsburgh.

Speaking through Valerie Jarrett, the Obama family consigliere, Michelle has let it be known that she doesn't want to be the vice president.  Jarrett claims as well that Michelle isn't interested in any part of the presidential ticket:

Former Obama White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett said Tuesday that Obama would not consider being Biden's vice president in an interview with The Hill, telling the outlet that she simply is not interested in being on the Democratic presidential ticket.

"The reason why I'm being so unequivocal is that there just simply has never been a time when she's expressed an interest in running for office," Jarrett said.

"She's not demurring here. She's not being hard to get. She doesn't want the job," she continued.

That may even be true, insofar as Michelle's wishes go, but I suspect that she's getting an enormous amount of pressure to step up as Biden's fortunes go down.  Indeed, her husband may be assuring her that she'll just be a figurehead while he does all the real work.  She may find it hard to resist that kind of pressure to "save the party" or "save the country."

However, a very savvy friend of mine (whom I won't name since I haven't had a chance to clear this with him) believes that Michelle knows there's too much dirt out there for her to overcome.  He believes we'll soon learn just how deeply Barack Obama was involved when it came to the Russia hoax.  Michelle will also find herself having to answer for multiple Obama-era policies, such as the Iran deal, the sluggish economy, the mess that Obamacare proved to be, etc.

Michelle has always been drawn to the high life, says my friend, and she'll be reluctant to give it up the freedom she has (augmented by the millions coming in on her book sales) in exchange for the stress and constraints of the White House.