Former first lady Michelle Obama was a headline speaker at the very first Obama Foundation international summit and immediately raised eyebrows with her analysis of what's wrong with men – and women.

Fox News:

Former first lady Michelle Obama explained Wednesday at a summit in Chicago that she believes men are "entitled," and that women protect them too much.

Speaking at the first Obama Foundation international summit, Obama – one of the event's headliners – said that men are essentially babied and protected by women, while women are raised to be "strong."

"It's like the problem in the world today is we love our boys, and we raise our girls," Obama said. "We raise them to be strong, and sometimes we take care not to hurt men – and I think we pay for that a little bit."

"Y'all should get you some friends," Obama joked. "And talk to each other, because that's the other thing [women] do – we straighten each other out on some things, our girlfriends."

She continued: "It's powerful to have strong men, but what does that strength mean? You know, does it mean respect? Does it mean responsibility? Does it mean compassion?"

Obama went on to question if women protect men to the point they feel "entitled" and "self-righteous."

"Are we protecting our men too much so they feel a little entitled and … self-righteous sometimes? But, that's kind of on us too as women and mothers, as we nurture men and push girls to be perfect," Obama said.

Generally speaking – and one must speak in general terms on such a broad and complex subject – Mrs. Obama is full of it.

She tries to make women both victim and enabler, which only serves to muddy the waters.  Worse, referring to men as "entitled" and "self-righteous" fails to capture the reality of modern relationships and short-changes women at the expense of men.

There are no doubt men who are, indeed, entitled and self-righteous.  But did they get that way because women "baby" them?  That's a load of hooey, largely because there are few women of whom I am aware who "baby" their male partners.  Relationships vary, but generally speaking, most men feel far less "entitled" when sharing the burdens of family life – and are better men for it.  Cooking, cleaning, and parenting have, by the necessity of many women working full time, become a joint enterprise, where neither partner can afford to feel entitled or self-righteous. 

No, most men don't share the joy of family life equally.  By the same token, most men make the effort.  If they truly love their wives, they recognize that doing for each other leads to fulfillment and happiness.

There may be some cultures that still treat women as domestic slaves and where men expect to be "babied."  But as our society continues to evolve, we move farther away from that model.  It's surprising that Michelle Obama would fail to recognize the evolution in society and portray women as both victim and enabler.