A new book on the relationship of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle portrays America's first lady as a behind-the-scenes force bristling at the demands and constraints of White House life and whose opinions drew her into conflict with presidential advisers.

In a book to be published on Tuesday, New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor portrays a White House where tensions developed between Mrs Obama and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and former press secretary and presidential adviser Robert Gibbs.

The Times posted a 3,300-word adaptation of the book, The Obamas, on its website yesterday.

The accounts are based on interviews with 30 current and former aides, though the Obamas declined to be interviewed for the book.

The Times' adaptation of the book portrays Mrs Obama as having gone through an evolution from struggle to fulfilment in her role at the White House, but all the while an "unrecognised force" in pursuing the president's goals.

She is seen publicly as the friendly and popular face of the softer side of the White House, the one reading to schoolchildren or promoting exercise as a means to reduce child obesity.

According to Ms Kantor, early in 2010, as the president's health care agenda seemed in danger of collapsing, Mrs Obama let it be known she was annoyed by how the White House was handling the strategy.

After media reports indicated Mr Emanuel was unhappy pursuing the healthcare overhaul, he offered to resign, Ms Kantor wrote. The president declined the offer.

By that spring, however, Ms Kantor writes that Mrs Obama "made it clear that she thought her husband needed a new team, according to her aides".

Among the most provocative anecdotes, Ms Kantor recounts a scene in which Mr Gibbs, frustrated after tamping down a potential public relations crisis involving the first lady, exploded when presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett told him Mrs Obama had concerns about the White House response to the flap.

The initial commotion had been over an alleged remark by Mrs Obama to French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy that living in the White House was "hell".

Mr Gibbs cursed the first lady, who was absent. Ms Kantor writes that he later said his anger was misplaced and blamed Ms Jarrett for creating the confrontation.

The White House had a cold reaction to the book, calling it an "over-dramatisation of old news" and emphasising that the first couple did not speak to the author, who last interviewed them for a magazine piece in 2009.

"The emotions, thoughts and private moments described in the book, though often seemingly ascribed to the president and first lady, reflect little more than the author's own thoughts," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.

"These second-hand accounts are staples of every administration in modern political history and often exaggerated."

Other claims in the book say:

:: Mrs Obama initially chafed at life in the White House and for a short period before the inauguration had even considered staying in Chicago in 2009 at least until the two Obama daughters completed their school session;

:: As the first African-American first lady, Mrs Obama wanted to make sure that when it came to White House decor and entertainment she wanted to display sophistication, creating anxiety with Obama advisers who wanted to make sure the White House did not appear to have a tin ear to the nation's struggling economy;

:: Despite reticence in 2010 to campaign during the mid-term elections, Mrs Obama is now "an increasingly canny political player eager to pour her popularity".

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