"'Heartbroken' Michelle Obama attending funeral of Hadiya Pendleton. I guess the other 553 murder victims didn't break her heart. Most of the 553 Chicago murder victims in 2012 & 2013 were young black males. Is she attending this funeral to make a political point?"
—Former Republican congressman and Tea Party favorite Joe Walsh of Illinois regarding the first lady's plans to attend Pendleton's funeral.
Why it stinks: Hadiya Pendleton, 15, was fatally shot in the back in a Chicago playground Jan. 28 in a neighborhood close to where the president's family once lived. Just a week before, the high-school sophomore had performed at the president's inauguration with her dance troop.
"Despite the heavy security because of the attendance of first lady Michelle Obama and other dignitaries, Hadiya's funeral at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church only occasionally touched on politics and the gun violence that ended Hadiya's life, instead focusing on a 15-year-old girl whose smile lit up the room," The Chicago Tribune reported.
As Pendleton's father reportedly said: "This isn't political. It's personal."
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