but republicans say she is spending big money and dubbing her a modernday marie antoinette. >> reporter: a fleeting glimpse of first lady michelle obama riding a wave of popularity from southern california to the bay area. >> i saw her. she waved at me. >> we live next door and i thought i'm coming down to see her. >> reporter: mrs. obama hopscotched the state monday and tuesday, mixing military family visits with campaign fundraising. >> i feel so empowered. >> reporter: not that these onlookers could get in. the price tag for the private breakfast $25,000 to co-host, $1,000 for a single seat. across the bridge in san francisco, lunch with the first lady went for $2,500 a person. it's all part of a push to raise $1 billion for the president's reelection campaign and critics say while mrs. obama may have raised hundreds of thousands in cash, she also raised eyebrows. >> michelle obama is the marie antoinette of our generation. she takes lavish trips with a large entourage. she has 26-plus servants on the taxpayer dime, more than any first lady. >> reporter: san francisco republican part

marie antoinette never said "let them eat cake." and sarah palin never said i can see russia from my front yard. >> two of the four i knew. marie antoinette never said let them eat cake? i'm devastated. >> apparently. the press of her day has been out to get here. >> i tell you, the media's always been a kirns. there is still a lot of stuff to go through. so i don't think we should be drawing questions too quickly here, but i think the reality is what we're seeing is somebody who was engaged in her job and to a certain extent the caricature of her may be unfair. but the problem she has, and i've just got to push back a little bit, the objection to sarah palin among many people now is not that they think there was scandalar or trooper -- nobody cares about that. what i think they don't have the sense of is whether she has the substantive grip and the depth of knowledge of issues to be the president of the united states. and that issue is stilt one she has to overcome. i don't think these e-mails will bear on that. but you've written

marie antoinette never said "let them eat cake."arah palin never said i can see russia from my front yard. >> two of the four i knew. marie antoinette never said let them eat cake? i'm devastated. >> apparently. the press of her day has been out to get here. >> i tell you, the media's always been a kirns. there is still a lot of stuff to go through. so i don't think we should be drawing questions too quickly here, but i think the reality is what we're seeing is somebody who was engaged in her job and to a certain extent the caricature of her may be unfair. but the problem she has, and i've just got to push back a little bit, the objection to sarah palin among many people now is not that they think there was scandalar or trooper -- nobody cares about that. what i think they don't have the sense of is whether she has the substantive grip and the depth of knowledge of issues to be the president of the united states. and that issue is stilt one she has to overcome. i don't think these e-mails will bear on that. but you've written a book

. >> michelle obama is the marie antoinette of our generation. she takes lavish trips with a large entourage. she has 26-plus servants on the taxpayer dime, more than any first lady. >> reporter: san francisco republican party chair dillon claims the obamas are increasingly out of touch with the public that is paying for state business trips that double as campaign cash grabs. >> we have laws governing campaign finance and i think he may be in violation of campaign finance laws for this. >> reporter: it's not clear whether the trip was funded by public money or the obama re- election campaign. we do know that the first lady has been criticized before over this pricey spain vacation last summer. still, her supporters remain unfazed. >> to me, i just think she is such a wonderful mother. she is such a wonderful american. she supports her husband and family. >> reporter: now, asked by phone about the funding for this trip, white house officials told me as in other administrations, we follow all rules and regulations to ensure that the dnc or any oth