STANDING BY HER MAN Michelle Obama appearing with her husband, Barack Obama, at a campaign rally in Miami last month.

WASHINGTON — It was tough-love talk from one high-profile professional mother to another, only this hard-hitting counsel did not come in a phone call or a letter. It appeared in The Times of London this month under the headline, “My advice to Michelle Obama: Learn to Like the Back Seat.”

The pointed words came from Cherie Blair, a lawyer, mother of four and the wife of Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain. Brace yourself for big letdowns in your life as first lady, she warned Mrs. Obama, a lawyer, mother of two and the wife of President-elect Barack Obama.

PRIME MINISTER’S WIFE Cherie Blair escorted her husband, Tony Blair, at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in 2006.

SINGING HER OWN TUNE Carla Sarkozy on the “Today” show on Wednesday. She has struggled to find equilibrium in her role.