In our cover story, "What Michelle Means to Us," (Jan. 8, 2009) Allison Samuels examined Michelle Obama's appeal to black woman as a successful leader -- and a fashion icon: "Michelle looks nothing like the supermodels who rule the catwalks," Allison wrote, sharing her scoop that the first lady was going to be on the cover of Vogue's March issue, "the ultimate affirmation of beauty,” as she writes.

Were Obama to appear on the cover of the fashion tome, she’d only be the third first lady to nab the spot, following Hillary Clinton in 1998. Starting with Eleanor Roosevelt, the fashion tome has always sent a photographer to shoot the president’s wife, but those pictures usually get tucked inside the magazine. So when NEWSWEEK confirmed the shoot for March, fashionistas were aflutter. “Our heart skipped a beat when we read Newsweek’s cover story from last week” wrote the fashion blogger at New York Magazine, impressed that NEWSWEEK got the scoop. To confirm, she excitedly called up Vogue, who immediately deflated her balloon. “That was incorrect,” the spokeswoman told her, “It still hasn’t been specifically determined what we’re going to do.”

All too true: when the March edition debuts later this month, we'll see which starlet replaces the presumptive picture of the president-elect’s wife. . Allison explained that she confirmed her original info from “someone inside Vogue” and that Obama’s camp had confirmed they were working on a spring cover. Somewhere in between, the original plan went awry. But that doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. Earlier this week, Allison’s story was back on the fashion blogs when Annie Leibovitz, an iconic photographer who shoots for Vogue, stopped by the Obamas’ Hay-Adams hotel room. We’re not sure what Leibovitz was doing there, but we can say – unfortunately – it wasn’t for NEWSWEEK.