New York, May 20 (ANI): Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama has warned Republicans not to hit on his wife Michelle, and to lay off her.

"If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful - because that I find unacceptable," the New York Daily News quoted Obama, as saying during an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America." Michelle was sitting next to him at the time.

"These folks should lay off my wife. All right? Just in case they're watching," he added.

Earlier this year, Michelle Obama had sparked off controversy on the campaign trail when she said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime I'm really proud of my country."

The Tennessee Republican Party pounced on the line last week with an Internet video that contrasted Michelle's remark with locals saying they've always been proud of their country.

Barack Obama said his wife "loves this country" and deemed the effort by Tennessee GOPers as a "low-class" and "detestable" distortion.

Asked to respond to Barack Obama's claim that the state party distorted his wife's remarks, Bill Hobbs replied, "A lot of people said that about Jeremiah Wright's words, too, and then we found out that Jeremiah Wright really was the way he was portrayed." (ANI)