Michelle Obama in Her Own Words Page 8
Essence, September 2008
My goal is to get people pumped up.
Jet, September 2007
ON TERRORISM
One of the things we can’t do in this country is operate from a place of fear. How are we going to reestablish our footing in the world and change conversations globally so that we move to a different place in how we deal with issues of terrorism? Instead of protecting ourselves against terrorists, [we need to] build diplomatic relationships and invest in education abroad so that we’re making sure that kids are learning how to read as opposed to fight us.
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, February 15, 2008
[Terrorism is] an incredibly important concern, but where is the balance? You have to be a respected player. You have to do a little bit of both, so that nonideological, a nonfear-based approach is really what we need now as a country.
Good Morning America, May 22, 2007
ON WHAT DRIVES HER
Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.
One Nation speech, Democratic National Convention,
August 25, 2008
If I died in four months, is this how I would have wanted to spend this time?
Newsweek, February 25, 2008
The world as it is just won’t do. . . . We have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack’s journey and so many other improbable journeys.
One Nation speech, Democratic National Convention,
August 25, 2008
ON WHAT SHE’D LIKE TO CHANGE ABOUT BARACK
He would put his clothes up when he took them off. He would hang them up right away.
Rocky Mountain News, July 17, 2008
ON WHETHER SHE’LL RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE IN THE FUTURE
No. Absolutely not.
Chicago Magazine, October 2004
One politician in the family is enough.
Joliet Herald News (IL), October 14, 2004
ON THE SUGGESTION THAT SHE COULD RUN FOR BARACK’S U.S. SENATE SEAT
Ugh. No, thank you.
Newsweek, February 25, 2008
It’s not because I’m not capable, but you have to have the passion for politics and the patience for it.
Naperville Sun (IL), October 18, 2004
ON WHO SHE IS
I am more than willing to share who I am and to open up my heart and soul to people so that they know that in addition to getting Barack—this tremendous mind and person to lead our country—that the people behind him and beside him, his wife and family, that we all represent what is good and wonderful about America.
Ebony, September 2008
I do best when I’m the most me that I can be. That’s really all I’ve got. If I tried to be something different or model someone, I would get confused and it would be bad.
Chicago Tribune, December 17, 2007
The fact that I’m a vice president of a company has thrown people off. The fact that I have a career and a spouse, that I am a great speaker in my own right, some would say compelling, sends people in a tizzy at some level. But that’s who women are.
Chicago Defender, January 30, 2008
I know how to bounce back from my mistakes.
AP Online, January 18, 2008
Do you think I would ever hold my tongue?
USA Today, May 11, 2007
The Michelle Obama I was last year is the same Michelle Obama I am this year. Different circumstances, same Michelle.
Newhouse News Service (NSS), August 10, 2008
I’m very much one foot in front of the other.
New Yorker, March 10, 2008
I’m one of the skeptics that Barack often talks about.
Associated Press (AP), March 1, 2007
I’ve got a loud mouth.
Good Morning America, May 22, 2007
I’m just trying to be myself, trying to be as authentic as I can be. I can’t pretend to be somebody else.
Washington Post, May 11, 2007
Rebellion for me is articulating my views, trying to be honest about what I see. I don’t think a lot of people in the public arena do that, because why are people so amazed when I do?
The Telegraph (UK), July 26, 2008
I’m still a work in progress. I think I’m 60 percent there.
Vanity Fair, December 2007
It would be hard for me to edit myself and still be me.
Marie Claire, October 2008
The values that we’ve grown up with, that we live and breathe, are pure American values. That is more me than the schools I went to. That is more me than the color of my skin even. That’s more me than my gender.
Essence, September 2008
I’m used to doing stuff that people told me I wasn’t supposed to do. That’s my whole life. It’s like, OK, here we go again, you know, telling me I can’t do something before I even try.
MSNBC, November 13, 2007
I wear my heart on my sleeve.
Newsweek, June 30, 2008
I’m pretty convincing.
Washington Post, November 28, 2007
I know who I need to be. I’ve come to know myself at the age of 43. I know who I need to be to stay true to who I am and to keep my family on track. We don’t always figure that out for ourselves as women.
Essence, September 2007
What I try to take into every speech is “just be yourself.” And that’s easy to do. As long as I don’t have to be anybody other than Michelle Obama, I figure I know me better than anybody. And I can do that pretty well.
Gayle King Show, August 25, 2008
I’m a big-picture-values kind of person.
MSNBC, November 13, 2007
I am a working-class kid. I wear so many different hats in my life. The story I come out of is the story of most Americans’ lives. The stuff we talked about around the table is the same. When you see your parents who don’t have much getting out of bed and sucking it up every day, you learn a lot about values.
Newhouse News Service (NNS), August 10, 2008
ON WINNING THE ELECTION
To see the outcome and the emotion, it was a very emotional evening because I think people were ready to take hold of this country and help move it in a different direction.
60 Minutes, November 16, 2008
We were watching the returns and, on one of the stations, Barack’s picture came up and it said, “President-Elect Barack Obama.” And I looked at him and I said, “You are the 44th president of the United States of America. Wow. What a country we live in.”
60 Minutes, November 16, 2008
ON WOMEN TODAY
Give yourself the space to think about who you are, who you want to be. . . . We’re [always] in “do” mode. We need to be in “reflection” mode a bit more.
Naperville Sun (IL), October 18, 2004
What I talk about with my girlfriends is that before you start worrying about, “I don’t have a man,” where are you in your own space, in your own head? What do I need to be as healthy and happy on my own with or without? And the minute you get that in order, it seems like things fall into place.
Chicago Sun-Times, August 7, 2007
ON YOUNG PEOPLE
When you are traveling around the country, what you see is our nation in action. You see young people of all backgrounds finding their voice again, finding a reason to be excited about politics and being engaged.
Campaign speech, October 22, 2008
Politicians have kind of written young people off, maybe because of their low voter registration, their low voter turnout. You teach them that politics is relevant to their lives. When you do that, they are engaged. They are not fair-weather supporters. They don’t get tarni
shed by a little negativity. In fact, I think that just gins them up even more.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 14, 2008
More and more young adults are asking questions about how their lives connect to the communities they live in. It’s important for students to understand the value of contributing to their community. It’s a good ethic of citizenship to instill in this generation of young people. It develops important links between the university and community.
Chicago Sun-Times, October 13, 1996
Barack’s life is a good road map for young people.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 14, 2008
Every young person in this country should be able to go to college.
MSNBC, November 13, 2007
Acknowledgments
TOP OF THE LIST—he’s probably getting tired of this by now—goes to Superagent Scott Mendel.
Next up is Niki Papadopoulos at PublicAffairs, who jumped on this companion volume to Barack Obama In His Own Words.
Then kudos to all the people who make sure I’m well-oiled. First, in Charleston: Jamie and Joe Wilson, John Willson and David Porter, Steve and Wendy Spitz, Ted and Pam Kusmider, and Ava, Jake, and Luke for providing me with entertainment outside my window perch, Jim Crow, Karen and Andy Norman, Kim and Brent Lhuillier, Penny Beal, Franklin Ashley, Polly Christy, Nancy Kirven, Lee Deas, Liz Rennie, Jonathan, Lauren, and Evelyn Sanchez, Seabrook Lucas, Marcia Guthrie, the Folly Beach Bluegrass Society, and the entire George Street contingent—thank you for making Ruby feel welcome!
Back in New Hampshire: Tim Ashe, Leslie Caputo, Bob DiPrete, Doc and Nancy Gerow, Dean Hollatz, Ed Leavitt, Don McKibbin, Spring Romer, Paul Rothe, Sara Trimmer, Cheryl Trotta, Andy and Donna Vinopal, and Carol West.
About the Editor
LISA ROGAK is the author of more than forty books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. She has written biographies on Dr. Robert Atkins, Dan Brown, Shel Silverstein, and Stephen King. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina.
PublicAffairs is a publishing house founded in 1997. It is a tribute to the standards, values, and flair of three persons who have served as mentors to countless reporters, writers, editors, and book people of all kinds, including me.
I. F. STONE, proprietor of I. F. Stone’s Weekly, combined a commitment to the First Amendment with entrepreneurial zeal and reporting skill and became one of the great independent journalists in American history. At the age of eighty, Izzy published The Trial of Socrates, which was a national bestseller. He wrote the book after he taught himself ancient Greek.
BENJAMIN C. BRADLEE was for nearly thirty years the charismatic editorial leader of The Washington Post. It was Ben who gave the Post the range and courage to pursue such historic issues as Watergate. He supported his reporters with a tenacity that made them fearless and it is no accident that so many became authors of influential, best-selling books.
ROBERT L. BERNSTEIN, the chief executive of Random House for more than a quarter century, guided one of the nation’s premier publishing houses. Bob was personally responsible for many books of political dissent and argument that challenged tyranny around the globe. He is also the founder and longtime chair of Human Rights Watch, one of the most respected human rights organizations in the world.
For fifty years, the banner of Public Affairs Press was carried by its owner Morris B. Schnapper, who published Gandhi, Nasser, Toynbee, Truman, and about 1,500 other authors. In 1983, Schnapper was described by The Washington Post as “a redoubtable gadfly.” His legacy will endure in the books to come.
Peter Osnos, Founder and Editor-at-Large
Copyright © 2009 by Lisa Rogak
Published in the United States by PublicAffairs™,
a member of the Perseus Books Group.
All rights reserved.
.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information,
address PublicAffairs, 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1321,
New York, NY 10107.
PublicAffairs books are available at special discounts for bulk
purchases in the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other
organizations. For more information, please contact the Special
Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group,
2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103,
call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail
special.markets@perseusbooks.com.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
eISBN : 978-0-786-74640-8
Lisa Rogak, Michelle Obama in Her Own Words
Thank you for reading books on Archive.BookFrom.Net
Share this book with friends