And yet, even in the face of all this incompetence, Americans keep digging deeper, finding new reserves of strength, doing whatever it takes to get through this.

Michelle Obama

And then there's this guy, Barack Obama, who lost - I could take up a whole afternoon talking about his failures, but - he lost his first race for Congress, and now he gets to call himself my husband.

husband race talking

Every Thanksgiving, Barack sits down to call some of our troops and thank them for their service. When he tells me about these conversations, it always reminds me of how blessed we are to live in a country where men and women will stand up to protect our freedoms and preserve our way of life. And whenever I've had the chance to meet with these heroes and their families, I've always walked away inspired by their courage and in awe of their strength.

blessed hero country

What I tell my kids is, I’m preparing you for college and for life. So, having independence, knowing how to set your own boundaries, figuring out how to make that balance. We still have screen time rules.

knowing college kids

Discriminating against same-sex couples just isn't right. by Michelle Obama

Discriminating against same-sex couples just isn't right.

We need to support Mary Burke for Governor! by Michelle Obama

We need to support Mary Burke for Governor!

mary support needs

'Let's Move!' is not about having government tell people what to do, because government doesn't have all the answers.

government people moving

For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks, and measureable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family, and one community at a time.

obesity-epidemic epidemics children

I never thought I'd be on Sesame Street with Elmo and Big Bird. I... by Michelle Obama

I never thought I'd be on Sesame Street with Elmo and Big Bird. I'm still thrilled. I'm on a high.

sesame-street elmo bird

So we know that it's not enough for us to simply encourage more people to study abroad. We also need to make sure that they can actually afford it.

inspiration people needs

My kids are normal. If they could eat burgers and fries and ice cream every day, they would. And so would I. But that doesn't sustain us.

ice-cream burgers kids

We have to design policies that have meaningful impacts on the quality of life of women and families. And that's something that I know I can speak passionately about because whether I'm in the White House as First Lady, as long as I have kids and I'm trying to have a life, I'm gonna be trying to make this balance work...

impact meaningful kids

No, I think that if he had known he would be president, he would have started dying his hair, like, 10 years ago. Now it's too late.

hair years thinking

Childhood obesity isn't about looks. And it's not about weight. It's about how our kids feel. And those are really the implications of the problem and the words that tell a fuller picture of the challenges that we face; you know, kids struggling in ways that they didn't a generation ago.

childhood struggle kids

A lot of young people think they're invincible, but the truth is young people are knuckleheads... Now young people can get insurance for as little as $50 a month, less than the cost of gym shoes.

shoes people thinking

It wasn't so long ago that I was a working mom myself. And I know that sometimes, much as we all hate to admit it, it's just easier to park the kids in front of the TV for a few hours, so we can pay the bills or do the laundry or just have some peace and quiet for a change.

Another suggestion is to cook a meal, maybe not every night, but a couple more times a week than you usually do. That way you have leftovers, and you take your lunch to work.

lunch couple night

Like so many American families, our families weren't asking for much. They didn't begrudge anyone else's success or care that others had much more than they did, in fact, they admired it.

care asking facts

Today Jazz music is performed & listened to by people of all ethn... by Michelle Obama

Today Jazz music is performed & listened to by people of all ethnicity, backgrounds, ages & creeds.

ethnicity age people

We're going to have to change our traditions, our history. by Michelle Obama

We're going to have to change our traditions, our history.

See, that's why Barack's running: to end the war in Iraq responsibly - to build an economy that lifts every family, to make sure health care is available for every American - and to make sure that every child in this nation has a world-class education all the way from preschool to college.

running war children