Interpreting anyone's marriage - a neighbor's, let alone the president's - is extremely difficult. Jodi Kantor More Quotes by Jodi Kantor More Quotes From Jodi Kantor Candidates' wives are supposed to sit cheerfully through their husbands' appearances. Jodi Kantor wifehusbandappearance People who face too many demands - two careers, two children - often scale back somehow. The Obamas scaled up. Jodi Kantor careerstwochildren You make real progress when somebody is honest enough to say something that's really uncomfortable. Jodi Kantor progresshonestreal I've learned that the best political reporters never make predictions! Jodi Kantor ive-learnedpredictionspolitical I would say that Barack Obama has always been a real optimist about what can be accomplished. He believes that government can be used to create systemic, long-term, real change. And the first lady is more of a skeptic. Jodi Kantor governmentrealbelieve Every presidential candidate highlights patriotism, but Mr. Romneys is backed by the Mormon belief that the United States was chosen by God to play a special role in history, its Constitution divinely inspired. Jodi Kantor presidentialspecialplay It's not that Michelle Obama is trying to conceal her true feelings, it's that she does not want to be a political liability to her husband. Jodi Kantor politicalhusbandfeelings Michelle Obama has mostly stuck to pretty anodyne topics. She's anti-childhood obesity, she's pro-veteran. Jodi Kantor veterantopicschildhood The Michelle Obama that her old friends remember, that people knew in Chicago, she was a really incisive social critic. She knew how to drive an argument home. People liked her both in the workplace and socially because she was so frank. Jodi Kantor old-friendshomepeople I don't like corporate diversity workshops. Jodi Kantor workshopscorporatediversity You make real progress when somebody is honest enough to say something that's really uncomfortable. Of course when you're a candidate's wife and when you're first lady and the first African-American first lady to boot, that is very, very hard to do. Jodi Kantor african-americanwifereal Michelle Obama kind of has two identities. In private, she is actually often much more vehement than her husband about Republican opposition. It was very hard to get sources to put it on the record, but they would describe the way she talked about Republicans and opposition in private. And, you know, her remarks were scorching. The level of heat that she can give off in these conversations is often much greater than what Barack Obama does. Jodi Kantor husbandgivingtwo Michelle Obama is somebody who really wants to take the high road. Jodi Kantor high-roadtaking-the-high-roadwant Evangelical Christian politicians who cheat often raise questions about hypocrisy, especially if they preached piety in public and disregarded it in private. When Jewish politicians fall, they shatter different expectations, particularly that American Jews need to work together to preserve respectability and fireproof against anti-Semitism. Jodi Kantor expectationstogetherworkfall I really thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but then I had an epiphany when I was in law school and dropped out. I'd always been a journalism junkie, but I'd never had confidence to think that I could actually edit or write the stories. Jodi Kantor confidencejournalismlawyerschool First ladies, you know, we look at Michelle Obama, and we look at most first ladies, and they seem like they have it all. You know, they live in the White House, they go to state dinners, they ride on Air Force One, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. But first ladies do often feel that they are given short shrift or forgotten or left at the margins. Jodi Kantor ridefeellookyou I spent a lot of time in the White House in the public areas where reporters are allowed to go, but I spoke to people about the private quarters as well. Some of the things I learned were small, novelistic details. For example, the fact that there were still pet stains on the carpets from the Bush cats when the Obamas moved in. Jodi Kantor catspettimepeople I guess there were things about the Obamas I discovered that I do think are universal to marriage. I found it very interesting in my reporting that their most difficult periods in the White House almost never seemed to coincide. When one was down, the other one was holding it together. In my experience, that's true of marriage generally. Jodi Kantor experiencemarriagewhitetogether Interpreting anyone's marriage - a neighbor's, let alone the president's - is extremely difficult. And yet, examining the first couple's relationship - their negotiations of public and private life, of conflicts and compromises - offers hints about Barack Obama the president, not just Barack Obama the husband. Jodi Kantor alonemarriagerelationshiplife Michelle Obama has gone from political skeptic to political partner to a woman with a White House agenda of her own, and an approval rating higher than the president's. Jodi Kantor partnerwomanpoliticalwhite
