During his emotional, final speech as POTUS, Obama gave his wife the biggest shout out of all: “For the past 25 years, you’ve not only been my wife and the mother of my children, you’ve been my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for and you made it your own with grace, grit and style.”
“If you look deep into her eyes, there’s a certain vulnerability.”
“It’s fair to say [this lifestyle] was not necessarily what she envisioned for herself. She has to put up with me. And my schedule and my stresses. And she’s done a great job on that.”
“The great thing about the girls is they’ve got a wonderful role model in their mom. They’ve seen how Michelle and I interact–not only the love but also the respect that I show to their mom. So I think they have pretty high expectations about how relationships should be, and that gives me some confidence about the future. I joke about this stuff sometimes, but the truth is they are smart, steady young women.”
“We’ve been married now twenty years, and like every marriage you have your ups and you have your downs, but if you work through the tough times the respect and love that you feel deepens.”
“There’s no doubt I’m a better man having spent time with Michelle. I would never say that Michelle’s a better woman, but I will say she’s a little more patient.”
“Obviously I couldn’t have done anything that I’ve done without Michelle…not only has she been a great first lady, she is just my rock. I count on her in so many ways every single day.”
“Having said all those things, the quality I love most about her is, she’s honest and genuine. I think that comes across to people. They get a sense that they can trust her. You know, the word “authenticity” is overused these days. But I do think it captures what folks are looking for–not just in leaders, but also in friends and in coworkers–and that is, folks who are on the level. People like that tell you what they think and don’t have a bunch of hidden motives. That’s who Michelle is.”
“She’s a wonderful person and she’s a genuine person. I never see her in different settings and somehow she’s different with different people.”
“She’s also funny. She’s the funniest person in our family.”
“And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years…the rock of our family, the love of my life.”
“Michelle’s like Beyoncé in that song, ‘Let me upgrade ya!’ She upgraded me. There’s no doubt I’m a better man having spent time with Michelle.”
“What I realize as I get older is that Michelle is less concerned about me giving her flowers than she is that I’m doing things that are hard for me–carving out time. That to her is proof, evidence that I’m thinking about her. She appreciates the flowers, but to her romance is that I’m actually paying attention to things that she cares about, and time is always an important factor.”
“If you were going to list the 100 most popular things that I have done as president, being married to Michelle Obama is number one.”
“What I value most about my marriage is that it is separate and apart from a lot of the silliness of Washington, and Michelle is not part of that silliness.”
“But I think it would be a mistake to think that my wife, when I walk in the door, is, ‘Hey, honey, how was your day? Let me give you a neck rub.’ It’s not as if Michelle is thinking in terms of, ‘How do I cater to my husband?’ I think it’s much more, We’re a team, and how do I make sure that this guy is together enough that he’s paying attention to his girls and not forgetting the basketball game that he’s supposed to be going to on Sunday? So she’s basically managing me quite effectively.”
“Sometimes, when we’re lying together, I look at her and I feel dizzy with the realization that here is another distinct person from me, who has memories, origins, thoughts, feelings that are different from my own. That tension between familiarity and mystery meshes something strong between us. Even if one builds a life together based on trust, attentiveness and mutual support, I think that it’s important that a partner continues to surprise.”
“Early in our marriage, Michelle provided this sense of stability and clarity and certainty about things, but sometimes she resisted trying something new just because it might seem a little scary or push her out of her comfort zone. I think what we’ve learned from each other.”
