Sitting down with Michelle Obama

By TARA HETTINGER
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com

May 02, 2008 12:10 pm

— The Evening News and The Tribune got an exclusive one-on-one interview with Michelle Obama, wife of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, after her Jeffersonville talk Thursday and here is what she had to say.

QUESTION: What does the presidential race in Indiana mean for Barack Obama?
MICHELLE OBAMA: “Indiana is as important as every state in the nation. Every voter in every state counts.
“[Since we live in the Midwest] we believe we share and understand the values of Hoosiers.”

QUESTION: If Barack Obama is elected to the presidency and you become first lady, what do you hope to achieve while in that position?
MICHELLE OBAMA: “[In being at working women roundtable discussions,] what you hear from them are the struggles women are facing just trying to keep everything together. Women in this country and families are struggling like they never have before. These kind of issues cross every socioeconomic background.
“[As first lady,] I’d love to work more on these kind of issues and find ways to ease the burden on women and families.”

QUESTION: What is it like campaigning for your husband? Is it stressful? Is it out of the norm?
MICHELLE OBAMA: “It’s definitely out of the norm. It is one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in my life.
“What it has done for me is it’s made me less cynical on America. People are decent and they are trying to find ways to make things more fair for each other. We are all really fighting for the same things.
“If we have leadership that focuses on the things that unite us rather than the things that divide us, we can really go somewhere.”

QUESTION: Some critics have suggested that Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race because they believe the ongoing competition is dividing the Democratic Party. Do you agree?
MICHELLE OBAMA: “Having a longer primary battle has been good for the party. It’s raising excitement in every state and that’s not going to disappear when we get to the general election.
“I think Barack has tried to keep it positive, because in the end this is all good as long as the candidates don’t tear each other apart in the process ...
“I think Hillary Clinton is going to have to do what she thinks is best for herself, her campaign and her country.”

QUESTION: The Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s comments has spurred quite a controversy. Do you think those comments will have a lasting effect on Barack Obama’s campaign?
MICHELLE OBAMA: “I think this has given Barack a chance to talk about some tough issues [such as religion, race and the pain people feel.]
“I think that his (Barack’s) speech will go down in history as changing the course of how we see one another in this country.
“We understand as a nation that we change every day and grow every day. We need to embrace that and move forward. The next generation is begging us to go forward.”

QUESTION: What was your goal to achieve today and did you achieve it?
MICHELLE OBAMA: “We are still introducing ourselves to many people. [In this small setting], they get to know you. If the authenticity is there, they’ll feel it.
“I’m hoping we’ve converted some people and encouraged the excitement to grow in the others [who are already supporters].”

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