Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–April 26, 2012 – 11:05 A.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: How are you guys doing?
CHILDREN: Good!
MRS. OBAMA: Wow, sounds like you’ve had a busy morning already, right?
CHILDREN: Yes!
MRS. OBAMA: Tell me about some of the stuff you’ve done. Just shout out. All right, one at a time. Stand up. Whoever stands up —
CHILD: Pastry chef!
MRS. OBAMA: Pastry chef.
CHILD: (Inaudible) when we got to check how much breath we had.
MRS. OBAMA: You tested your breath? (Laughter.) Wow, we’ve never done that. What did you do?
CHILD: — park rangers.
MRS. OBAMA: Park rangers. That’s very cool. I like that. What else? Yes.
CHILD: We got to see a police car —
MRS. OBAMA: Oh, nice. What’s in there? I’ve never seen the inside.
CHILD: Little shield things.
MRS. OBAMA: Shield things.
CHILD: (Inaudible.)
MRS. OBAMA: Yes, very cool. Very cool. What did you see?
CHILD: We learned how important policemen are here around the White House.
MRS. OBAMA: Absolutely. We could not do what we do if it weren’t for the Secret Service and the police officers. We love them dearly, and they do a great job, right?
All right, well, before we begin we’re going to ask questions. I just want to welcome you guys to the White House. This is one of my favorite days because, I don’t know, I love spending time with kids. And you kids are very special because your parents are very special, or your grandparents. I know we may have parents and grandparents. But they do wonderful work here at the White House. And we know that sometimes they work so hard that sometimes they come home late, or maybe they miss some of your activities because they’re working so hard. And that can be tough, right? It can be a little annoying, too.
So one of the things we want you to know is that we know that it’s not easy to have parents who are doing busy, important work. But because of the work that they do, the country runs and things get done, and millions of people get help. And because you guys handle your business — you’re doing well in school, and you’re staying out of trouble, and you’re listening and you’re helping out at home when things are busy — you’re helping your parents serve, too, and your grandparents.
So you guys are helping this country in very important ways. And I don’t want you to ever take that for granted. So we are grateful to you all for what you do to support your parents. And that’s why I like to take the time and create this wonderful day so you get a better sense of what they’re doing when they’re not with you. We’re taking care of them — at least we’re trying to — so that you understand what’s going on. So we really appreciate you guys. And we’re happy to have you here, and we hope you’ve had a good day.
So now I’m going to just take some questions, all right? So, all right, here’s what we’re going to do: We’ve got mics, and when you stand up I’m going to go from section to section. So I’m going to take one person from here, one person from here, one person from here, and then I’m going to go back around, okay? And tell me your name and how old you are.
Okay, we’ll start over here. Okay, I see a bright green hand right here. Young lady, yes.
CHILD: My name is Madeleine (ph) and I’m 12. Do I state where my mom works?
MRS. OBAMA: If you know.
CHILD: My mom works at Office of National Drug Control Policy.
MRS. OBAMA: Nice.
CHILD: And my question is, will you ever run for President?
MRS. OBAMA: Absolutely not. (Laughter.) No. Being President is a really hard job and it’s an important job. And when my husband is running for President, we’re right in there; we’re serving, too. And I think that once his terms are over, we’ll go on to do other important things — because there are so many ways that you can help this country and the world, even if you’re not President of the United States.
And I think one of the things you learn about yourself as you get older are what are your strengths and what are your interests. And for me it’s other stuff that is not being the President. So I probably won’t run. But that’s a great question.
All right, we’re going to move to this section. And I see a red jacket. Young man, right there.
CHILD: How do you like —
MRS. OBAMA: Tell me your name.
CHILD: Joseph.
MRS. OBAMA: Stand up.
CHILD: Joseph.
MRS. OBAMA: What was that?
CHILD: Joseph.
MRS. OBAMA: Yes? How old are you?
CHILD: Eight.
MRS. OBAMA: It’s good to have you here, Joseph. What is your question?
CHILD: How do you like being the First Lady?
MRS. OBAMA: I love it! I really do. And that’s the other thing — I’ve been First Lady. This is the better job. (Laughter.) Because —
CHILD: Is it a hard job?
MRS. OBAMA: It’s very busy. I have a lot to do, but I couldn’t call it hard, because I’m doing the things that I really love. I get to spend this time with you all, number one. And as much as I can I try to spend time with young people, and I love doing that. And I’m working on helping kids eat healthy and be more active and working with military kids. And I got to be on iCarly. And so it would be hard for me to call this job hard.
I love what I do, and I love serving this country. So it’s been fun. Although, sometimes it gets tiring because you get really busy, and sometimes you just want to goof off and watch a little TV and not do anything, right? Yes, I tell my kids that all the time. They say — they wake up, they’re like, I’m tired, Mom. I’m like, I’m tired, too. Go to school. (Laughter.) Get over it, right?
All right. Okay, let’s see, let’s see. Oh, gosh, there are so many. All right, this little one in the back. You. Yes, you, young lady.
CHILD: My name —
MRS. OBAMA: What’s — oh, go ahead.
CHILD: My name is Danielle (ph), and today is my birthday and I’m turning eight.
MRS. OBAMA: I heard about that. Happy Birthday.
CHILD: And my dad works at the military office. And my question is, what do you like to do on your birthday?
AUDIENCE: Aww —
MRS. OBAMA: Aww. What do I like to do? That’s a very sweet question. Does anybody else have a birthday here today? All right, Danielle (ph) — okay, when we get finished we’re going to sing. When we’re done, before I leave, we’re going to sing happy birthday, okay? So we’ll do that last. We’ll end with that, okay? But happy birthday.
What do I like to do on my birthday? I like to sleep late. (Laughter.) That’s the first thing. So I try to make sure no one wakes me up until I’m ready to wake up. And then I like to have a day where I can do exactly what I want to do, eat what I want to eat. So I get to pick my meals. And then my husband usually takes me out for dinner, and the girls — or — and we have a family dinner. So I like to spend time with my family and just kind of relax and do a lot of nothing. I know that’s hard for kids to understand, but when you get old like us old people, doing nothing is a really big gift — right, parents? (Laughter.) Nothing is — happy birthday! (Laughter.)
Well, happy birthday, sweetie.
All right, here. Okay, young man in the black and blue stripes.
CHILD: When did you — oh, wait, sorry. My name is William Metcalf (ph) and I’m 10 years old. And my question is, when did you get Bo?
MRS. OBAMA: We got Bo — it was probably — press, media, you guys know better than me. (Laughter.) It was — he’s three years old, and we got him in March of — like, two years ago. He was eight months old when he came to us, so we’ve had him for close to three — he’ll be three in October. That’s when his birthday is. October birthday? Yeah, yeah. October! A lot of October.
So we’ve — you’ve got an October birthday, too? Great. But we’ve had — he’ll be three in October, so he’s lived with us since he was eight months old. And he’s awesome. He’s an awesome dog, and I love him dearly. Any of you have pets? How many pet kids do we have? Do you love your pets, too?
AUDIENCE: Yes.
MRS. OBAMA: Yes, we love our pets. All right — you just remembered your pet? Yeah, all right. (Laughter.) All right, we’ve got hands here. All right, young lady — next to you — I know, I’m going to get to — yes. You, in the red.
CHILD: Okay. My name is Madison Lewis (ph); my dad works for you. And if you could change —
MRS. OBAMA: What does he do?
CHILD: Joining Forces.
MRS. OBAMA: Oh, I know who your dad is. (Laughter.)
CHILD: If you could change anything about the First Lady job, what would you do or what would you change?
MRS. OBAMA: I don’t know that I’d change anything about it. Sometimes, when the First — and it’s not just the First Lady but the President — but sometimes we can’t sneak out often on our own without security and motorcades and people with us, right? It’s hard to sneak around and do what you want. I’ve done it a couple of times. But you know, one fantasy I have — and the Secret Service, they keep looking at me because they think I might actually do it — is to walk right out the front door and just keep walking. (Laughter.) Just go right over there and go into some shops, and stop and have some ice cream and — yeah, go shopping.
But I can’t do that. I can’t just up and decide, I think I’m going to go for a walk and I am going to go for a — I’m going to walk to Georgetown. So if I could change something, I’d be able to sneak around a little bit more. But it causes people a lot of stress when I do that so I try not to.
All right, we’ve got this section here. Oh gosh, this is so hard. All right, young lady, right in the front with the red ribbons. Yes.
CHILD: My name is Alison (ph) and I’m 10. What is your favorite part of being First Lady?
MRS. OBAMA: My favorite part of being First Lady is spending time with kids. You guys are funny, let me tell you. I’ve had some of the best questions, some of the funniest questions come from kids. And kids are just, they’re real — you guys are real honest. So you either — if they don’t like you, you know right away. It’s real clear. It’s like, keep away from me. But you guys are open and you’re curious and you’re still trying to figure things out. So it’s a lot of fun to spend time. And that’s when I do all my playing. You see me jumping rope, and I’m going to play with some kids when I leave here. We’re going to do some hula-hooping. So you guys are fun.
All right, here, here, here. All right, okay, I’m going to go in the back — I’m going to go in the back. Young man with the cast — I see a cast on an arm. We have an injured one here. You have to tell me your name, age and what happened to your arm.
CHILD: I’m Jacques Nissim (ph) and I’m 10 years old. And I was playing soccer and I was at practice, and this kid on my team kicked the ball really hard when I was goalie. And I stuck out my hand and the ball bent my arm back.
