President Obama announced his re-election campaign last month, but first lady Michelle Obama didn't officially join the 2012 campaign trail until Thursday with a speech at the Democratic National Committee Women's Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. She said that this time around, she's fired up — but admitted to being a reluctant campaigner during the 2008 season:
"I still had some cynicism about politics. And I was worried about the toll that a presidential campaign would take on our family … And even as I hit the trail, I was still a little uneasy about the whole 'president thing.' "
The first lady didn't mention the around-the-clock scrutiny, or the "Angry Black Woman" label slapped on her throughout the 2008 campaign, but we imagine she wasn't crazy about that part, either. She did explain coming around after being welcomed into communities across the country and talking to voters about their concerns, and she said that she's even more focused on campaigning now that her husband is president.
“I think that it's fair to say that we've seen some change. And we should be proud of what we've accomplished. But we should not be satisfied, because we know that we are still nowhere near winning the future.
" … I will not be doing it just as a wife or as a first lady. I'll be doing it as a mother, who wants to leave a legacy for my children. And more than that, I'll be doing it as a citizen who knows what we can do together to change this country.”
Read the full transcript of the first lady's remarks here.
In other news: Gang Member Gets 212 Years for Newark School Killing.
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