It is our fundamental belief in the power of hope that has allowed us to rise above the voices of doubt and division, of anger and fear that we have faced in our own lives and in the life of America.
The realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know.
You do not keep American democracy in suspense. Because, look, too many people have marched and protested and fought and died for this democracy.
Child hunger and child obesity are really just two sides of the same coin. Both rob our children of the energy, the strength and the stamina they need to succeed in school and in life. And that, in turn, robs our country of so much of their promise.
We are living in a time where we just don't have enough time. People are rushed. They're over worked, over scheduled. Not enough resources. ...But the thing that I want people to understand in this campaign is that families can make small manageable changes in their lives that can have pretty significant impacts.
I'm trolling through the recesses of my mind for the things I did with my kids when they used to like to do things with me. They don't want to be around me now. I look back on these times - all those little funny pottery dishes that you'd pay for, and they'd paint, and they were ugly, and you glazed them, and you'd go back, pick them up, and it's like, "Oh, now I've got to put this on my desk." There's all that kind of stuff.
That's where you just have to get creative. There are all these trampoline parks and there's bowling and there's roller skating.
Much of what we do with our kids is social and that's good, and we shouldn't stop all that. I mean, how boring would it be that, no, we can't eat anything out so we're just going to go home and sit in the closet and wait to the next day.
And that's why the president has asked the entire government to step up, on his part. I mean, there's - there are things that the private sector needs to do; there are things that the government needs to do.
Start, as parents, with yourselves, number one.
Even in these tough economic times, Barack [Obama] has left the VA budget as is so that they're prepared to deal with this influx of men and women who are coming home and dealing with a whole array of issues, not just around mental health but just caregiving and the stresses of reconnecting with families who have been away from each other for a very long time.
I think employers need help in understanding how to translate a military career.
It should be fun introducing kids to fruits and vegetables. If you start young, it will be something that they'll attach to really quickly.
Fruits and vegetables for some kids are scary and not fun.
Gardening has increased, community gardens have increased significantly. There are 50 percent more community gardens right here in Washington DC.
When I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.
And let's be clear: It's not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren't healthy. It's also going to be critical to increase marketing for foods that are healthy.
One of the things I've done personally is bring my girlfriends into my health and fitness journeys.
Truly 1 percent of this country serves and protects the freedoms of the other 99 percent of us, so many of us don't have that connection. Fortunately, Jill Biden does. She's a blue-star mom. Their son was in the National Guard - or is in the - in - is a Reservist.
Another suggestion is to cook a meal, maybe not every night, but a couple more times a week than you usually do. That way you have leftovers, and you take your lunch to work.
I talk about the food issue, I'm really coming at it from pre-White House times, when I was a working mother with a busy husband, a very demanding job and two little kids to feed.... I had to learn what it means to feed and care for your kids in a country where fast food is abundant, where time is a rarity, where eating out is a trend, because families are so busy.... Yes, I'm First Lady, but I know the struggles.
After I got out of law school and worked in a big law firm, I thought, there are so many kids like me, in my neighborhood, that could be here if they had more support from their families, better financial aid. But the gap is so wide once you miss that opportunity. So I was always interested in figuring out, How do you bridge that? I felt, as a lawyer, when I was mentoring and working with kids, that I gained a level of groundedness that I just couldn't get sitting on the forty-seventh floor of a fancy firm.
I was blessed throughout my entire career. I had people rooting for me. It started with my parents, but it extended to almost every teacher that I had.
We're gathering a group of women around the administration to serve over a longer period of time as mentors to girls in need. If we can have that kind of impact in one night, just imagine if we were working with girls over the course of a year or two.... We can change lives.
There are so many really good role models out there, we just have to make sure that we don't glorify just one type. We have the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, who is ready to be a force in kids' lives. I could name hundreds of people like her.
"Politics is a waste of time."
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