Let me finish tonight with this:
Michelle Obama speaks here tonight. And what a big moment it will be. There are people who root for this First Lady – about two out of three of us. They want her to make it. They want it all to work out for her.
Why? Because for most of us, the former Michele Robinson has done everything right.
Look at the kids she’s raised. Those two girls, Sasha and Malia, seem like perfections. They are what we want in any First Family, getting good educations, being role models, and seeming to deeply appreciate the honor they’ve enjoyed living in the White House.
I’ve said this before. The American presidency is not just a job. If it were, we wouldn’t give the president’s family a house to live in. We wouldn’t hold them up the way we do.
But the fact is, and this was the Founding Father’s decision, being president is also being head of state, the personal symbol of the country. It is in this role, I would argue, that this family has been close enough to perfect. They have conducted themselves in a superlative manner. They have built in time for a parent’s first role – child rearing. There’s no such thing as “quality time.” All the time you can spend with your kids is good time, and the more the better. If the president has spent too little time hanging out with other politicians – a criticism I have offered – I know that the pressure has come from his spouse. She has demanded he be there – with her – when their two daughters have been there being daughters, teenaged girls who need their daddy – to watch him, to learn from him, to feel his presence and love. Tonight we get to hear from Michelle Obama herself, get to hear from the First Lady herself the values that lead and enlarge and, I believe, enhance the history of the White House with their exceptional presence.
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