He may have a lot of policy work on his plate as he embarks on his self-proclaimed “year of action,” but President Obama can take it easy when it comes to Valentine Day this year, because Michelle Obama says she’s more than happy to have a low key affair.
“I’ve had this big birthday celebration. My husband really celebrated me so well. He did a great job,” she said, referring to her extended Hawaii vacation and big dance-party bash in an interview on On Air with Ryan Seacrest Thursday. “I had a great couple of weeks, so I think we’re going to low-key it for Valentine’s Day.”
But while she may not need a big celebration, she has no doubt that the president will be romantic when the day comes. ”We have been married for 21 years and he never forgets a Valentine’s Day, an anniversary, a birthday. He’s really good at that kind of stuff,” she said.
Hollywood may not always get life in the White House right, according to the first lady. When asked about whether or not her husband would have trouble getting flowers like Michael Douglas‘ character in the movie The American President.
“Once you live in the White House, you know there’s a florist in the White House,” she said. “It’s like, they have really good flowers right downstairs, so why is he out there with his credit card? That would never happen!”
The first lady insisted that the president is still able to maintain his role of husband and father despite the pressures and privileges that come with his job. On a bad day, that can be a relief.
“We try to just focus on family,” Obama said. “This is what we do during good times and bad. We make sure our home is a safe space for family, so that when Barack comes off the elevator and walks through the door, he’s just Dad. And the girls are really good at that because they’re more concerned about their issues. Like, ‘Oh, Dad, tough luck! By the way, where’s my allowance?’”
While he’s been getting criticized by some Republicans for his vow to pursue executive action to help accomplish what he can without dealing with Congress, the first lady appears to have her husband’s back on the issue. “One of the things he told my team is that we have provided an example of all that you can get done without congressional action because a lot of the work that we’ve done with Let’s Move and improving health and seeing some of the changes really comes with partnerships between businesses and schools and educators,” she said. That includes initiatives like her recent project with basketball champs the Miami Heat, including the fun video in which she took a dunk on NBA superstar LeBron James. Jobs like that give the first lady a chance to have some fun. “They are so silly, the Miami Heat, but they are such great guys,” she said. But the Heat players also can set great examples for kids on healthy eating, the first lady said, noting that the athletes have to watch what they eat in order to perform at the top of their game. “You can’t put junk into a Ferrari and expect it to go fast,” she said.
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