Michelle Obama: Commmunity Service “Is the reason that I breathe”
EmailABC NEWS’ Yunji de Nies Reports: First Lady Michelle Obama told workers at Corporation for National and Community service today that community service is "the reason that I breathe."
"It has become my life’s work in so many ways," she said. Mrs. Obama visited the federal agency as part of her larger federal agencies "listening" tour. In an auditorium filled with employees, she spoke about a turning point in her professional life when she realized her work as a high powered attorney wasn’t the legacy she wanted to leave behind. "When I thought about the things I cared about, the things I was passionate about, service was always in there."
"I could be some rich lawyer somewhere," she joked, saying if she’d stuck with that, she’d instead be writing checks to the Obama campaign.
As she has on all of her federal agency visits, the First Lady thanked the workers. "Your commitment is an inspiration" she told them. She said that while to many Americans "it may seem impossible to squeeze even more time out of the day," she encouraged them to volunteer. "It is an opportunity to put your faith into action in a way that regular jobs don’t allow." Mrs. Obama said that community service was a good teaching tool for parents. In her own family, "in many ways, this [presidential] campaign has been a family service initiative for us." She said supporting the president has been a wonderful way for the entire family to come together.
The First Lady also praised the recently passed Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which will expand the number of AmeriCorp volunteers from 75,000 to 250,000 by 2017. She spoke about the expanded service opportunities it will bring in a number of areas, including senior citizens. She said she knows judging by her own mother, seniors have a lot to contribute.
"Let me tell you with my mom, we’ve got to keep her moving and this bill will help us to capture that energy," she said with a smile.
For those on FLOTUS fashion watch: Mrs. Obama wore a black knee-length dress, with short black cardigan.
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But community service is akin to terrorism, remember? Michelle is really a different face of Osama. At least according to Fox News…
Posted by: matt | May 12, 2009, 4:46 pm 4:46 pm
Michelle wasn’t born to Earth in a typical fashion, she was carried into our midst by gracious, winged angels..
The angels keep their ancient places
turn but a stone and start a wing
Tis ye, Tis your estranged faces
that miss the many splendoured thing..
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | May 12, 2009, 4:51 pm 4:51 pm
“I could be some rich lawyer somewhere,” she joked, saying if she’d stuck with that, she’d instead be writing checks to the Obama campaign.
===
Thank goodness she chose to be a rich hospital administrator instead.
Posted by: MayBee | May 12, 2009, 5:00 pm 5:00 pm
Photo ops are the reason she breathes.
Posted by: Michelle | May 12, 2009, 5:00 pm 5:00 pm
Michelle needs a new speech writer.
Posted by: mad | May 12, 2009, 5:01 pm 5:01 pm
Mother Teresa Obama has arrived. Soon, there will be a homeless shelter next to her new garden.
Posted by: Sigmonde | May 12, 2009, 5:04 pm 5:04 pm
Bravo, MeanCountry!
Posted by: MayBee | May 12, 2009, 5:22 pm 5:22 pm
Gag.
Posted by: Kitty | May 12, 2009, 5:23 pm 5:23 pm
Who said the following?
“Everyone should have a chief of staff and a set of personal assistants.”
Marie Antoinette?
Nope–close however….it’s Michelle Obama.
Posted by: Scare Force One | May 12, 2009, 5:27 pm 5:27 pm
I am trying not to be cynical but a way of life for her and the very reason she breaths? Can anyone tell me when she gave up her life of earning big $$$$ for a life of service? I do not remember reading about a time when she was not making big $$$, but I may be wrong so would like someone to correct me please with some facts. Just need to know the time when this happend. Thanks
Posted by: Angel | May 12, 2009, 5:47 pm 5:47 pm
“Can anyone tell me when she gave up her life of earning big $$$$ for a life of service?”
The Obamas have sacrificed much to be where they are today. Michelle quit her post at the hospital to be first lady and Obama gave up smoking. I think.
Posted by: Sigmonde | May 12, 2009, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
Did she ever pass a bar exam to practice law?
Heck, her sports star brother got her into Princeton – she didn’t have the grades or SAT scores…
Posted by: Windel | May 12, 2009, 6:34 pm 6:34 pm
I’m gonna hurl!!!!
Posted by: FedUp | May 12, 2009, 7:45 pm 7:45 pm
Michelles idea of public service is like Evita Peron. Steal from one group then give it to another and preen in the process, meanwhile siphoning off a good portion for herself.
They reamed their low income supporters constantly for repeated $5 donations, and ordered lobster and champagne at the fanciest hotels in NYC.
Evita Peron’s got nothing on Michelle.
Excuse me while I heave.
Posted by: Nobama | May 12, 2009, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm
I love her modesty!!
Posted by: Woody | May 12, 2009, 8:20 pm 8:20 pm
I love her modesty!
Posted by: Woody | May 12, 2009, 8:45 pm 8:45 pm
Did she really do any work at the university of Chicago – her last “community service” job for which she was paid 300 thousand? They apparently never replaced her with anyone else – so makes you wonder if she ever did any work there rather than collect her hefty paycheck.
Posted by: steve | May 12, 2009, 9:02 pm 9:02 pm
Oh my God, how can she say that with a straight face? When has she ever done community service? And why is she on a listening tour? She wasn’t elected to anything.
Posted by: karen | May 13, 2009, 12:22 am 12:22 am
you people are FUNNY!!!!! for lack of a true and better word!
Posted by: Renetta | May 13, 2009, 1:00 am 1:00 am
This will last as long as she’s the FLOTUS, then in 2012 she’ll have to find another reason to “breath.” What a phony!
Posted by: Peggy | May 13, 2009, 1:24 am 1:24 am
Why has Political Punch started alternating substantive columns with all this cotton candy fluff about Michelle Obama? Is this what journalistic pay-to-play looks like?
I don’t come here to read FLOTUS press releases, and I doubt that any real fan of Jake’s forthright reporting does either.
Posted by: JM Hanes | May 13, 2009, 1:42 am 1:42 am
Perhaps we should consider outlawing community service. Surely Madame could locate another reason for respiration.
Oh and I agree with JM Hanes. I’m very bored with all the female flouting of Mrs Obama. Does ABC require that the woman reporters do fluff pieces or something?
Posted by: Plumber | May 13, 2009, 7:20 am 7:20 am
I get the sense from these comments that you all resent her for being rich. She was born to a relatively average wage working class family and worked extremely hard to get through university. I know women who head charities who also earn lots of money because the breadth and dedication of the position merits the pay. maybe someone with money is better able to put themselves into community work because they don’t have to worry about feeding their own family.
Michelle Obama is trying to use her position to inspire other people who do community work, or who want to become involved. Whatever her paycheck, I think she deserves kudos for that.
Posted by: Heather | May 13, 2009, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
Wake up America!!! – Look beyond the obvious, you can make fun of her name, make fun of her background but if at this moment you are in a bad place you had better remove the chip from your shoulder the splint in your eye and start creating a better tomorrow for yourself.
No offence you either get it or you don’t so I am not even try to lecture. If all that has been happening on a global scale hasn’t taught you anything then I am afraid no political party is going to rescue you.
Take a deep breath and ask your self the ultimate question – what sort of legacy do you want to leave behind when you leave this world?
All the news contributors (fox news, abc news) are making a living and some will report to suit what crowd they want to please, there is a target market to suit everyone’s taste but what I am worried about is if you let what this Lady is trying to teach you all i.e. refusing to catch the essence of her message then I am very sorry no one is going to save you, no political party.
I am an Independent and as such I don’t owe any allegiance to a political party but I have been observing the political scene and I am proud to say that it feels good to see a positive role model and the Obamas in the WH.
Posted by: Henrietta | May 13, 2009, 3:40 pm 3:40 pm
I believe that Mrs. Michelle Obama has a sincere interest in empowering minorities, poverty level children and women.. nothing more. She serves as an example of opportunity taken.. rather than a life wasted.
We forget that few people of her gender and race have ever had such a platform to spread a positive and hopeful message – to those who seem to have lost interest and hope in mainstream society.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | May 13, 2009, 3:43 pm 3:43 pm
I think that Michelle has wisely chosen to focus on a very important part of our society– service. And I appreciate the publicity she is generating for community service projects with which she is associated and for community service in general.
I do think that it would be even better if she expressed herself differently when she spoke on the subject of how service is a crucial part of her own life by focusing not only on what she does now that she is First Lady, with, as she has talked about, secretaries and assistants and household staff to help her juggle her responsibilities, but on how she incorporated community service into her life prior to her time in the White House. If she is to be a role model, she should emphasize the times when she was doing what most other volunteers are doing– juggling family, work, and community service without a great deal of assistance.
For example, I currently work full-time at a university, work part-time at my family business, and volunteer part-time each week with the local humane society. When I talk to others about volunteering and they talk about how busy they are already, I can talk about my own experiences. I have lived in this community for 20 years, so I have 20 years of service projects with my church, 15 or so years of annual service at the soup kitchen and ringing bells for the salvation army, and a dozen years of being in charge of the volunteer program for the animal shelter. I can talk to people about how I have incorporated those experiences into my life, how my spouse and I raised our children to also volunteer and how they joined me in all those activities over the years, about how meaningful those activities have proven to be over many years. Michelle lived in Chicago most of her life, except for when she was away at college, so she must have a wealth of experiences to draw upon from her many years of community service there. She should bring that out more when she is in the spotlight now, to show that one does not have to be in the privileged position she is in now to be able to give to her community. saying that if she had chosen another path, she would be “a rich lawyer” just “writing chekcs to the Obama campaign” misses the point– I know lots of very successful people who are well remunerated in their careers who still find time to volunteer their time as well as their money. Given her enthusiasm for service, I assume Michelle was one herself and she should highlight that.
Posted by: moderate | May 13, 2009, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm
Considering that this is her 1st year in the WH. I can overlook her lack of speech eloquence.
My first year as a university undergraduate wasn’t fast track either and as such I feel she still needs to say things she would have said behind closed doors – raw and honest.
What I am taking a hold on is that our youth do not miss out on what is being taught.
Yes I am passionate about the importance of service to the community – I am an accountant, an active church member and a volunteer for the homeless and I can not over stress the importance of volunteering.
Posted by: Henrietta | May 13, 2009, 5:17 pm 5:17 pm
She is sickening at best. Since when did she become so intent on community service that it is the air she breathes?? What a fake. Who does she think believes this? This, is the woman who wore $500 sneakers to a food bank.. for the love of God.
To all the fools out there oooing and awwing over the mean witch’s escapades.. her job requires that she find something to do to make her look like she is interested in something other than HERSELF. If she was not the first lady, she would be doing the same crap she used to do.
Posted by: mjl | May 13, 2009, 5:28 pm 5:28 pm
Mjl you have a problem, seek help. The 1st Lady is not your problem,
Your posting reflects the state of your mind – seek the right kind of help before it is too late
Posted by: Henrietta | May 13, 2009, 6:17 pm 6:17 pm