Michelle Obama on Bad Days
EmailABC News’ Yunji de Nies reports: In a quintessential first lady photo-op, Michelle Obama spent this afternoon reading to a group of children. The First Lady visited a group of third graders at the Ferebee-Hope Community School in Southeast Washington, who participate in the "Community in Schools" after-school program. According to her press office, her visit was intended to highlight the importance of after-school programs, particularly those for lower-income children. Mrs. Obama read the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst. Afterwards she and the children talked about what makes a bad day (gum in one’s hair, falling in mud on one’s birthday) and what to do on such occasions (remember there’s always tomorrow). "Every day isn’t a good day, right. Nobody’s life is perfect and nobody is going to have a great day every day. Everybody has a bad day — even me. Even the President of the United States has a couple of bad days," Mrs. Obama said. One child asked if Mrs. Obama thought it was hard to be the first lady. She does not. But asked if it is hard to be the President, she responded, "It’s very hard to be the President, yes. Being the President is one of the hardest jobs in the world, I think, because you’re dealing with every kind of problem you can imagine. Almost anything that goes on in the world, at some point the President has to think about it and help fix it." Mrs. Obama continued, "So you imagine walking up every day, thinking about the biggest problems that are facing this country and the world, and people are looking at you for the answers, right — it’s a tough job." The First Lady said all of the children could help the President in his job by doing what they’re supposed to do, working hard, listening to their teacher, and lastly, never quitting. "When something gets hard, because it will be — there will be plenty of things that will be hard for you all; there are things that are hard for me — will you promise me that you will not quit?" she asked.
The children agreed to do so. "Okay, because if you do that, you will help the President so much. If you do that every day — from now as eight, nine, 10-year-olds until you are grown-ups — you will help the President. You’ll make his job a lot easier," she told them. The First Lady then high fived several of the children and posed of a picture, before holding a closed-door meeting with several of the after-school program’s administrators. FLOTUS fashion watch: Mrs. Obama wore a navy blue sleeveless dress with white polka-dots.
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“Okay, because if you do that, you will help the President so much. If you do that every day — from now as eight, nine, 10-year-olds until you are grown-ups — you will help the President. You’ll make his job a lot easier,” she told them.
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I’ll say it. She needs a new speechwriter.
The idea that children should be working hard because it helps the President is the kind of thing they teach in totalitarian states.
They should work hard because it will given them pride in themselves, it will help them, their family, the community, their country, and the world. Not for a political leader. No no no.
Posted by: MayBee | May 13, 2009, 8:00 pm 8:00 pm
She is right. If the children work very hard from the age 10 on up he can tax them more and help pay for his socialist programs. Wait, don’t we have child labor laws or did Obama do away with them?
Posted by: jim | May 13, 2009, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm
I’m just trying to imagine a 10-year old Michelle Obama coming home from school and telling her parents Mrs. Nixon had told her she must work hard to help President Nixon.
Posted by: MayBee | May 13, 2009, 8:42 pm 8:42 pm
She doesn’t need a new speechwriter. This conservative is surprised when conservatives are caught by the Obama disease much as some people in the left have the Bush disease. She is preaching self reliance to people in inner cities. she should be applauded for this. If kids were not quitting on themselves by dropping out of school, it will make any education policy easier and cost less in the future to our public finances. If parents were not quitting on their kids, may we’ll stop blaming teachers and thinking that every thing will be solve by only pouring more money. If Americans were eating more healthy and taking care of themselves, may be some of the money being planned for healthcare will be less needed. Michelle talks about empowering ourselves and stop thinking that the president is a miracle worker. There are little things that we citizens can do to improve our lives and yes it will make the job of our president and our government easier. The housing bubble, the credit card bubble have roots on the endless appetite of people in this country to live beyond their means.
Posted by: ruth | May 13, 2009, 8:44 pm 8:44 pm
RUTH—-YOU ARE MY HERO! EXCELLENT POST
Posted by: ph | May 13, 2009, 8:51 pm 8:51 pm
ruth- first of all, her message and her husband’s goal is that we all have more government to rely on. Not less. You notice she was at the school to highlight the importance of after-school programs. She and her husband are supporters of universal pre-K, after school programs, increased government support for daycare, and longer school years. Cradle-to-college, he says.
I think she is great with kids. I think telling kids to be smart and work hard is fantastic. Telling kids to do it to make the President’s job easier is a horrible message.
Posted by: MayBee | May 13, 2009, 8:54 pm 8:54 pm
Americans don’t serve our President.
We respect him, or respect the office, but he serves *us*.
Posted by: MayBee | May 13, 2009, 9:01 pm 9:01 pm
Why not encourage children to work hard at their studies in order to help themselves to prepare for their future?
Would Ms. Obama have said to her own children in the previous years, “work hard to help President Bush” ?
Posted by: Sigmonde | May 13, 2009, 9:08 pm 9:08 pm
Maybee,
You have not brought any counter argument to my point. Michelle is saying that after school program is needed but it will not solve everything. some of the heavylifting need be done by students themselves and I’ll add here parents (Her husband was threatened of castration by Jesse Jackson for raising that issue). People taking more responsibilities for themselves and their communities will release some pressure on the public policy making front. There is a lot to criticize on what our new president is doing. I wish him well, but i hope that he’ll push entitlements reform for our long term financial stability. however, i see nothing wrong with Michelle speech. I applaud her for what she is saying here.
Posted by: ruth | May 13, 2009, 9:14 pm 9:14 pm
ruth-
Here’s my counter argument.
Americans don’t work hard to make the President’s job easier.
We don’t tell school children to work hard to make the President’s job easier.
We want children to learn, to work, to be self-motivated, but sometimes it is perfectly ok to make the President’s job *hard*. He is protecting our liberties, and we will sometimes disagree with him. I don’t want 3rd graders hearing anything different than that.
The rest of her message is fine, which is why I’m not criticizing it.
Posted by: MayBee | May 13, 2009, 9:28 pm 9:28 pm
Talk about bad days…
He can’t vote “present” anymore:
“WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is weighing plans to detain some terror suspects on U.S. soil — indefinitely and without trial — as part of a plan to retool military commission trials that were conducted for prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“The proposal being floated with members of Congress is another indication of President Barack Obama’s struggles to establish his counter-terrorism policies, balancing security concerns against attempts to alter Bush-administration practices he has harshly criticized.”
It will be nice just to sit back and listen to the loons on this one. Every day is becoming a bad day for them now…
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 13, 2009, 10:04 pm 10:04 pm
Maybee,
Again, I’ll repeat here Michelle has never said that children should work with sole objective to make the president job easier. She says here that a consequence of students relying on themselves will be to make the president job easier. You may think that I’m parsing here, but there is a real distinction between a goal and an effect. Your lecture of Michelle comments cites children behavior as a mean to achieve a goal. My understanding of Michelle comments her is : the toughness of the president job depends on how much we are taking care of some of our business ourselves. It is not only the president’s country. It is our country, our communities and our kids. Yes the president job has to be hard, but i thought that we conservatives should be happy that the president and the government have less on their plate. If we are taking of some of the problems than there there is less incentive for the government to do it.
Posted by: ruth | May 13, 2009, 10:05 pm 10:05 pm
I’ll say it. She needs a new speechwriter.
The idea that children should be working hard because it helps the President is the kind of thing they teach in totalitarian states.
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Yes, MayBee, Mrs. Obama’s statement about working to please the President is very strange. Everything else she said was pretty routine.
Posted by: Ms Trish | May 13, 2009, 10:19 pm 10:19 pm
Talk about a bad day. How about the poor children who got their school vouchers taken away and can no longer attend the Obama girls school. Now that’s a bad day — right Michelle?
Posted by: Really | May 13, 2009, 10:21 pm 10:21 pm
ruth:Again, I’ll repeat here Michelle has never said that children should work with sole objective to make the president job easier. She says here that a consequence of students relying on themselves will be to make the president job easier
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It is not their concern at all. Nobody should tell them it is.
Posted by: MayBee | May 13, 2009, 10:37 pm 10:37 pm
Dressing half nude in front of school children really isn’t appropriate. Someone needs to teach Ms Michelle some manners.
Posted by: Betsy | May 13, 2009, 10:38 pm 10:38 pm
Ruth: If you watch the video, you’ll notice that she never says to the children that there is a benefit to *them* to work hard and not quit… she only focuses on how it will help the President.
You say there’s a difference between goal and effect, but she only emphasizes the effect. And the effect she emphasizes is not that they will be stronger, or better, or smarter… the effect (according to her) is they will make the President’s job easier.
Posted by: jana | May 13, 2009, 10:39 pm 10:39 pm
Re: “Why not encourage children to work hard at their studies in order to help themselves to prepare for their future?”
Exactly. It’s about the children and their lives and their future, but she makes everything about her and her husband. She thinks everybody exists to serve them. She has it backwards.
Posted by: Karen | May 13, 2009, 10:45 pm 10:45 pm
Fascist Hyena:”It will be nice just to sit back and listen to the loons on this one. Every day is becoming a bad day for them now…”
I haven’t heard any “loons” irritated by this actually. Detaining them on US soil in a Constitutional manner is what should have been done in the first place, rather than some attempt to set up an executive fiefdom outside of any Constitutional jurisdiction. And what does this have to do with the two minute hate about Michelle Obama reading to grade schoolers?
Posted by: jhw539 | May 13, 2009, 10:58 pm 10:58 pm
god who would want to comment you people are crazy, she is reading to kids. Thats a good thing !!. as most first ladies of the 20th & 21st century have done. ou all need lives, jobs, and hobbies. and talking smack about the president and his wife isnot a hobbie its what low lifes do. Can you do better? then do so, but if not all you typing isn’t gonna fix it.
Posted by: BJT | May 13, 2009, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm
Michelle Obama cannot say nor do anyting to please you people!! And I am glad that she is not even trying to. Everything she says or does is scutinized and taking completely out of context. Let Michelle Obama be Michelle Obama and YOU do YOU…..You will be unhappy and complaining for the next 8 years..get a life.
Posted by: Eve | May 13, 2009, 11:35 pm 11:35 pm
Too bad there aren’t more around this evening. They’d all have something to ponder here:
“Republican candidates still lead Democrats by a single point this week in the Generic Congressional Ballot.
“For the second straight week, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 40% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 39% would choose the Democrat.
“This is the third week in a row – and just the fourth time in more than five years of Rasmussen polling – that the GOP has held such a lead.”
Thanks, Nancy. Thanks, Harry. Many thanks to all of you.
Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 13, 2009, 11:55 pm 11:55 pm
Was she wearing her $500 sneakers at the time?
Posted by: drjohn | May 14, 2009, 12:13 am 12:13 am
Are some of you actually serious with your comments? What greater way to empower kids and give them a sense of both service and accomplishment than to tell them by being responsible, studying hard – they are helping our President and country. That will give them enormous pride in themselves and responsibility to their communities.. They are our future.
Seriously, take a chill pill and get out more.
Posted by: Paige | May 14, 2009, 12:54 am 12:54 am
Fascist Hyena,
I apologize for the repetition (see Q’s for O’s WH), but do you have a blog? I love your comments and would enjoy reading more.
Posted by: Samiam | May 14, 2009, 1:58 am 1:58 am
Michelle knows something about bad days. Her first 100 days were a disaster.
Posted by: jeff | May 14, 2009, 7:39 am 7:39 am
I’m always inspired by her.. making my ‘bad days’ fewer.
Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | May 14, 2009, 9:40 am 9:40 am
What greater way to empower kids and give them a sense of both service and accomplishment than to tell them by being responsible, studying hard – they are helping our President and country.
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A better speechwriter would have mentioned helping the country.
Posted by: mad | May 14, 2009, 9:48 am 9:48 am
“…you will help the President. You’ll make his job a lot easier.”
What a load of hooey to lay on little kids. They should work hard and become better educated to improve their own lot in life, not make “The President’s” job a lot easier.
Nice mention of the sleeveless frock. What is it about Michelle’s arms that fascinate the press?
Posted by: Mongo | May 14, 2009, 10:15 am 10:15 am
The kid ask if it’s hard to be president, so she made the link between their lives and his having a good day. What’s wrong with that. To me it says more about making the world a better place, than Obama. The people posting all the negative comments are just haters, they can’t stand that Obama is such a popular president. That’s what jealousy does. Just makes you bitter, and unable to appreciate a good moment.
Posted by: AMJ | May 14, 2009, 10:26 am 10:26 am
AMJ, what do you think of the hate that was spewed in Obama’s home “church”? Were they jealous, bitter? Just curious.
Posted by: Hmmm... | May 14, 2009, 10:48 am 10:48 am
I just love this Lady – She reflects the very essence of what a good wife, mother and friend ought to be.
I have read a few of the comments, the negative ones and the positive ones and I just smiled.
I thought the world had forgotten about good moral values, teaching young ones from a young age the importance of being good citizenship but I am happy and inspired to see that people are doing it and the First Lady is echoing it on a “World – Stage” I am so HAPPY.
If we all as grown -ups do more of this we will help increase the Country’s GDP and this young ones are learning about this from a young age. They will never help the current President but as they grow older they will understand that the outcome of their lives helps to build or destroy a nation.
Congratulations 1st Lady – Keep reaching out.
Posted by: Pammy | May 14, 2009, 11:06 am 11:06 am
I wonder how often the Obama children were encouraged to help President Bush.
Posted by: mad | May 14, 2009, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm
Michelle should have told the students to work hard so they would be able to take advantage of the college education that I will be helping pay for. I believe this week Joe Biden told some students to study hard because he and President Obama were going to pay for their college education. Hope and Change.
Posted by: MrEd | May 14, 2009, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm
TO: AMJ
Stop calling dissenting commenters “haters”….I’m not a hater, I’m just running out of money. Aren’t you?
Posted by: MrEd | May 14, 2009, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
Michelle should have told the students to work hard so they would be able to take advantage of the college education that I will be helping pay for.
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Not exactly, but just curious how you do feel about paying for additional welfare, EIT’s, Food Stamps, etc as a result of the uneducated being able to secure good paying jobs and compete globally?
Posted by: Spence | May 14, 2009, 12:59 pm 12:59 pm
Those were very encouraging words. She is always on point.
Posted by: John | May 14, 2009, 1:30 pm 1:30 pm
I just stumbbled across this: You have got to be kidding. I can not believe that GROWN people are sitting around bashing this comment that the First Lady made.
“According to her press office, her visit was intended to highlight the importance of after-school programs, particularly those for lower-income children”
In most lower-income/urban areas the President is a motivation for these kids. She wasn’t speaking to some kids in the suburbs you idiots, she was in a lower-income neighborhood where most people are actually motivated by the Presidents story and can be even more motivated hearing what she said, especially from her.
Get A Life
Posted by: richmo58 | May 14, 2009, 4:15 pm 4:15 pm
The children can be motivated by the President’s story, but their hard work is about their own lives and their own dreams. It’s also about the country. Working hard because we must help “our leader” isn’t the right kind of motivation.
They don’t understand that they are the public servants. They think we’re supposed to serve them. I noticed this during the campaign too.
I also didn’t like it on Easter when they stood on the balcony and waved like they were the royal family. I have never seen any US President’s family do that.
Posted by: Karen | May 14, 2009, 5:11 pm 5:11 pm
The dress she’s wearing, by the way, is about $3,600.
Posted by: MayBee | May 14, 2009, 7:13 pm 7:13 pm
Mrs. Obama was really encouraging these kids. Too many kids in lower income families do not get encouragement. I was one of them. In striding to make the President proud, they will find their own way. They also must learn not to focus only on themselves. Focusing only on yourself creates self-absorbed, complaining, whining, negative people. Sound familiar???
Posted by: EddieG3 | May 14, 2009, 7:24 pm 7:24 pm
“The dress she’s wearing, by the way, is about $3,600.”
How do you know? Did she pay $3,600 or is that what it sells for?
Posted by: Silky | May 15, 2009, 10:16 am 10:16 am
keep up your are achampion of everything
Posted by: janet moraa | May 15, 2009, 10:27 am 10:27 am
some of you people are so full of hate that one of these days you’re going to burst. nothing the Pres and FL do is ever going to please you. it used to make me mad and then I realized just how sad you are – so I’m just going to sit back and appreciate this administration – mistakes and all – and quit worrying about you. I have no doubt that at the end of 4 yrs we will be much better off then we were when we started.
Posted by: MaryE | May 15, 2009, 4:09 pm 4:09 pm
Listen up, people ~
Every one of you has entered something very important in this “User Comment” section…..YOUR OPINIONS…..
Now, we say, wouldn’t all this “hub-bub” being so VERY boring if we all agreed with each other???
Think about it darlings….
ta…ta…
Posted by: The Rip Sisters | May 15, 2009, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm
Silky, you are right on point, thank you for your comment as I was thinking do I really want to respond to this ignorance – People write as though they expect her to cover all topics in one statement.
Posted by: richmo58 | May 15, 2009, 8:56 pm 8:56 pm