The Obamas packed up their belongings in Chicago and headed for Washington in early January so 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha could get started at their new school. A few weeks later, Michelle and her mother, Marian Robinson, began settling the family into their new home. When I returned to Chicago after the inauguration, I spent the weekend thinking, "I wonder what the Obamas are doing now?" Later, when I was looking for some cough syrup in my medicine cabinet, I suddenly thought, "Michelle never has to go out to buy cough syrup again!" For the First Lady and her family, it's a whole new reality. As we talk, she tells me how they're adjusting—and what she's planning to do in her awesome new role.
— Oprah
Oprah: I had heart palpitations coming through the White House gate, recognizing that this really is now your home. It's the White House, and it's your home.
Michelle Obama: And it's a beautiful home. When you go out and come back, especially at night, with all the white lights on—it's just beautiful. We feel privileged, and we feel a responsibility to make it feel like the people's house. We have the good fortune of being able to sleep here, but this house belongs to America.
Oprah: Your saying that makes me feel different than I've ever felt about the White House. When you say that, I actually do now, for the first time, think, "Yeah, it is the people's house." How did you come to understand that so clearly?
Michelle Obama: Well, I had some time to think about it, because we ran for so long...
Oprah: The longest run anybody's ever seen.
Michelle Obama: Right. And at some point, you start thinking about what living here would really mean. I've taken Barack's mantra: This isn't about us. There's so much history here that no one family can claim this space as their own.
Oprah: So when did it hit you?
Michelle Obama: I don't think it has. Everything's been moving at the speed of light. The whole process of transitioning here, the inauguration, all the protocol, seeing to it that the girls are doing well—I've really just been trying to make sure everything gets done.
Oprah: I can't imagine what the inauguration was like for you. For me, it felt like a moment in time that had been coming since time began.
Michelle Obama: I definitely sensed that, standing on the Capitol steps. But I would love to see a tape of what was going on down on the Mall. Because when you hear from people who were there, they talk about the emotions and the calm and the fact that you had more than a million people descending on this very small city with no incident, all love—I long to know that feeling as well.
Oprah: What was your prayer the night before you moved into the White House?
Michelle Obama: That we stay whole as a family through this process. And when Barack and I talked, he said he wanted to get through the day with everyone intact, everyone who attended—he said he would feel good when every last visitor left safely. And fortunately that happened.
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Oprah: Okay, shifting gears now. How are you a different woman today than you were when Barack Obama announced his candidacy in 2007?
Michelle Obama: I'm more optimistic. More hopeful. While we were traveling all over America, and we connected with so many different people. And this was long before anyone thought Barack had a chance. This was the kindness of strangers. I think we should all have to get to know one another around kitchen tables. It changed me. It's helped me to give other people the benefit of the doubt.
Oprah: What did you see that changed you?
Michelle Obama: I saw our shared values. We fundamentally want the same things for ourselves and for each other. We want our kids to be safe and to grow up with some resources and aspire to a slightly better life than ours. No one's looking for a handout. People just want fairness and opportunity.
Oprah: That's so good to hear. Because you know what? We live in an American Idol culture where it seems like everyone just wants to be in the spotlight.
Michelle Obama: That's not the America I saw. People value their communities. They're rooting for one another. Even in places where I thought people wouldn't accept or relate to me, I always walked out feeling like, "Wow—that was fun." That changed me. And it helped prepare me for this. Because I think if you're going to be First Lady, you have to believe in the possibility of what this country stands for. You have to see it in action and know what you're working toward.
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Interviewing Mrs. Obama was a very special experience. Barack Obama's presidency is a historic one, and it is fascinating to talk to someone who has been part of the whole journey. She is a kind woman who is going to do great things, and it was a privilege to speak with her.
Minor adaptions made to text seen here.
