michelleobamasdncspeech.docx

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michelleobamasdncspeech

michelleobamasdnc2012speech

Thankyousomuch,Elaine…wearesogratefulforyourfamily'sserviceandsacrifice…andwewillalwayshave

yourback.

OverthepastfewyearsasFirstLady,Ihavehadtheextraordinaryprivilegeoftravelingallacrossthis

country.AndeverywhereI'vegone,inthepeopleI'vemet,andthestoriesI'veheard,Ihaveseentheverybest

oftheAmericanspirit.

Ihaveseenitintheincrediblekindnessandwarmththatpeoplehaveshownmeandmyfamily,especiallyour

girls.

I'veseenitinteachersinanear-bankruptschooldistrictwhovowedtokeepteachingwithoutpay.

I'veseenitinpeoplewhobecomeheroesatamoment'snotice,divingintoharm'swaytosaveothers…flying

acrossthecountrytoputoutafire…drivingforhourstobailoutafloodedtown.

AndI'veseenitinourmenandwomeninuniformandourproudmilitaryfamilies…inwoundedwarriorswhotell

methey'renotjustgoingtowalkagain,they'regoingtorun,andthey'regoingtorunmarathons…intheyoung

manblindedbyabombinAfghanistanwhosaid,simply,"…I'dgivemyeyes100timesagaintohavethechanceto

dowhatIhavedoneandwhatIcanstilldo."

Everyday,thepeopleImeetinspireme…everyday,theymakemeproud…everydaytheyremindmehowblessedwe

aretoliveinthegreatestnationonearth.

ServingasyourFirstLadyisanhonorandaprivilege…butbackwhenwefirstcametogetherfouryearsago,I

stillhadsomeconcernsaboutthisjourneywe'dbegun.

WhileIbelieveddeeplyinmyhusband'svisionforthiscountry…andIwascertainhewouldmakean

extraordinaryPresident…likeanymother,Iwasworriedaboutwhatitwouldmeanforourgirlsifhegotthat

chance.

Howwouldwekeepthemgroundedundertheglareofthenationalspotlight?

Howwouldtheyfeelbeinguprootedfromtheirschool,theirfriends,andtheonlyhomethey'deverknown?

OurlifebeforemovingtoWashingtonwasfilledwithsimplejoys…Saturdaysatsoccergames,Sundaysat

grandma'shouse…andadatenightforBarackandmewaseitherdinneroramovie,becauseasanexhaustedmom,I

couldn'tstayawakeforboth.

Andthetruthis,Ilovedthelifewehadbuiltforourgirls…IdeeplylovedthemanIhadbuiltthatlifewith

…andIdidn'twantthattochangeifhebecamePresident.

IlovedBarackjustthewayhewas.

Yousee,eventhoughbackthenBarackwasaSenatorandapresidentialcandidate…tome,hewasstilltheguy

who'dpickedmeupforourdatesinacarthatwassorustedout,Icouldactuallyseethepavementgoingby

throughaholeinthepassengersidedoor…hewastheguywhoseproudestpossessionwasacoffeetablehe'd

foundinadumpster,andwhoseonlypairofdecentshoeswashalfasizetoosmall.

ButwhenBarackstartedtellingmeabouthisfamily–that'swhenIknewIhadfoundakindredspirit,someone

whosevaluesandupbringingweresomuchlikemine.

Yousee,BarackandIwerebothraisedbyfamilieswhodidn'thavemuchinthewayofmoneyormaterial

possessionsbutwhohadgivenussomethingfarmorevaluable–theirunconditionallove,theirunflinching

sacrifice,andthechancetogoplacestheyhadneverimaginedforthemselves.

Myfatherwasapumpoperatoratthecitywaterplant,andhewasdiagnosedwithMultipleSclerosiswhenmy

brotherandIwereyoung.

Andevenasakid,Iknewtherewereplentyofdayswhenhewasinpain…Iknewtherewereplentyofmornings

whenitwasastruggleforhimtosimplygetoutofbed.

Buteverymorning,Iwatchedmyfatherwakeupwithasmile,grabhiswalker,prophimselfupagainstthe

bathroomsink,andslowlyshaveandbuttonhisuniform.

Andwhenhereturnedhomeafteralongday'swork,mybrotherandIwouldstandatthetopofthestairstoour

littleapartment,patientlywaitingtogreethim…watchingashereacheddowntoliftoneleg,andthenthe

other,toslowlyclimbhiswayintoourarms.

Butdespitethesechallenges,mydadhardlyevermissedadayofwork…heandmymomweredeterminedtogiveme

andmybrotherthekindofeducationtheycouldonlydreamof.

AndwhenmybrotherandIfinallymadeittocollege,nearlyallofourtuitioncamefromstudentloansand

grants.Butmydadstillhadtopayatinyportionofthattuitionhimself.

Andeverysemester,hewasdeterminedtopaythatbillrightontime,eventakingoutloanswhenhefellshort.

Hewassoproudtobesendinghiskidstocollege…andhemadesurewenevermissedaregistrationdeadline

becausehischeckwaslate.

Yousee,formydad,that'swhatitmeanttobeaman.

Likesomanyofus,thatwasthemeasureofhissuccessinlife–beingabletoearnadecentlivingthat

allowedhimtosupporthisfamily.

AndasIgottoknowBarack,Irealizedthateventhoughhe'dgrownupallthewayacrossthecountry,he'dbeen

broughtupjustlikeme.

Barackwasraisedbyasinglemotherwhostruggledtopaythebills,andbygrandparentswhosteppedinwhenshe

neededhelp.

Barack'sgrandmotherstartedoutasasecretaryatacommunitybank…andshemovedquicklyuptheranks…but

likesomanywomen,shehitaglassceiling.

Andforyears,mennomorequalifiedthanshewas–menshehadactuallytrained–werepromoteduptheladder

aheadofher,earningmoreandmoremoneywhileBarack'sfamilycontinuedtoscrapeby.

Butdayafterday,shekeptonwakingupatdawntocatchthebus…arrivingatworkbeforeanyoneelse…giving

herbestwithoutcomplaintorregret.

AndshewouldoftentellBarack,"Solongasyoukidsdowell,Bar,that'sallthatreallymatters."

LikesomanyAmericanfamilies,ourfamiliesweren'taskingformuch.

Theydidn'tbegrudgeanyoneelse'ssuccessorcarethatothershadmuchmorethantheydid...infact,they

admiredit.

TheysimplybelievedinthatfundamentalAmericanpromisethat,evenifyoudon'tstartoutwithmuch,ifyou

workhardanddowhatyou'resupposedtodo,thenyoushouldbeabletobuildadecentlifeforyourselfandan

evenbetterlifeforyourkidsandgrandkids.

That'showtheyraisedus…that'swhatwelearnedfromtheirexample.

Welearnedaboutdignityanddecency–thathowhardyouworkmattersmorethanhowmuchyoumake…thathelping

othersmeansmorethanjustgettingaheadyourself.

Welearnedabouthonestyandintegrity–thatthetruthmatters…thatyoudon'ttakeshortcutsorplaybyyour

ownsetofrules…andsuccessdoesn'tcountunlessyouearnitfairandsquare.

Welearnedaboutgratitudeandhumility–thatsomanypeoplehadahandinoursuccess,fromtheteacherswho

inspiredustothejanitorswhokeptourschoolclean…andweweretaughttovalueeveryone'scontributionand

treateveryonewithrespect.

ThosearethevaluesBarackandI–andsomanyofyou–aretryingtopassontoourownchildren.

That'swhoweare.

Andstandingbeforeyoufouryearsago,IknewthatIdidn'twantanyofthattochangeifBarackbecame

President.Well,today,aftersomanystrugglesandtriumphsandmomentsthathavetestedmyhusbandinwaysI

nevercouldhaveimagined,Ihaveseenfirsthandthatbeingpresidentdoesn'tchangewhoyouare–itreveals

whoyouare.

Yousee,I'vegottentoseeupcloseandpersonalwhatbeingpresidentreallylookslike.

AndI'veseenhowtheissuesthatcomeacrossaPresident'sdeskarealwaysthehardones–theproblemswhere

noamountofdataornumberswillgetyoutotherightanswer…thejudgmentcallswherethestakesaresohigh,

andthereisnomarginforerror.

AndasPresident,youcangetallkindsofadvicefromallkindsofpeople.

Butattheendoftheday,whenitcomestimetomakethatdecision,asPresident,allyouhavetoguideyouare

yourvalues,andyourvision,andthelifeexperiencesthatmakeyouwhoyouare.

Sowhenitcomestorebuildingoureconomy,Barackisthinkingaboutfolkslikemydadandlikehisgrandmother.

He'sthinkingaboutthepridethatcomesfromahardday'swork.

That'swhyhesignedtheLillyLedbetterFairPayActtohelpwomengetequalpayforequalwork.

That'swhyhecuttaxesforworkingfamiliesandsmallbusinessesandfoughttogettheautoindustrybackon

itsfeet.

That'showhebroughtoureconomyfromthebrinkofcollapsetocreatingjobsagain–jobsyoucanraisea

familyon,goodjobsrighthereintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.

Whenitcomestothehealthofourfamilies,Barackrefusedtolistentoallthosefolkswhotoldhimtoleave

healthreformforanotherday,anotherpresident.

Hedidn'tcarewhetheritwastheeasythingtodopolitically–that'snothowhewasraised–hecaredthat

itwastherightthingtodo.

HediditbecausehebelievesthathereinAmerica,ourgrandparentsshouldbeabletoaffordtheirmedicine…

ourkidsshouldbeabletoseeadoctorwhenthey'resick…andnooneinthiscountryshouldevergobroke

becauseofanaccidentorillness.

Andhebelievesthatwomenaremorethancapableofmakingourownchoicesaboutourbodiesandourhealthcare

…that'swhatmyhusbandstandsfor.

Whenitcomestogivingourkidstheeducationtheydeserve,Barackknowsthatlikemeandlikesomanyofyou,

henevercould'veattendedcollegewithoutfinancialaid.

Andbelieveitornot,whenwewerefirstmarried,ourcombinedmonthlystudentloanbillswereactuallyhigher

thanourmortgage.

Weweresoyoung,soinlove,andsoindebt.

That'swhyBarackhasfoughtsohardtoincreasestudentaidandkeepinterestratesdown,becausehewants

everyyoungpersontofulfilltheirpromiseandbeabletoattendcollegewithoutamountainofdebt.

Sointheend,forBarack,theseissuesaren'tpolitical–they'repersonal.

BecauseBarackknowswhatitmeans