•  Campaign Videos (May 2012) « Obama for America
  

Michelle Obama: Hi, everyone.  You know we've had people asking some great questions on Twitter, so I wanted to take a bit of time to just answer a few of them.

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Here's the first question.

I'm working to launch an initiative that increases voter registration in my community for November—any tips?

First I want to tell all of you just how important that work is that you're doing out there and how much Barack and I appreciate it so much.

We succeeded back in 2008 because of our tireless volunteers and our grassroots supporters, many of whom got involved and voted in an election for the first time in their lives.

Man: The goal here is to register as many people as possible because we want to bring people into the process.  That's what has made this campaign so successful...

Michelle Obama: And they didn't just get involved themselves; they brought others along with them.  They registered people to vote and they made sure those folks had the information they needed to cast their ballots.

So one of the best things community leaders like you can do is to help share information about voting laws in your area, especially if they've changed recently.

You can go online to GottaVote.org, that's g-o-t-t-a vote dot org, and you can go there for specific information about what voters in your state will need to cast their ballot on Election Day.  And make sure you tell others about the site as well so that they know where they can go to get the voting information they need.

So thanks for the question.

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Okay, second question.

Who is the most inspiring person or group of people you've met as First Lady?

I have been fortunate as First Lady to meet so many inspiring folks of all ages from all different backgrounds and all across the country, and I've been especially inspired by the veterans and servicemembers that I've met, and by their extraordinary families.

Our men and women in uniform make such a tremendous sacrifice to keep all of us safe.  They're away from their families for months on end, sometimes years, missing all those birthdays and holidays and all those special moments and they're doing it because they're fighting for the country that we all love.  And that's hard for their families to deal with.

They never complain.  They just keep moving forward and working hard and serving this country every single day.  Barack and I have been so inspired by the military families we've met, and we are both committed to doing everything that we can do to support them.  That means providing them with the full range of benefits that they've earned and streamlining the process so that it's easy to access those benefits.

We also feel that each and every one of us in this country has a personal responsibility to support military families in our communities, whether that's mowing a neighbor's lawn or offering to carpool the kids to school or just letting them know you're there to lend a helping hand if they need it.  So I hope that all of you will reach out to military families in your communities too.

Thanks so much for the question.

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Question number three.

Do you think we'll see a woman president anytime soon?

Like I tell my daughters, women and girls can do whatever they want.  There is no limit to what we as women can accomplish.  Look at just a few of the women in Barack's administration.  We've got Hillary Clinton who is one of the best Secretaries of State this country has ever seen.  We cannot forget about those two amazing women that Barack appointed to the Supreme Court, Justice Sotomayor and Justice Kagan.  For the first time in history our sons and daughters watch three women take their seats on our nation's highest court. 

And today there are so many extraordinary women out there who want to serve this country, and we need to encourage more of them to run for office, and we need to help them get the resources and support they need to make that happen. 

At the same time, we've got to encourage more women to become a part of the political process.  As women, we need to keep ourselves informed about everything that is going on around us, because all of these issues—whether it's health care or the economy or education—all of these issues affect us, and they affect our families.

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No one can afford to sit on the sidelines.  No one.  So we need to stay informed and we need to make sure that our voices are heard.  That means not just following the news, but going out there and casting our votes, running for office ourselves.  And as long as we stay engaged and we keep empowering women, I have no doubt that we will see a woman in the Oval Office very soon.

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Okay, last question.

Please tell us about your family discussions about marriage equality and thank President Obama for his support!

This is an important issue for millions of Americans, and for Barack and me it really comes down to the values of fairness and equality that we want to pass on to our girls.  I mean these are basic values that kids learn at a very young age and that we encourage them to apply in all areas of their lives, and in a country where we teach our children that everyone is equal under the law, discriminating against same-sex couples just isn't right.  So it's as simple as that.  But thank you so much for this question, and we're proud to have your support.

That's all for now.  Thanks again for your questions and keep them coming.  You can find me on Twitter at @MichelleObama.  Talk to you soon, and thanks so much.

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Notes:

Copyright © 2012 Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action.