WHITE HOUSE TRANSCRIPTS

President Barack Obama
Women's Leadership Forum National Issues Conference (DNC)
Grand Hyatt
Washington, D.C.
May 19, 2011

7:02 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Hello, hello, hello!  It is good to be with all of you.  First of all, how about the outstanding the new chair of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz?  Give it up for her.  (Applause.)  We’ve got a couple of other outstanding members of Congress who are here.  Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is here.  (Applause.)  And Representative Donna Edwards is in the house.  (Applause.)
 
     Now, I was a little confused when they told me I was coming here to address the Women’s Leadership Forum, because I address a women’s leadership forum every night at dinner.  (Laughter and applause.)  I just left a women’s leadership forum.  (Laughter.)  I have Michelle, Malia, Sasha, my mother-in-law.  (Laughter.)  It’s just me and Bo – (laughter) -- trying to get a word in edgewise.  (Laughter.)
 
     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We’re going to let you talk.
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, that’s a change.  (Laughter.)  The last time I spoke to the Women’s Leadership Forum was back in 2008.  (Applause.)  And a lot has changed since then.  I’m a little grayer.  (Laughter.)  Back then, we were in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression, a recession that would ultimately cost us 8 million jobs.  Today, we’ve got a recovery that’s taken hold.  Our economy has now been growing for the past five quarters.  We’ve created over 2 million private sector jobs in the last 14 months.  (Applause.)  More than three-quarters of a million private sector jobs in the last three months alone.  Each of the big three automakers are now making a profit for the first time in years.  (Applause.) 
 
     So obviously the economy as a whole has an enormous impact on women and everything that women are doing to hold families together during extraordinarily rough times.  But we’ve done a few other things.  Along the way, we appointed two more women on the Supreme Court -- (applause) --including the first Latina on the Supreme Court.  We launched a competition called Race to the Top that’s being touted all across the country for bringing about changes people couldn’t imagine at the local level in schools, and it’s also helping to recruit more women into the math and science professions, which we think is absolutely critical.  (Applause.)
 
     We finally passed health care reform to make sure that health care is affordable and available for every single American in the United States.  (Applause.)  And as part of reform, insurance companies will cover preventive care like mammograms with no out-of-pocket costs.  And it will be illegal to charge women more than men just because of their gender.  (Applause.) 
 
     So we’re making some progress, but we’ve still got a long way to go.  For all the strides that we’ve made, women still hold fewer than 20 percent of the seats in Congress -- which explains something.  (Laughter and applause.)  Women still only make up 3 percent of the Fortune 500 CEOs.  Women are still earning only about 77 cents for every dollar that a man is earning.  That’s why the first bill that I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter bill -- (applause) -- to make sure that women get an equal day’s pay for an equal day’s work.  That’s not too much to ask.  (Applause.)
 
     I was disappointed when another important bill to help end pay disparities -- the Paycheck Fairness Act -- failed by just two votes, when not a single Republican would vote for it in the Senate.  So I’m going to keep on fighting to pass that piece of legislation.  (Applause.) 
 
Because SBA loans are three to five times as likely to go to women and minority business owners as conventional loans, we’ve invested in the SBA.  And Karen Mills, our SBA administrator, is doing an outstanding job.  We are making sure that women entrepreneurs have the support they need not only to start a business but to expand a business, and create new jobs across America in the process.  (Applause.) 
 
Because about one in five women will be sexually assaulted in college, Vice President Joe Biden is working with our advisor on violence against women, Lynn Rosenthal, to help make sure our universities are fulfilling their obligation under federal law to stop the scourge of sexual assault on college campuses across America.
 
We created the White House Council on Women and Girls, led by our very own Valerie Jarrett.  (Applause.)  We created the Office of Global Women’s Issues at the State Department, led by Ambassador Melanne Verveer, to make sure our administration is focused on the issues that are facing women and girls here and around the world.
 
     Overseas, we lifted the Global Gag Rule that restricted women’s access to family planning.  We’re making important investments in child and maternal health.  And we are working to stem the unspeakable cruelties that are being perpetrated against girls and women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  (Applause.) 
 
     When it comes to our budget, we need to live within our means, and we’ve got to cut what we don’t need so that we can afford to do the things that we have to do to grow our economy.  But what I told the House Republicans during the budget fight is that I’m not willing to defund Planned Parenthood.  (Applause.)  I’m not willing to sacrifice basic health care and lifesaving preventive care for millions of women. 
 
The cause of women aren’t just important to me as President -- they are personal.  I saw my grandmother hit a glass ceiling at the bank where she worked for years.  She could have been the best bank president they ever had, but she never got that chance.  I saw how Michelle was made to balance work and family when she was a vice president at a hospital.  As a father, I want to make sure that my daughters and all of our daughters have the chance to be anything that they want.  That’s the America that we believe in.  (Applause.)  That’s the America we’re fighting for.  (Applause.) 
 
So, to all of you who are activists in your communities, in your neighborhoods, in your work places, I want to say thank you for everything that you’ve already done to help advance the cause of justice and equality, and prosperity and fairness.  But I also want to underscore that we are not close to being finished.  We are not close to being finished.  (Applause.)  Back in 2008, on that night in Grant Park, I told everybody, this is not the end, this is the beginning.  And I warned everybody we were going to have a steep hill to climb.  Change is never easy.  And change certainly is not easy in a democracy because people argue; people have different points of view.  That’s part of what makes a democracy vital and healthy.
 
But we’ve made enormous strides over the last two and a half years.  And that shouldn’t be a cause for complacency, but it should give us enormous confidence that we can make even more changes over the next five and a half years.  As long as each and every one of you continue to be involved, continue to be engaged, continue to speak out, I promise I will be right there with you, every step of the way.  (Applause.)
 
God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  Thank you, everybody.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
                        END           7:11 P.M. EDT  

 President Barack Obama
DNC Event
Private Residence
Washington, D.C.
May 19, 2011

7:42 P.M. EDT
 
     THE PRESIDENT:  So, first of all, if you want to get something done, you put a woman in charge -- (laughter) -- of the DNC.  Debbie is going to do an outstanding job.  She has been a leader in Congress on so many different issues.  She’s got energy; she’s got verve; she’s got drive.  She doesn’t take any guff from anybody.  (Laughter.)  And she does it all -- it’s like the story about Ginger Rogers, right?  Although I don’t know -- I do think her heels are pretty high.  (Laughter.)  She’s doing it all backward, in heels, and looking after a couple of kids.  (Laughter.)
 
     So we are just so grateful for her to be willing to take on this enormous assignment.
 
     I want to thank John for hosting us.  Where did John go?  (Applause.)  John has been a great friend for a long time, since before people could actually pronounce my name.  (Laughter.)  For him to open up his gorgeous house is so appreciated.
 
     And I want to thank all of you for being here.  This is like a little reunion, because as I look around the table I see extraordinary friends from all across the country, from Maine to Florida to California to -- and everywhere in between.  And so many of you worked so hard for us back in 2008.  I would not be in a position to work on all the extraordinary issues and challenges that we face had it not been for your faith in me and your commitment.  And so to all of you, I want to say thank you.
 
     Now, I feel a little bit of pressure because I understand that you heard Michelle speak today.  (Laughter.)  And I try not to follow her.  (Laughter.)  I was hoping that there would be enough separation so that you would have forgotten how good she was by the time -- by the time I got here. 
 
     But since you all remember, I will not attempt to compete.  But let me just say that that night in Grant Park in 2008 -- (applause) -- I spoke to the American people, I spoke to all the folks who had fought so hard to help me win that election, and I said to all of you, this is not the end, this is just the beginning, and that we were going to have a steep hill to climb to get to where we wanted to be. 
 
Now, we didn’t know how steep it was going to be.  We didn’t realize at the time the full extent and full depths of the recession that we were going to face.  We didn’t understand the magnitude of job loss, how close the financial system came to breakdown.  We had to take a series of swift, bold, and sometimes unpopular steps to make sure that the economy didn’t go over a cliff.
 
And as Debbie mentioned, because of the actions we took, the economy is now recovered; it’s growing again.  Jobs are being added again.  Manufacturing has seen more growth than we’ve probably seen in a decade.  The Big Three automakers are back on their feet, making a profit, making cars that Americans want to buy.  And they’re all doing it, by the way, under new laws that we created with higher fuel-efficiency standards so that we become less dependent on foreign oil. 
 
But keep in mind that our goal was never just to get back to where we were in 2007 and 2008.  I ran for President because for too long the American Dream felt like it was slipping away for too many people. 
 
In the previous decade, wages and incomes have flat-lined for too many families.  And as a group of strong women here, you understand that so many of the issues that we talk about -- whether it’s equal pay, or health care access and affordability -- those are things that directly affect families in profound ways.  It makes a difference as to whether people can keep their homes or whether they’re going to go bankrupt if they get sick.  It makes a difference if they’re going to be able to catch an illness fast enough because they’ve got preventive care.
 
The quality of our education and the ability to afford to send your kid to college is not a given for a whole bunch of families out there.  Making sure that women are being trained in math and science and technology for the jobs of the future, that our daughters are able to compete and that they’re getting paid what they’re supposed to be getting paid when they get those jobs -- those are all things that affect families in profound ways.  And we haven’t made all the progress that we need to make on those issues.  A lot of people are still struggling out there. 
 
And so we still have to implement health care reform.  Just getting the law passed is the first step.  We still have to make sure that the financial reforms that we put in place are implemented effectively.  We’ve still got to make sure that we’re creating jobs and that we are building on the extraordinary education reforms that we’ve made over the last several years so that all our kids are actually getting the kind of education that they deserve.
 
We’ve still got to have an energy policy in this country that makes sense, because not only will it help us deal with rising gas prices, which are uppermost on people’s minds, but it’s also going to make sure we can provide a plan to our children and our grandchildren that is clean and safe.
 
We’re still going to have to get more competitive than we are right now -- investing in basic science and technology, whether it’s stem cell research, whether it’s making sure that we’re winning the race for alternative energy.  So the tasks before us are enormous -- and those are just the domestic ones.  (Laughter.) 
 
Meanwhile, we’ve got a whole big world out there that is rapidly transforming itself.  And obviously I gave a speech today talking about how we’re going to have to respond to these changes in a meaningful way.  (Applause.)  
 
And it’s interesting, the speech that I gave today -- obviously headlines were that we stand squarely behind democratic and political reforms in the Middle East and North Africa; that we will continue to pursue a just and equitable peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
 
     But you know what got the biggest applause in the room was when we said part of democratic reform, human rights reform in that region is unleashing the untapped power of half that population, making sure that women’s rights -- (applause.)
 
     So we’ve got a lot of business to do.  I’m only going to be able to do it if I’ve got your support.  This is going to be a tough race because the economy is still recovering; a lot of people are still suffering.  I’m extraordinarily proud of the record that we’ve amassed over these last two and a half years.  But some of the same underlying anxieties and frustrations, difficulties that middle-class families are experiencing out there, they’re still feeling.  And they expect me and my administration working with Congress in a bipartisan way whenever possible -- they expect us to deal with it. 
 
And so part of what this campaign is going to be about is not just talking about the past, but also talking about the future.  That’s also, by the way, what this budget debate is going to be about, which all of you will be paying more and more attention to over the next couple of months.  It really has to do with two different visions of the future.  Are we going to continue to make investments that allow us to win that future -- making our schools work, rebuilding our infrastructure, investing in science and technology and basic research?  Are we going to continue to make sure that senior citizens have the safety net of Social Security and Medicare intact?  Are we going to live within our means as a government, but do so in a way that ensures that the burden is shared among all people and not just some?  And are we going to continue to have a big and bold and passionate vision about what America can be? 
 
     That’s what this debate is going to be about.  So I’m going to need your help.  And I’ve said to a lot of folks, I know that in the two and a half years since I was elected, my hair has gotten a little grayer.  (Laughter.)  The campaign is not going to feel exactly the same.  It’s not going to be as fresh and new and trendy.  (Laughter.)  “Oh, I’m supporting Obama” -- back in 2008, that was a cool thing.  (Laughter.)  Now, he’s the President.  We see him all the time.  (Laughter.)
 
     But the vision is the same.  My enthusiasm for the job is undiminished.  My faith in the American people, in their core decency, is where it was -- in fact, I think it’s a little stronger than it was.  And so I’m confident that if we’re telling our story not about -- not just about what we’ve done, but more importantly what remains to be done, that we’re going to have five and a half more years to finish the job. 
 
     So thank you all.  (Applause.)
 
                        END                7:53 P.M. EDT


 this was First Lady Michelle Obama's first fundraising appearance of the 2012 cycle...

First Lady Michelle Obama
Women's Leadership Forum National Issues Conference (DNC)

Grand Hyatt
Washington, D.C.
May 19, 2011

11:35 A.M. EDT

MRS. OBAMA:  Oh, my goodness.  (Applause.)  You all are looking beautiful.  It is so good to see you.  Thank you so much. 
 
It is a true pleasure to be here today at this year’s National Issues Conference.  I hope you all have figured out all the issues.  (Laughter.)  You’ve solved them all.
 
I want to start by thanking the conference leadership committee and the WLF national leadership for all of their hard work to make this day possible.  The turnout is wonderful.  Let’s give them a round of applause.  (Applause.)
 
And, of course, I want to thank all of you for joining us here today.  I am thrilled to see so many new faces.  But I am thrilled to see so many folks who’ve been with us right from the very beginning, folks who’ve been through all of the ups and downs and all the nail-biting moments along the way.
 
And today, as we look ahead to the next part of this journey, I just want to take you back to how it all began, at least in my mind.
 
Now, I have to be honest with you, and many of you know this, when Barack first started talking about running for President, I wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea.  (Laughter.)  Yes, I was proud of the work that he was doing as a U.S. senator.  And I thought -- no, no, I knew that he would make an extraordinary President.  And I told you that.
 
But like a lot of folks, I still had some cynicism about politics.  And I was worried about the toll that a presidential campaign would take on our family.  I mean, we had two young daughters at home.  They’re not so little now.  Malia is -- here.  (Laughter.)  And the last thing I wanted to do was to disrupt their lives and their routines.  The last thing in the world I wanted was to spend time apart from my girls
 
So it took some convincing on Barack’s part, and by “some,” I mean a lot.  (Laughter.)  And even as I hit the trail, I was still a little uneasy about the whole “President thing,” and that's what Malia would call it, the “President thing.”  (Laughter.)   
 
But something happened during those first few months that changed me.  See, campaigning in places like Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina, that wasn't just about handshakes and stump speeches.  For me, it was about conversations on front porches and in living rooms where people would welcome me into their homes and into their lives. 
 
I remember one of the first events in Iowa that I did was a gathering in someone’s backyard, beautiful backyard, beautiful sunny day.  And I remember that within a few minutes, I was so comfortable that I kicked off my shoes, which I wish I could do today because they really do hurt -- (laughter) -- and I was standing barefoot in the grass, just talking to folks.
 
And that’s what campaigning was all about for me.  It was about meeting people one-on-one and hearing what was going on in their lives.  And I learned so much.  I learned about the businesses that folks were trying to keep afloat, the home they loved but could no longer afford, the spouse who came back from the war, and needed a lot of help, the child who was so smart, who could be anything she wanted, if only her parents could find a way to pay tuition.
 
And these stories moved me.  And even more than that, these stories were familiar to me, because in the parents working that extra shift, or taking that extra job, I saw Barack’s mother, a young, single mother struggling to support Barack and his sister.
 
I saw my father, who dragged himself to work at the city water plant every morning, because even as his M.S. made him weaker and weaker, my father was determined to be our family’s provider.
 
In the grandparents coming out of retirement to pitch in and help make ends meet, I saw my own mom who has helped raise our girls since the day they were born.  And I couldn’t do this without her.  (Applause.)
 
I saw Barack’s grandmother who caught a bus to work before dawn every day to help provide for their family.
 
In the children I met who were worried about a mom who’s lost her job, or a dad deployed far from home, kids so full of promise and dreams, I saw my own daughters, who are the center of my world.
 
These folks weren’t asking for much.  They were looking for basic things, like being able to see a doctor when you’re sick.  Things like having decent public schools and a chance to go to college even if you’re not rich.  These things, simple things, like making a decent wage, having a secure retirement, and leaving something better for your kids.
 
And while we may have grown up in different places and seemed different in so many ways, their stories were my family’s stories.  They were Barack’s family’s stories.  Their values –- things like you treat people how you want to be treated, you put your family first, you work hard, you do what you say you’re going to do -– these were our family’s values.  (Applause.)
 
And then suddenly, everything Barack had been saying about how we’re all interconnected, about how we’re not just red states and blue states, those were not just lines from a speech.  It was what I was seeing with my own eyes.  And that changed me.
 
And you want to know what else changed me during all those months out on the campaign?  I mean, you all.  You really did.  I see people out there who have become like family.  You all changed me.  And when I got tired, I would think of all the folks out there making calls, knocking on doors in all kinds of weather.  Remember that?  (Laughter.)  And that would energize me.  When I got discouraged, I would think of folks opening up their wallets when they didn’t have much to give.  I would think of folks who had the courage to let themselves believe again and hope again.  And that would give me hope.
 
And the simple truth is that today, four years later, we’re here because of all of you.  And I’m not just talking about winning an election.  I’m talking about what we’ve been doing every day in the White House since that time to keep on fighting for the folks we met and the values we share.  I’m talking about what Barack has been doing to help all of us win the future.  At a time when we still have so many challenges and so much work to do, it’s easy to forget what we’ve done along the way.  It is so easy.
 
But let’s just step back a moment.  Think about these past couple of years.
 
I mean, we’ve gone from an economy on the brink of collapse to an economy that is starting to grow again.
 
We’re helping middle-class families by cutting taxes -- (applause) -- working to stop credit card companies from taking advantage of people.  (Applause.)
 
We’re going to give working moms and dads a childcare tax credit because we know how those costs add up for those folks.
 
We’re helping women get equal pay for equal work with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.  (Applause.)  And if you remember, that was the very first bill my husband signed into law as President of the United States.  That was the first thing he did.  (Applause.)
 
Because of health reform, millions of people will finally be able to afford a doctor.  Their insurance companies won’t be able to drop their coverage when they’re sick, charge them through the roof because their child has a pre-existing condition.  And they now have to cover preventive care –- things like prenatal care, mammograms that we all in this room know save money, but it saves lives.  We know that.
 
Because we don’t want to leave our kids a mountain of debt, we’re reducing our deficit by doing what families across this country are already doing.  We’re cutting back so that we can start living within our means.
 
And we’re investing in things that really matter -- things like clean energy, so that we can bring down those gas prices, scientific research, including stem cell research.
 
We’re also investing in community colleges, which are a gateway to opportunity for so many people, and Pell Grants, which help so many young people afford that tuition.  That's what we’re doing.  (Applause.)
 
And through a competition called Race to the Top, we’ve got 40 states working to raise standards and reform their schools.
 
We’re working to live up to our founding values of freedom and equality.
 
And today, because we ended “don't ask, don’t tell,” our troops will never again have to lie about who they are to serve the country they love.  (Applause.)
 
And you may recall that my husband also appointed two brilliant Supreme Court Justices, and for the first time in history -- (applause) -- our daughters and our sons watched three women take their seats on our nation’s highest court.
 
We’re working to keep our country safe and to restore our standing in the world.
 
We are responsibly ending the war in Iraq and have already brought home 100,000 men and women in uniform who have served this country bravely.  (Applause.)
 
And as you know today, thanks to the tireless work of our intelligence and counter-terrorism communities and the heroic efforts of our troops, the man behind the 9/11 attacks and so many other horrific acts has finally been brought to justice.  (Applause.)
 
And finally, we’re tackling, of course, two issues that are near and dear to my heart, both as a First Lady and as a mom.
 
As you’ve heard, the first is childhood obesity.  This issue doesn’t just affect our kids’ health and how they feel.  It affects how they feel about themselves and whether they have the energy and the stamina to succeed in school and in life.  So we’re working hard to get better food into our schools and our communities and to help parents make better decisions for their kids.  And we’re seeing some change.  (Applause.)
 
The second issue is one that I came to on the campaign trail, meeting so many extraordinary military families.  I mean, these folks are raising their kids and running their households all alone while spouses are deployed, and they do it all with tremendous courage, strength and pride.  And that’s why Jill and I launched a nationwide campaign to rally our country to serve them as well as they serve us.  (Applause.)
 
So look, that's just some of what has been accomplished.  And I think that it’s fair to say that we’ve seen some change.  And we should be proud of what we’ve accomplished. 
 
But we should not be satisfied, because we know that we are still nowhere near winning the future.  Not when so many of our kids don’t have what they need to succeed.  Not when so many of our businesses don’t have what they need to compete.  Not when so many folks are still struggling to pay the bills today. 
 
The truth is that all those folks we campaigned for, and won for, and that have been fighting for us and we’ve been fighting for over these past two years, those folks still need our help. 
 
And that, more than anything else, is what drives my husband as President.  I mean, let me tell you, that’s what I see when he comes home after a long day traveling around the country, meeting with folks in that Oval Office, doing things.  (Laughter.)  They do things in that office.  (Laughter.) 
 
And he tells me about the people he’s met.  And I see it in those quiet moments late at night, after we put the girls to bed, and he’s reading the letters people have sent him, because he reads everything.  The letter from the woman dying of cancer whose health insurance wouldn’t cover her care.  The letter from the young person with so much promise, but so few opportunities. 
 
And you all -- I see the sadness and the worry creasing his face.  I hear the passion and the determination in his voice.  Says, “You won’t believe what these folks are going through.”  That’s what he tells me.  He says, “Michelle, this is not right.  We’ve got to fix it.  And we have to do more.”
 
Let me share something with you.  When it comes to the people that he meets, Barack has a memory like a steel trap.  (Laughter.)  I mean, you all know this, right?  He might not remember your name, but if he’s had a few minutes and a decent conversation with you, he will never forget your story.  It’s a gift; becomes imprinted in his mind and on his heart.
 
And that’s what he carries with him every single day –- that collection of hopes, and dreams and struggles.  That’s where Barack gets his passion.  And that’s why he works so very hard every day.  It’s unbelievable, starting first thing in the morning everyday and going late into the night, hunched over briefings, reading every single word of every single memo he gets, making notes, writing questions, making sure he knows more than the people briefing him, because all of those wins and losses are not wins and losses for him.
 
They’re wins and losses for the folks whose stories he carries with him, the folks he worries about and prays about before he goes to bed at night.  In the end, for Barack, and for me, and for so many of you, that is what politics is about.  It is not about one person.  It’s not about one President.  It’s about how we can and should work together to make real change that makes a real difference in people’s lives.
 
The young person attending college today because she can finally afford it, that's what this is about.  The mom or the dad who can take their child to a doctor because of health reform, the folks who are working on the line today at places like GM, and bringing home a good paycheck for their families, that's what this is about.  (Applause.)
 
And look, folks, now, more than ever before, we need to finish what we’ve started and we need your help.  We need all of you to be with us for the next phase of our journey.
 
And I am not going to kid you, because I never do, I said this in the first campaign it is going to be long.  (Laughter.)  It is going to be hard.  It’s designed that way.  (Laughter.)  And there will be plenty of twists and turns along the way.
 
But here’s the thing about my husband –- and this is something that I’d appreciate even if he hadn’t shown the good sense to marry me -- (laughter and applause) -- that even in the toughest moments, when it seems like all is lost, and everybody is wringing their hands, and calling, worrying and calling -- what's going on, what's he doing, what's going on -- I’m one of those people -- (laughter) -- Barack Obama never loses sight of the end goal.  He never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise, even if it comes from some of his best supporters.  He just keeps moving forward.
 
And in those moments when we’re all sweating it, when we’re worried that the bill won’t pass, or the negotiations might fall through, Barack always reminds me that we’re playing a long game here.  (Applause.)  He reminds me that change is slow.  He reminds me that change doesn’t happen all at once.
 
But he says that if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight, and doing what we know is right, then eventually we will get there.  We always have.
 
And that’s what he needs from you.  He needs you to be in this with him for the long haul.  He needs you to hold fast to our vision and our values and our dreams for our kids and for our country.  He needs you to work like you have never worked before, people -- (applause) -- because that’s what I plan on doing.  (Applause.)  I’m not going to ask you to do anything that I wouldn’t do.
 
And I will not be doing it just as a wife or as a First Lady.  I’ll be doing it as a mother, who wants to leave a legacy for my children.  (Applause.)  And more than that, I’ll be doing it as a citizen who knows what we can do together to change this country, because the truth is no matter what happens, we’re blessed.  My girls will be okay.  My girls will have plenty of advantages and opportunities in their lives.  That’s probably true for many of you all in this room.
 
But I think that the last four years have shown us the truth of what Barack has always said:  that if any child in this country is left behind, then that matters to all of us, even if she’s not our daughter, or even if he’s not our son.  If any family in this country struggles, then we can’t be fully content with our own family’s good fortune.  We can’t -- that’s not what we do in this country.  It’s not who we are. 
 
In the end, we cannot separate our story from the broader American story.  Like it or not, we are all in this together.  (Applause.)  And I know that if we put our hearts and our souls into this, if we do what we need to do during these next couple of years, then we can continue to make that change we believe in.  I know that we can build that country that we want for our kids.
 
So I have one question for you.  Are you in?  (Applause.)  Come on.  Are you in?
 
AUDIENCE:  Yes!  (Applause.)
 
MRS. OBAMA:  Because I’m in.  (Applause.)  And I hope that all of you are fired up.  (Applause.)  I hope that all of you are ready to go.  (Applause.)  And I look forward to getting back out there with all of you in the months and years ahead.  It’s wonderful to see you all. 
 
Thank you all, and God bless.  (Applause.)
 
                         END                                 11:57 A.M. EDT