He’s the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work . because for Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.
He’s the same man who, when our girls were first born, would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to ensure they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew.
That’s the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering their questions about issues in the news, and strategizing about middle school friendships.
That’s the man I see in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, poring over the letters people have sent him.
The letter from the father struggling to pay his bills . from the woman dying of cancer whose insurance company won’t cover her care . from the young person with so much promise but so few opportunities.
I see the concern in his eyes…and I hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, “You won’t believe what these folks are going through, Michelle . it’s not right. We’ve got to keep working to fix this. We’ve got so much more to do.”
I see how those stories — our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams — I see how that’s what drives Barack Obama every single day.
And I didn’t think it was possible, but today, I love my husband even more than I did four years ago . even more than I did 23 years ago, when we first met.
I love that he’s never forgotten how he started.
I love that we can trust Barack to do what he says he’s going to do, even when it’s hard — especially when it’s hard.
I love that for Barack, there is no such thing as “us” and “them” — he doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or none of the above . he knows that we all love our country. and he’s always ready to listen to good ideas . he’s always looking for the very best in everyone he meets.
And I love that even in the toughest moments, when we’re all sweating it — when we’re worried that the bill won’t pass, and it seems like all is lost — Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise.
Just like his grandmother, he just keeps getting up and moving forward . with patience and wisdom, and courage and grace.
And he reminds me that we are playing a long game here .and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once.
But eventually we get there, we always do.
We get there because of folks like my dad . folks like Barack’s grandmother . men and women who said to themselves, “I may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams, but maybe my children will . maybe my grandchildren will.”
So many of us stand here tonight because of their sacrifice, and longing, and steadfast love . because time and again, they swallowed their fears and doubts and did what was hard.
So today, when the challenges we face start to seem overwhelming — or even impossible — let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation . it’s who we are as Americans . it’s how this country was built.
And if our parents and grandparents could toil and struggle for us . if they could raise beams of steel to the sky, send a man to the moon, and connect the world with the touch of a button . then surely we can keep on sacrificing and building for our own kids and grandkids.
And if so many brave men and women could wear our country’s uniform and sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights . then surely we can do our part as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights . surely, we can get to the polls and make our voices heard on Election Day.
If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire . if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores . if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote . if a generation could defeat a depression, and define greatness for all time. if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream . and if proud Americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love . then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream.
Because in the end, more than anything else, that is the story of this country — the story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle.
That is what has made my story, and Barack’s story, and so many other American stories possible.
And I say all of this tonight not just as first lady.and not just as a wife.
You see, at the end of the day, my most important title is still “mom in chief.”
My daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.
But today, I have none of those worries from four years ago about whether Barack and I were doing what’s best for our girls.
Because today, I know from experience that if I truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and all our sons and daughters . if we want to give all our children a foundation for their dreams and opportunities worthy of their promise . if we want to give them that sense of limitless possibility — that belief that here in America, there is always something better out there if you’re willing to work for it . then we must work like never before . and we must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward . my husband, our president, President Barack Obama.
That’s the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering their questions about issues in the news, and strategizing about middle school friendships.