Interpreting anyone's marriage - a neighbor's, let alone the president's - is extremely difficult.

Candidates' wives are supposed to sit cheerfully through their husbands' appearances.

You make real progress when somebody is honest enough to say something that's really uncomfortable.

I've learned that the best political reporters never make predictions!

You make real progress when somebody is honest enough to say something that's really uncomfortable. Of course when you're a candidate's wife and when you're first lady and the first African-American first lady to boot, that is very, very hard to do.

People who face too many demands - two careers, two children - often scale back somehow. The Obamas scaled up.

I would say that Barack Obama has always been a real optimist about what can be accomplished. He believes that government can be used to create systemic, long-term, real change. And the first lady is more of a skeptic.