Hope is necessary. It's a necessary concept. And Barack Obama didn't just talk about hope because he thought it was just a nice slogan to get votes.

You can be a good mom and still work out, get your rest, have a career - or not. My mother encouraged me to find that balance.

Our job is, first and foremost, to make sure our family is whole.

I've always tried to make sure that what I do really connects with the broader agenda of what my husband Barack Obama is trying to do.... But I also find that I have to be very passionate myself about the issue to be able to represent it well. One of the big issues that I've talked a lot about...is childhood health, nutrition and obesity.

I try to have no absolute nos. I love french fries, I like a good burger, and I like pie. And that's okay.

One of the things I want ... all the kids here to remember, is that these [Major League Soccer] stars were not born superstar athletes ... Many of them started out just like many of you-playing on a team at school, or just kicking a ball around on the playground with their friends. But they stuck with it. And I tell this to my girls all the time. I mean, you get to the point when ... things you enjoy ... start getting hard-that's when you know you're getting good, and you have to stick through it.

Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we're scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don't have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list.