Remarks of First Lady Michelle Obama at United States Military Academy Graduation Family Banquet

West Point, New York
May 20, 2011

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY—

Hello everyone, and thank you for that wonderful welcome.  I want to thank Lieutenant General Huntoon for that very kind introduction, as well as Secretary of the Army John McHugh, the Class of 1961 bar presenters, all of our distinguished guests, and all of the parents, families, and friends who are joining us tonight.  And of course, I want to say thank you for inviting me here to the United States Military Academy. 

This is my first visit to West Point and I am truly humbled to speak to you tonight on an evening that’s so special for all of you, for this Academy, and for this country.  As I look around at the cadets in this room, it is very clear to me that you all reflect everything we hope to see in ourselves and our country – firmness of character and strength of heart, a strong body and a ferocious mind, a devotion to country and to family.

And I know that this weekend is the product of 47 months of extraordinary effort and endurance from R-Day to your last exam during TEE-week.  For all of you, I know this has been a magnificent journey, a journey full of academic and athletic victories, a journey that has taken you across the country and around the world.

You’ve learned new skills and immersed yourself in new cultures, which will serve you well on today’s battlefields.  You’ve also created a Bionic Foot, an Exoskeleton, and other robotics and cyber defense projects that will help troops in the field.  In the area of sports, your football team had its first winning season in 14 years and its first bowl victory in 25.  Your women’s rugby team just brought home the national championship last weekend.  And with your help, West Point earned its first victory in the Sandhurst Competition in 18 years.

But along with all of your successes, your journey has also been filled with plenty of challenges.  You learned that crawling face-first through the mud and enduring a long, cold winter aren’t just metaphors.  You’ve learned just how little sleep you need to survive and how much coffee you can stomach to stay awake.  You’ve crammed facts into your brain until you thought it would burst – and then you crammed in even more. 

That’s the beauty of West Point.  It’s a place where you learn that your greatest achievements will never come easily, and they will never be achieved alone. 

You learn that duty, honor, and country are not simply words, but guideposts.  They dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

And you learn that there are times when we must stand up to defend our way of life, when we must live out your class motto, “For Freedom We Fight.”

We live in such times today. 

You knew this from the moment you signed up.  You knew that coming to this Academy meant that you would likely be placed in dangerous situations on unknown soil.  Yet you came anyway. 

You have seen cadets from the classes ahead of you pack their bags for Afghanistan or Iraq, and many of you have already served there yourselves.  You hear updates not only from headlines and newsfeeds, but from emails and cell phone calls from friends.  And yes, you’ve visited wounded friends, you’ve heard the bugle’s call each time a graduate of this academy has fallen in our wars.  Yet you stayed anyway. 

Each of you has taken a journey here that is uniquely your own, but follows in the great tradition of West Point.  And tonight, you are on the cusp of taking your rightful place in that long, gray line.

Now, this journey is a testament not just to you as individuals, but also to the families that surround you, because your journey began long before you got that first military haircut and put on white-over-grey.  Without your families, you never would have had the strength to tackle Beast Barracks while your peers were enjoying a final, carefree summer before college.  Your families were the ones you called for a shoulder to lean on or a kick in the pants.  They’ve been there for you for every moment of triumph and every moment of challenge.  Their unending love and support provide the very foundation that allows you to stand strong today.

And that’s what I really want to talk with you about tonight.  I want to talk about what family can and will mean for you as leaders of our Army and of our nation. 

Now, I grew up like many of you did.  My family lived on the South Side of Chicago on the top floor of a two-family home.  We didn’t have much money, but we had more than enough of what mattered.  We had the unwavering love and support of family.  We had a community that looked after us. 

And we had parents who showed us by example that if we worked hard enough, if we kept ourselves grounded and held fast to certain core values, then we could be anything that we dreamed of. 

My dad was diagnosed with MS when he was in his early 30s, and as he grew older, he grew weaker and sicker.  But I remember how he still went to work every day.  I remember how he’d drag himself out to play in the park with me and my brother.  And he was a role model in our community.  Just by being himself, he showed me what it means to be a parent, a citizen, a leader.

And I know that each of you has your own family stories that shape you.  Cadet Russ Burgin was inspired by his father, too.  He saw how his dad went through chemo and radiation treatments, but never complained, never felt sorry for himself, and continued to work full-time to provide for his family.   Today, his dad is cancer free, and Cadet Burgin is here at West Point, the best place he could imagine to live out the values that his father demonstrated every day.

Then we have Cadet Woo Do, who is a first-generation American.  Growing up, he’d accompany his grandfather on doctor visits as a translator, and that’s how he developed his passion for medicine – a passion that will take him to Harvard Medical School next year.

And so many of you come from military backgrounds, like Cadets Christina Veney and Megan Snook, who each have multiple family members that graduated from this Academy.

And Cadet Erin Anthony can trace her family’s military history to the 1600s.

But Cadets, no matter how you’ve grown up, no matter how you define family, all of you have someone in your life who believed in you and pushed you.  You had someone who taught you the values and lessons that will sustain you when times get tough or you’re unsure of what’s ahead.  Some of those people are here with you tonight. 

So, to the parents: I can only imagine the joy you’ll feel tomorrow when you see your sons and daughters in their officer’s uniforms for the first time.  I can only imagine the pride that comes from knowing that your kids are the kind of kids that everyone dreams of raising.

But as a parent, I can also imagine what else might be on your mind tonight.  All of you read the news.  All of you understand what your children have signed up for.  You know what their next assignment is, and in the back of your mind, you’re wondering where the assignments after that might take them. 

Those concerns are only natural.  And it is a testament to your strength, your patriotism and your unconditional love that you have proudly supported these cadets every step of the way. 

And cadets, I want you to know that these people will always be there for you. 

As I’ve seen in my own life and heard from troops all across this world, your family will be your rock, whether they’re right next to you or across an ocean. 

And soon, many of you will be building families of your own.  Very soon, for some of you.  I hear that, in addition to all the graduation preparations, many of you are planning weddings as well.  So congratulations to all of you as you prepare for the big day.

And no matter where your career takes you, your families will be there right alongside you. 

Because our force is a force of families.

That’s become more clear even in just a generation.  During Vietnam, most of our troops were young single men.  And most of those who were married had spouses who stayed at home. But today, more than half of our servicemembers are married, forty percent have two or more kids, and most military spouses are employed outside the home. 

That’s what today’s military families look like.  They’re military spouses who pursue a career, raise their kids alone, and still find time for night school.  They’re children who move from town to town, constantly adjusting to new schools and making new friends.  They’re Blue Star moms who wake up every morning and pray and pray that their child comes home safely.  They’re Gold Star families who honor the memory of their loved ones while channeling their strength into serving others.

And graduates, here’s why your role is so important.  Soon, you’ll be serving not just for yourselves, and not just for your own families, but for these families, too.  You’ll be helping your troops deal with the joy of a newborn and the disappointment of not being in the delivery room.  You’ll be helping a Soldier cope with a family emergency halfway around the world.  And you’ll see again and again that those family relationships are just as important to a soldier’s success as anything that you can provide them in the field.

And just as our troops need your leadership and support, their families do as well, because they sacrifice and serve this nation right alongside anyone who wears our uniform. 

But America doesn’t always see that.  They can thank our troops in airports or at the grocery store because they’re wearing fatigues.  But military families don’t wear any kind of uniform.  They just blend in. 

And because only one percent of our country serves in the Armed Forces, a lot of Americans simply don’t know many – or any – military families.  They aren’t familiar with the resilience it takes to get through a long deployment.  They don’t know the courage it takes simply to turn on the evening news.  They don’t fully realize the strength you need to move your family for the fourth or fifth or sixth time in a decade.

But even though people may not always know exactly what you’re going through or exactly how to help, I can assure you that they do want to help. 

Admiral Mullen, who will be speaking to you tomorrow, calls it the Sea of Goodwill.  And believe me, I’ve seen it with my own eyes all across the country. 

I’m working with Dr. Jill Biden to channel that Sea of Goodwill through an effort we are calling Joining Forces.  This is a nationwide campaign calling on all Americans to recognize, honor, and support our military families – not just with words, but with deeds.  We want your families to feel these efforts on the ground, in your daily lives.  So we’re working across sectors, asking everyone from government and business to faith communities and school districts to make a commitment to you and your families.  Already, people across this country – including many of our largest corporations and nonprofits – have stepped up with real, tangible commitments.

And let me tell you, when I meet a Member of Congress or a powerful CEO and ask for their help, I have been blown away by their enthusiasm.  They all want to help.  They’re excited to do it.  And we haven’t had one single person tell us no.

So graduates, I want you to know that while this country is asking a lot of you once you pin on those gold bars, we’re not asking you to do it alone.  You have your families that are with you today and every day.  You have the many friends and family members outside these walls, the ones watching all around the Academy, and all of those who support you in your hometowns and across this country. And you have millions of folks who you don’t even know, and who you will never meet, who have your back. 

From my husband right on down through the ranks of this military, from those powerful CEOs to all of the teachers, clergy, and neighbors that you deal with every single day.  We all want to give something back to you and your families because we are inspired by you.  We’re inspired by the character reflected in your acceptance to this Academy, and by the courage to serve during a time of war.

We’re inspired by how, over these past 47 months, you have become not simply warriors and not simply scholars.  You have become leaders.  You have come to embody duty, honor, country, just like all those who came before you.  Thayer.  Grant.  Eisenhower.  Schwartzkopf.  Those values stretch through generations and across this nation, powering engineers and astronauts, senators and statesmen, business leaders and five-star generals.

But tonight, I’d actually like to end with the story of someone who lived long before your motto was adopted.  It’s someone who was never a West Point Cadet, but I think that’s fine, since this building is named after him. 

In the summer of 1775, we were barely two months removed from Paul Revere’s ride and the shot heard round the world.  And the Second Continental Congress was meeting in Philadelphia to take control of the war effort.  They decided to put the Continental Army under George Washington’s command, and he was to leave for Boston immediately.  And the night before he was officially commissioned as Commander-in-Chief, before he left to lead thousands of men, before he began to chart the course of freedom for our country and our world, Washington sat down to draft a letter to his wife, Martha.

In it, he writes not of battle plans or great pride and personal achievement.  He writes with, in his words, “inexpressible concern” because he’s thinking about his wife.  He’s thinking about her being at home, alone, on their farm.  So he asks her to be strong, and he says he hopes that the time will pass as easily as possible, because, as he writes, “Nothing will give me so much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, and to hear it from your own Pen.”

Well, today’s soldiers may write emails rather than “penning” letters.  They may be able to video chat with their kids at bedtime.  But that abiding love, that passionate devotion to family – that is what has sustained so many on battlefields here in America and around the world since the very beginning of this nation.  

Your families – the ones here tonight and the ones you will build someday – will always be at the forefront of your minds and hearts.  And the only thing that will give you and your troops that “sincere satisfaction” that General Washington spoke of is knowing that they are safe.

So, alongside everything else you have learned and experienced here at the United States Military Academy, the calculus and Shakespeare, the intramurals and leadership training, I ask you to remember that family has always been a centerpiece of our American story.  I want you to remember that this country and all of its citizens stand ready to serve you and your families.

And I want you to remember that as long as we all do our duty, as long as we all serve with honor, then the fate of this country will never be in doubt.

So congratulations again, graduates.  We are all so very proud of you.  May God bless you and your families on the journey ahead and may God bless the United States of America.

Remarks by the First Lady at DNC event in Washington, DC

Grand Hyatt, Washington, DC

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