Michelle Obama: I'm a "112 percenter"
"CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King sat down for an exclusive, wide-ranging interview in the White house this week with Michelle Obama. In a portion aired on "CBS This Morning: Saturday," the First Lady offers insight into her personality type, love for her position, and mechanisms she uses to cope with its pressures.
The following is a transcript:
MICHELLE OBAMA: I've talked to every first lady, you know, that I can - that I've been able to make contact with. And it's almost all of them who are living. And you know, they all come into this office, hoping to make a lasting impression on the country. And I don't think that I'm any different.
GAYLE KING: I understand that what the job means to you and what an honor and a privilege it is. But I also think there have to be times that may get to you, that may be frustrating to you, that may make you angry? You do have days like that.
MICHELLE OBAMA: Oh, definitely, definitely. And, you know, what I've learned is how I have to cope with it. Sometimes I just have - and usually, it's the opposite of engaging, you know? It's usually disengaging, you know? There are some things that I just don't need to know, you know? So sometimes I cut myself off from the media completely.
GAYLE KING: I want to know everything. Do you operate, sometimes think, "I just don't need to know that"?
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MICHELLE OBAMA: Absolutely. For my own sanity, I just have to turn it off. Because, you know, it just, I want to be happy in this job, because...
GAYLE KING: Are you happy in this job?
MICHELLE OBAMA: I am so happy in this job. And I get a lot of good energy from the people that I meet. And that's how I measure what's happening. ... And I learned to do that on the campaign trail. I joked all the time that there would be two Iowas, right? There would be the Iowa experience that I would listen to on the news, which always had Barack losing, right? It was miserable. And nothing was gonna work. And then I'd go to Iowa and I felt a whole different experience, you know? People were open. They were, they were listening. They hadn't made decisions yet. They were curious. They were receptive. And I sort of thought, "Well, I'm living in this world. The real world." And measuring my responses to people by the responses they give to me. ... I do -- I've said this before about myself. I'm a 112 percenter. And I don't feel satisfied unless I'm putting in 112 percent into anything that I'm doing.
GAYLE KING: Anything that you do?
MICHELLE OBAMA: Right. Andwhether it's raising my kids. Whether it's working on the issues that I care about. Whether it's working at a hospital. I mean, I think that's what I bring to everything that I do. And I just think that's my nature. If you talk to my mother, she would tell you I was like that since I was ten years old. I just feel a deep sense of obligation that if you're blessed - if you have gifts, if you have opportunities, that it's incumbent upon you to use those. And I try to pass those values on to our girls. We talk about this - we're in those conversations right now about doing your best and putting your best foot forward. Andliving up to a high bar that you set for yourself, because it's easy to coast. And I feel as First Lady, I, you know, I want to look back and say, "I did something substantive with this opportunity."