The newest item on her non-controversial agenda is healthy living. That's in addition to assisting military families, pushing work-family balance, national service, women's concerns and opening up the White House to the community. [...]
Some days, she works from the White House residence. Her schedule isn't rigid. A few hours from now, Mrs. Obama will head to the Transportation Department.
Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary, is outside the first lady's office door with her two deputies, Ebs Burnough and Joe Reinstein. The East Wing is producing its first big dinner tonight, a black-tie affair for the National Governors Association, and the operative word, Rogers is saying, is that the event should be "fun." The governors wanted to dance, so Earth, Wind and Fire was booked for the gig. Mrs. Obama was involved in planning the evening.
In this first month in the White House, Mrs. Obama has:
†Visited five federal agencies on her meet-and-greet tour. Besides Transportation, she has stopped at the Departments of Education, Interior, Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture, where she plugged fruits and vegetables.
†Become more familiar with her new city. She has lunched with Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and Jill Biden, taken in a ballet with the family at the Kennedy Center and visited a community health center.
†Hosted an African-American History Month event at the White House. "African-American slaves helped to build this house," she said.
†Discussed balancing family and work at a panel aimed at women at Howard University.
†And, of course, continued her key role as mom-in-chief to daughters Malia and Sasha, with an assist from her mother, Marion Robinson.
On Saturday, the Obama family traveled to a Washington suburb to watch Sasha play in a basketball game. [...]
I asked Jackie Norris, the first lady's chief of staff, about Mrs. Obama's routine. In the East Wing, the first lady is an "active presence," Norris said. [...]
When Hillary Rodham Clinton was first lady, her operation was dubbed "Hillaryland." In the Obama White House, Norris said, "One of the things that is really important to us is that we are a unified White House, that we see ourselves as all members of the same team."
What are those sensations? I don't recognize them. Oh! I know! Fresh air and a sense of pride. Michelle Obama is an advocate for healthy living, and we are the lucky beneficiaries. I feel healthier already.
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