Michelle Obama Opens Up on Role in President's Campaign - East Idaho News
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Michelle Obama Opens Up on Role in President’s Campaign

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abc michelle obama jp 121008 wg?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1349873519611Hank Disselkamp/ABC News(WASHINGTON) — With 27 days to go — and on the heels of his lackluster debate performance — President Obama has enlisted all the help he can get on the campaign trail as he makes the final push to Election Day, including a secret weapon: his wife, first lady Michelle Obama.

In a wide-ranging interview with ABC’s Nightline, Michelle Obama opened up about her role as one the greatest assets to her husband’s campaign, including her being front and center at the Democratic National Convention to highlight the president’s vision for the country.

“I tell people, my job is easy,” she told Nightline anchor Cynthia McFadden, citing her DNC speech as a chance to “talk about the man I love and why I love him and our values.”

With a 69 percent favorability rating, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll, Mrs. Obama has been hitting the trail in key swing states trying to reignite some of the enthusiasm that drove voters to the polls to support her husband in 2008.

“There is nobody that is less satisfied and knows that there’s more to do than my husband,” she said.  “Yeah, there has been a lot accomplished but Barack, of all people, knows that there’s still folks hurting and there’s still work to be done.”

“He’s not finishing until that work gets done, on issue after issue, whether it’s immigration reform, whether it’s dealing with our environment, whether it’s really solidifying our education system, ensuring that we’ve got vibrant economy and there are millions of more — even though there have been 4.6 million jobs created — we want that number to double and triple and continue over the years, so yeah, there’s still lots of work to be done,” she said.

She’s her husband’s biggest political supporter, but the first lady, 48, also manages to stay out of the fray, refusing to discuss presidential candidate Mitt Romney by name or employ the attacks frequently used by the president’s campaign.

“I don’t talk about other candidates.  I don’t talk about other people,” Mrs. Obama told ABC News.  “All I can talk about is my husband, and all I can talk about is the values he brings.”

And while she won’t discuss Romney by name, the first lady feels a kind of solidarity with his wife, Ann Romney, who has also actively campaigned for her husband.

“Anyone, regardless of party or position — whoever makes this kind of sacrifice — you know, and says to myself, ‘I’m going to put my family, my life on the line, whatever it is, and I’m going to run for office and I’m going to serve the people of this country,’ they deserve a pat on the back, because that’s how this democracy works,” she said.

Watch the finale of Cynthia McFadden’s three-part interview with first lady Michelle Obama Wednesday night on Nightline at 11:35 ET.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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