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Candidate's wife discusses own family, criticizes 'No Child Left Behind'
By Stephanie Warsmith
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Feb 28, 2008
Before boarding a plane for Ohio on Wednesday, Michelle Obama went to her 9-year-old daughter's Chicago school to watch her present a class project.
Obama, in a brief interview with the Beacon Journal following a campaign event in Akron on Wednesday night, said she puts her two young daughters first and her husband's presidential campaign second.
''Our kids, our family life is a priority and it will always be,'' said Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama traveled Wednesday to Warren and then to Akron, where she talked to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 300 in the North High School auditorium. She'll be in Canton this morning and then
make stops in Zanesville, Athens and Chillicothe before heading home.
Linda Omobien, president of the Akron Board of Education, introduced Obama to the North High crowd, calling her the ''star'' and ''rock'' of the Obama family and ''the next first lady of the United States.''
Obama told the audience that the seriousness of her husband's candidacy has constantly been challenged. She said people questioned whether he could raise enough money, build the needed political organization or muster enough support to win any states. When he proved those people wrong, she said, they gave another reason he wouldn't succeed.
''When you get there, they raise the bar,'' she said during her hourlong talk. ''It's representative of what's happening to regular folks . . . The bar is shifting — moving — and they can't get a handle on what to do to make it.''
Obama never mentioned by name Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, her husband's Democratic opponent, and didn't go into depth on his platform. She focused on her and Barack's humble beginnings and how her husband wants to restore hope.
''I believe in 2008, we should be at the point where any child — regardless of race — should be able to dream big, huge dreams,'' she said.
Too many school tests
Obama earned several standing ovations, including when she criticized the tough federal No Child Left Behind legislation and said student success shouldn't be measured by a single standardized test.
''Our kids are being tested to death,'' she told the audience, which included many North High students.
Obama said the country needs ''different leadership that we haven't seen for a long time'' and her husband is the one who will deliver this.
''Yes, I'm married to him and maybe I'm biased,'' she said.
''He's cute — that helps,'' she added, getting laughs from the audience.
''Yeah!'' one woman in the crowd agreed.
Husband's struggles
Obama said her husband didn't have it easy, with a single mother who was white, raising a mixed-race child in the '60s. She went through his career path — working as a community activist in Chicago and as a lawyer focused on housing, discrimination and voting rights, serving in the Illinois legislature for eight years, and then winning a hard-fought primary for the U.S. Senate.
''They said there was no way people would vote for a man named 'Barack Obama,' '' she said.
Toward the end of her remarks, Obama told the crowd, ''Let's change the world!''
Obama got high marks from those in attendance.
''She should be the first lady,'' said Sandra Reynolds of Akron.
After the event, Obama talked about their busy lives on the campaign trail. She said she takes mostly day trips, and both she and her husband frequently call their daughters when they're on the road. The girls' grandmother takes care of them when both parents are gone.
''To me, the kids' schedules get scheduled first and then travel is scheduled around that,'' she said.
Candidate's faith
Obama touched on the questions that have been raised about her husband's patriotism and religious beliefs.
''There aren't many people who enter this level of politics and make this kind of sacrifice who don't love and care about their country,'' she said. ''It would be a hard thing to do if you didn't care about your country.''
Obama said her husband is Christian and has talked openly about his faith, including dedicating chapters to the subject in one of his two best-selling books, the Audacity of Hope. She encouraged people who have concerns about her husband to read up on his background.
''This is where voters have to do the work,'' she said. ''There has always been in politics someone who will attempt to use distortion for political gain.''
Obama stopped by the nearby Dontino's restaurant in North Hill for dinner before heading to Canton, where she stayed overnight. She said she planned to call her daughters before they went to bed.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached
at 330-996-3705 or
swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
Before boarding a plane for Ohio on Wednesday, Michelle Obama went to her 9-year-old daughter's Chicago school to watch her present a class project.
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