worried that I wasn’t going to show my full self.
Regardless of what I chose to do, I knew I was bound to disappoint
someone. The campaign had taught me that my every move and facial expression
would be read a dozen different ways. I was either hard-driving and angry or,
with my garden and messages about healthy eating, I was a disappointment to
feminists, lacking a certain stridency. Several months before Barack was elected,
I’d told a magazine interviewer that my primary focus in the White House would
be to continue my role as “mom in chief” in our family. I’d said it casually, but
the phrase caught hold and was amplified across the press. Some Americans
seemed to embrace it, understanding all too well the amount of organization and
drive it takes to raise children. Others, meanwhile, seemed vaguely appalled,
presuming it to mean that as First Lady I’d do nothing but pipe-cleaner craft
projects with my kids.
The truth was, I intended to do everything—to work with purpose and
parent with care—same as I always had. The only difference now was that a lot of
people were watching.
My preferred way to work, at least at first, was quietly. I wanted to be
methodical in putting together a larger plan, waiting until I had full confidence in
what I was presenting before going public with any of it. As I told my staff, I’d
rather go deep than broad when it came to taking on issues. I felt sometimes like
a swan on a lake, knowing that my job was in part to glide and appear serene,
while underwater I never stopped pedaling my legs. The interest and enthusiasm
we’d generated with the garden—the positive news coverage, the letters pouring
in from around the country—only confirmed for me that I could generate buzz
around a good idea. Now I wanted to highlight a larger issue and push for larger
solutions.
At the time Barack took office, nearly a third of American children were
overweight or obese. Over the previous three decades, rates of childhood obesity
had tripled. Kids were being diagnosed with high blood pressure and type 2
diabetes at record rates. Even military leaders were reporting that obesity was one
of the most common disqualifiers for service.
The problem was woven into every aspect of family life, from the high price
of fresh fruits to widespread cuts in funding for sports and rec programs in public
schools. TV, computers, and video games competed for kids’ time, and in some
neighborhoods staying indoors felt like a safer choice than going outside to play,
as Craig and I had done when we were kids. Many families in underserved