US Next First Lady - AP looks at challenges ahead for first US African-American First Lady
NAME: US NEXT LADY 20090115Ix
TAPE: EF09/0059
IN_TIME: 10:05:33:05
DURATION: 00:03:20:10
SOURCES: AP Television/ABC/Various
DATELINE: Various - Recent/File
RESTRICTIONS: Check shotlist for details
SHOTLIST:
ABC - No Access N America/Internet
Butte, Montana - July 4, 2008
1. Michelle Obama sitting with family and waving flags at a 4th of July parade
AP Television
Chicago, Illinois - November 4, 2008
2. Barack and Michelle Obama and kids on stage before Obama's victory speech
AP Television
Washington, DC - November 10, 2008
3. Barack Obama helps Michelle out of car in front of the White House: they shake hands with the Bushes
Democratic National Convention POOL
Chicago, Illinois - File
4. Black and white driving shot of apartments on the South Side of Chicago
AP Photos - No Access Canada/For Broadcast use only - Strictly No Access Online or Mobile
Chicago, Illinois - November 2, 2004
5. The Obama family sitting on a sofa watching election returns
6. The Obama family walking towards polling precinct to vote in the 2004 election
AP Television
Washington, DC - December 17, 2008
7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liza Mundy, Author "Michelle"
"They're so interesting because they were obscure and unknown as recently as four or five years ago. (dissolve) And in that short period of time, she's gone from being the wife of a long-shot Senate candidate to being the new first lady of the United States and the first African American first lady and an object of global fascination."
AP Television
Chicago, Illinois - November 4, 2008
8. Shots of Michelle Obama and Jill Biden walking out onto stage at Obama's victory rally
ABC - No Access N America/Internet
Location unknown - Recent
9. Michelle Obama enthusiastically ending a speech during the campaign
AP Television
Osage, Iowa - Decemer 19, 2007
10. Michelle Obama hugging supporters
AP Television
Washington, DC - December 17, 2008
11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liza Mundy, Author "Michelle"
"She's the sort of person who people enjoy being around. She's described as the sort of person who fills the room when she walks in. She's got a lot of charisma, just as he does."
ABC - No Access N America/Internet
Los Angeles, California - February 3, 2008
12. Michelle Obama walks onto stage at rally with Stevie Wonder
POOL
Denver, Colorado - August 25, 2008
13. Michelle Obama waves on stage at the Democratic National Convention with her daughters at her side
Democratic National Convention POOL
Date, Location unknown
14. Still photo of Michelle Obama with her mother and daughters
AP Photos - No Access Canada/For Broadcast use only - Strictly No Access Online or Mobile
Oskaloosa, Iowa - July 4, 2008
15. Still photo of Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha
AP Television
South Carolina - January 23, 2008
16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Michelle Obama/January 23, 2008
"We have a lot of work to do in the work place in making work possible for mothers. And we aren't doing what we need to do right now."
ABC - No Access N America/Internet
Chicago, Illinois - November 26, 2008
17. Shots of the Obama family handing out food at Thanksgiving food bank
AP Television
Washington, DC - November 10, 2008
18. George and Laura Bush pose with Barack and Michelle Obama outside the White House
19. The Bushes and the Obamas walk inside
AP Television
Washington, DC - December 17, 2008
20. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liza Mundy, Author "Michelle"
"She's going to be a social first lady. I think they're going to use the White House for functions and diplomacy and social networking and just inviting people in."
AP Television
New Hampshire - December 2008
21. Michelle Obama shaking hands at a campaign event
AP Television
DesMoines, Iowa - January 3, 2008
22. The Obama family on stage at Barack Obama's Iowa victory rally
AP Photos - No Access Canada/For Broadcast use only - Strictly No Access Online or Mobile
Pueblo, Colorado - November 1, 2008
23. Barack and Michelle Obama with daughters on airport tarmac
AP Photos - No Access Canada/For Broadcast use only - Strictly No Access Online or Mobile
Washington, DC - January 5, 2009
24. Barack and Michelle Obama with daughters as they leave for the girls' first day of school in Washington
AP Television -
Washington, DC - December 17, 2008
25. SOUNDBITE: (English) Liza Mundy, Author "Michelle"
"She's going to have to spend a lot of time at first recreating that world for them. And giving them a sense of normalcy and ushering them into a new set of peers and families and schooling. And she will have to work hard to create a new life for those children and have them not feel as though their lives have been radically altered."
AP Photos - No Access Canada/For Broadcast use only - Strictly No Access Online or Mobile
Miami, Florida - October 21, 2008
26. Still photo of Barack Obama whispering into Michelle's ear at event in Miami
27. Shots of Michelle and Barack Obama hugging and kissing at Election night victory rally in Chicago
STORYLINE:
Like a number of American women, Michelle Obama has spent years juggling the roles of wife, mother and high-powered career woman.
Now, the ivy-league educated lawyer-turned executive, and mother of two is about to take on her most high profile role yet - that of the first African American first lady of the United States.
Her new residence will be a far cry from her childhood neighbourhood on Chicago's South Side.
And her new life - a radical change from the one she and her family enjoyed just five years ago, when her husband was still a long-shot Senate candidate from Illinois.
Journalist and author Liza Mundy penned the first ever biography of Michelle Obama.
"They're so interesting because they were obscure and unknown as recently as four or five years ago...In that short period of time, she's gone from being the wife of a long-shot Senate candidate to being the new first lady of the United States and the first African American first lady and an object of global fascination," Mundy said.
Though Obama has said she never sought the spotlight herself, she's fallen into it with apparent ease.
Those who know her say her intelligence, eloquence and ability to inspire a crowd rival her husband's, and could come in handy as she becomes one of the most visible women in the world.
"She's the sort of person who people enjoy being around. She's the sort of person who fills the room when she walks in. She's got a lot of charisma, just as he does," Mundy said.
Just how she decides to put that charisma to use remains to be seen.
Obama has said she doesn't want an official policy role, at least for now, in her husband's administration.
But she has made clear the issues of working mothers, like herself, will be a top priority during her tenure as first lady.
Other issues close to Obama's heart: the plight of military families and promoting volunteerism.
Friends say the Obamas like to entertain. And are likely to open the White House once again to all sorts of social functions.
"She's going to be a social first lady. I think they're going to use the White House for functions and diplomacy and social networking and just inviting people in," Mundy said.
However Mrs. Obama decides to proceed, a couple of points are all but certain.
First, she has said her duties as a mom will remain her top priority in the White House, as she focuses on easing the transition for her daughters and helps them settle in to a new way of life.
At least for now, she'll have support from her mother, Marian Robinson, who has agreed to move into the White House to help take care if the girls.
Mundy said the first lady is going to "have to spend a lot of time" at first "giving them a sense of normalcy and ushering them into a new set of peers and families and schooling. And she will have to work hard to create a new life for those children and have them not feel as though their lives have been radically altered."
Second, even without a seat at the decision-making table, Michelle Obama will remain her husband's close confidante and adviser - or as he likes to call her, his "rock."