Quotes from Michelle Obama's convention speech

http://www.boston.com/

Quotes from first lady Michelle Obama’s speech Tuesday to the Democratic National Convention: ____ ‘‘Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys. Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma’s house and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn’t stay awake for both. And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls and I deeply loved the man I had built that life with and I didn’t want that to change if he became president. I loved Barack just the way he was.’’ ____ ‘‘You see, even though back then Barack was a senator and a presidential candidate, to me, he was still the guy who'd picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by in a hole in the passenger side door. He was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he'd found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.’’ ____ ‘‘Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are. No, it reveals who you are.’’ ____ ‘‘And as president, you are going to get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people. But at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as president, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.’’ ____ ‘‘When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically. No, that’s not how he was raised — he cared that it was the right thing to do.’’ ____ ‘‘And believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bill was actually higher than our mortgage. We were so young, so in love, and so in debt. That’s why Barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down, because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.’’ ____ ‘‘Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it, and he wants everyone in this country to have the same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love.’’ ____ ‘‘So when people ask me whether being in the White House has changed my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.’’ ____ ‘‘For Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the differences you make in people’s lives.’’ ____ ‘‘He’s the same man who, when our girls were first born, would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to ensure they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew. You see, that’s the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering questions about issues in the news, strategizing about middle school friendships.’’ ____ ‘‘And I didn’t think that it was possible, but let me tell you today, I love my husband even more than I did four years ago, even more than I did 23 years ago, when we first met.’’