The White House got in on the booming market for “women’s summits” Tuesday with
a conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center billed as the “United State of Women.” What made it stand out from all of the rest? Well, besides addresses from the president and vice president — yeah, those guys — the day wrapped up with an onstage “armchair conversation” between none other than first lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. (Try to beat that, Mika Brzezinski and Tina Brown!)
The more than 5,000 women and a few men in the audience were giddy with excitement as Mrs. O and Ms. O entered the auditorium. “Walk, don’t run,” Tina Tchen, who leads the White House Council on Women and Girls, chided them at one point. The media mogul led the first lady into one of her “Super Soul Sunday” conversations, and Obama was full of advice for the next generation of women.
“He’s got the swag,” Winfrey noted of the commander in chief. “Did he always have that swag? Or has he gotten swaggier?”
“No, he was very swagalicious,” Obama replied. “Look, I told people this from the very start, when I started running, Barack Obama is exactly who he says he is. We both are. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell people. Ain’t no surprises.”
The fact that she herself never experienced abuse at the hands of a man, Obama said, "is, sad to say, that's a rare reality. So men can be better at that."
Men can also be better husbands, do the dishes, "be engaged ... be a part of your families' lives." Obama also called on men to be "a better employer."
"When you are sitting at a seat of power, at a table of any kind, and you look around and you just see you — it's just you and a bunch of men around a table, on a golf course making deals, and you allow that to happen, and you're OK with that — be better."
Earlier in the conversation, Obama called on women to get to know themselves and learn to prioritize their own needs — the key to balance, she said. "You know why? Because [men] don't have to balance anything. Sorry. I hope that that is changing, but so many men don't have to do it all."
There were also lighthearted moments as Obama spoke about her attraction to her husband. "Good lord. Watching my husband walk off of Marine One and go to the Oval Office, it's like, mmm, mmm, mmm. And you know he's got that walk, right?"
The more than 5,000 women and a few men in the audience were giddy with excitement as Mrs. O and Ms. O entered the auditorium. “Walk, don’t run,” Tina Tchen, who leads the White House Council on Women and Girls, chided them at one point. The media mogul led the first lady into one of her “Super Soul Sunday” conversations, and Obama was full of advice for the next generation of women.
“He’s got the swag,” Winfrey noted of the commander in chief. “Did he always have that swag? Or has he gotten swaggier?”
“No, he was very swagalicious,” Obama replied. “Look, I told people this from the very start, when I started running, Barack Obama is exactly who he says he is. We both are. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell people. Ain’t no surprises.”
The fact that she herself never experienced abuse at the hands of a man, Obama said, "is, sad to say, that's a rare reality. So men can be better at that."
Men can also be better husbands, do the dishes, "be engaged ... be a part of your families' lives." Obama also called on men to be "a better employer."
"When you are sitting at a seat of power, at a table of any kind, and you look around and you just see you — it's just you and a bunch of men around a table, on a golf course making deals, and you allow that to happen, and you're OK with that — be better."
Earlier in the conversation, Obama called on women to get to know themselves and learn to prioritize their own needs — the key to balance, she said. "You know why? Because [men] don't have to balance anything. Sorry. I hope that that is changing, but so many men don't have to do it all."
There were also lighthearted moments as Obama spoke about her attraction to her husband. "Good lord. Watching my husband walk off of Marine One and go to the Oval Office, it's like, mmm, mmm, mmm. And you know he's got that walk, right?"
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