Obama speaks with MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski

Brzezinski: Well, I was wondering about that. I'm wondering how you came across cutting back to 20 percent. And also, quite frankly, given the fact that this could be one of the most challenging times of your lives, for your family, why you wouldn't just take leave?

Obama:Yeah. Well, that's my sense of obligation. You know?  I've invested a certain amount of time, I've got staff, I've got projects that are very important to me, and it's important to make sure that they're still on track.  And, you know, there's a way to do it.  You know, yeah, I'm not in there every day, but if somebody needs me, if they have a question, I'm certainly not gonna say, "don't ever call me again, we're running for president".  So it turns out that, you know, I, you know, focus on it when needed.  And again, I don't think that's very different from what a lot of women do.  We are always juggling.  I don't want to pretend like this isn't any different, but I have spent my entire adult life, as a professional, as a mother, juggling.  Balancing so many different hats and personalities that I sorta add one more on there, it's like, okay, I can do that too.

Brzezinski: But is it also perhaps about your job, at this stage in your life, being a part of your identity?

Obama: You know, probably so. I don't spend too much time kind of analyzing it, because I tend to approach this stuff practically.  You know, I mean, I wouldn't have trouble taking a complete leave, and at some point I'm gonna have to do that.  And that doesn't give me cause for alarm, or it doesn't sort of attack my identity.  It's just that right now, um, this is working.  It's working for my staff, it works for me, it works for the family, and the minute that it doesn't, I'll make the changes that are necessary.  We're sort of playing it by year.  Um, and I'm also still doing day trips.  I mean, I'm not out on the road for weeks at a time.  That's something I've done primarily because that's important for my girls. So when I do campaigning - I mean, this weekend I've been away, because this was a weekend-long, this was a series of weekend overnight events.  But usually, I get up in the morning, I get on a plane after getting the girls ready, do a series of events, and I go home, usually before the girls go to bed.  And I'm usually not on the road for consecutive days, because for them it feels like Mom went to work, um, and I come home, we have our ritual, and that's why this process hasn't been disrupted for me.  It requires some more effort on our parts, as adults, but I figure that's our job, you know, they didn't ask for this. So that allows me to keep a foot in work, too.  Because when I'm in Chicago, and the kids are at school, I can get stuff done during my off time. Yeah. You just keep it going!

Brzezinski:It's a constant balance.

Obama: Constant balance.

Brzezinski: Your mother is a great deal of help to you.

Obama: Absolutely. Well, this wouldn't be possible without her.  I mean, obviously, you know, I have relied on some form of help, you know, throughout my kids' lifetime.  But, you know, there's nothing like your mom.  I leave assured that there's somebody there that deeply loves my girls, and understands the values that we're trying to impart.  So even if she lets them stay up a little bit later than I might, or might let them not finish their vegetables every night, you know, there's still a certain expectation of who she wants them to be, and, you know, she shares those beliefs with me and Barack, so I am confident that they're getting what they need and, you know, there's nothing like it.

Brzezinski: That's piece of mind.

Obama: Huge piece of mind.

Brzezinski: I want to hear about your father. Frasier. Who, I understand, died from complications of MS when you were 27. Did he get to meet your husband?

Obama: He did.

Brzezinski: Did he like him?

Obama: He did, that was very important. I mean, after the point at which I knew that Barack was somebody that I could marry, that's when I sort of led him into my life.  And he met my brother, my mother and father, and it was important for me to know that he was someone that could fit into my broader family.  So their opinions of him were extremely important, and my father respected Barack and liked him a great deal.

Brzezinski: And in terms of things that would be important to you as First Lady, your father worked a blue-collar job. He didn’t go to college.

Obama: Mmm hmm.

Brzezinski: Yet he was able to put two kids through Princeton, you through Harvard,

Obama: That’s right.

Brzezinski: And maintain a pension.

Obama: That’s right.

Brzezinski: That’s amazing.

Obama: That’s what I tend to say when I’m on the stump.  I mean, that was, you know, 20, 30 years ago. And not that long ago. When families could have a shot at something, you know, important. It’s important that men like my father have the opportunity to take care of their families. You know, most Americans don’t want much more than that.  And it’s just a shame that we live in a country where we can’t give every American that simple shot at life. You know, most families can’t survive off of a single, blue collar salary. College is unaffordable for even families who’ve saved, they’ve done everything that they’re supposed to do, kids are now looking at whether they should go to college, if they want to teach, are they going to come out with so much loan debt? This was the situation that Barack and I saw ourselves in. You know, even though we went to these great schools, by the time we got out, at the end of this wonderful education, our loan debt was more than our mortgage. 

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