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Quotes by First-lady
"A little of what you call frippery is very necessary towards looking like the rest of the world."
63
"It is often the people who refuse to assume any responsibility who are apt to be the sharpest critics of those who do."
63
"Cherish your human connections - your relationships with friends and family."
62
"And now, dear sister, I must leave this house or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it by filling up the road I am directed to take."
62
"A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
62
"I won't lock my doors or bar them either if any of the old coots in the pictures out in the hall want to come out of their frames for a friendly chat."
61
"I have commenced my auspicious reign and am in quiet possession of the Presidential Mansion... this winter I intend to do something in the way of entertaining that shall be the admiration and talk of all Washington world."
61
"Become so wrapped up in something that you forget to be afraid."
61
"Old age has deformities enough of its own. It should never add to them the deformity of vice."
61
"You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you've tried. If you don't accept failure as a possibility, you don't set high goals, you don't branch out, you don't try - you don't take the risk."
60
"Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others."
60
"Exercise is really important to me - it's therapeutic. So if I'm ever feeling tense or stressed or like I'm about to have a meltdown, I'll put on my iPod and head to the gym or out on a bike ride along Lake Michigan with the girls."
60
"My son, George, has been a bad, bad boy! Right, George?"
60
"Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one."
60
"Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give."
60
"No matter how avid they themselves may be for praise and appreciation, people are often niggardly in giving it to others, however merited it is."
59
"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."
59
"You can't move so fast that you try to change the mores faster than people can accept it. That doesn't mean you do nothing, but it means that you do the things that need to be done according to priority."
59
"Every time you meet a situation though you think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the torture of the damned once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you were before."
59
"A woman's place in public is to sit beside her husband, be silent, and be sure her hat is on straight."
59
"When I shall again write to you, or where I shall be tomorrow, I cannot tell."
59
"Not my power, but the power of the position, a power which could be used to help."
58
"Do what you can to show you care about other people, and you will make our world a better place."
57
"Women in particular need to keep an eye on their physical and mental health, because if we're scurrying to and from appointments and errands, we don't have a lot of time to take care of ourselves. We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list."
57
"I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell this to my children, they just about throw up."
57
"We can make a commitment to promote vegetables and fruits and whole grains on every part of every menu. We can make portion sizes smaller and emphasize quality over quantity. And we can help create a culture - imagine this - where our kids ask for healthy options instead of resisting them."
57
"The realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know."
Man,
57
"Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse. I wish him well!"
57
"If we mean to have heroes, statesmen and philosophers, we should have learned women."
57
"So much attention is paid to the aggressive sins, such as violence and cruelty, and greed with all their tragic effects, that too little attention is paid to the passive sins, such as apathy and laziness, which in the long run can have a more devastating and destructive effect upon society than the others."
57
"Never lose sight of the fact that the most important yardstick of your success will be how you treat other people - your family, friends, and coworkers, and even strangers you meet along the way."
56
"Life has got to be lived - that's all there is to it. At seventy I would say the advantage is that you take life more calmly. You know that 'this too shall pass!'"
56
"I always wanted to be some kind of writer or newspaper reporter. But after college... I did other things."
56
"But you know, it's not easy when your husband runs for president. I mean, it's not easy for me. I'm sure it's not easy for her. There's a lot of scrutiny on families that isn't always wanted."
56
"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all."
56
"And let's be clear: It's not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren't healthy. It's also going to be critical to increase marketing for foods that are healthy."
55
"We all need to start making some changes to how our families eat. Now, everyone loves a good Sunday dinner. Me included. And there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is when we eat Sunday dinner Monday through Saturday."
54
"It seems to me I spent my life in car pools, but you know, that's how I kept track of what was going on."
54
"Can anyone understand how it is to have lived in the White House and then, suddenly, to be living alone as the President's widow?"
54
"You have to have been a Republican to know how good it is to be a Democrat."
54
"I do not believe in abortion at will. I do not believe that if a woman just wants to have an abortion she should... I do believe if you have an abortion you are committing murder."
54
"I think togetherness is a very important ingredient to family life."
54
"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."
54
"One must not let oneself be overwhelmed by sadness."
54
"Well, knowledge is a fine thing, and mother Eve thought so; but she smarted so severely for hers, that most of her daughters have been afraid of it since."
53
"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility."
53
"I'm not a competitive person, and I think women like me because they don't think I'm competitive, just nice."
53
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