The Obamas On Their Personal Transition

In 66 days, Barack and Michelle Obama and their daughters 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha will be the youngest first family to move into the White House since the Kennedys nearly 50 years ago.

While the Obama transition team has been working closely with the Bush administration to ensure an orderly transfer of power, the Obama family has been working hard on a transition of their own that began with an emotional election night in Chicago.

Mr. Obama: Well, I'm not sure it's sunk in yet.

Michelle Obama: I guess I'm sort of like him. I'm not sure if it has really sunk in. But I remember, we were watching the returns and, on one of the stations, Barack's picture came up and it said, 'President-Elect Barack Obama. ' And I looked at him and I said, 'You are the 44th President of the United States of America. Wow. What a country we live in.'

Mr. Obama: How about that?

Michelle Obama: Yeah.

Mr. Obama: Yeah. Yeah. And then she said 'Are you gonna take the girls to school in the morning?'

Michelle Obama: I did not. I didn't say that.

Mr. Obama: It wasn't at that moment.

Kroft: You made the address in Grant Park. And you brought the kids out. And, at some point you whispered something. Can you remember that?
Michelle Obama: I said, 'Wow, Look at this.'

Mr. Obama: How 'bout that?

Kroft: The emotion of that night was fueled, in part, by the fact that you were first African-American ever elected. Did you feel that?

Mr. Obama: There's no doubt that there was a sense of emotion that I could see in people's faces and in my mother-in-law's face. You know, I mean, you think about Michelle's mom, who grew up on the west and south sides of Chicago, who worked so hard to help Michelle get to where she is, her brother to be successful. She was sitting next to me, actually, as we were watching returns. And she's like my grandmother was, sort of a no-fuss type of person. And suddenly she just kind of reached out and she started holding my hand, you know, kind of squeezing it. And you had this sense of, 'Well, what's she thinking?' For a black woman who grew up in the 50s, you know, in a segregated Chicago, to watch her daughter become first lady of the United States. I think there was that sense across the country. And not unique to African-Americans. I think that.

Michelle Obama: That's right.

Mr. Obama: I think people felt that it was a sign of the enormous progress that we've made in the core decency and generosity of the American people. Which isn't to say that there were a number of reasons that somebody might not have voted for me. But what was absolutely clear was is that whether people voted for me or against me, that they were making the judgment based on is this guy gonna, you know, lead us well? Is this guy gonna be a good president? And that was my assumption walking in. And that's how it turned out. And that felt good.

Kroft: What was your conversation like the next morning at the breakfast table with the kids.

Michelle Obama: Yeah, everyone was tired.

Mr. Obama: Because they had been up until midnight.

Michelle Obama: They had been up. But we got up and went to school. But we went to school late. Barack, you slept in. You know, so I think we were just back into the routine. Our hopes are to just to keep the girls moving. It's like okay , Daddy's president-elect, okay, we can get to school by 10. And we got to the school and the folks at the school were excited. Some people were cheering as I walked the kids to the class. And I remember Malia saying, 'That's embarrassing.' But you know, it was a pretty normal day for us.

And there have not been many of those. The past two years were spent on the campaign trail and before that Senator Obama split his time between their home in Chicago where Michelle and the girls lived, and a very modest apartment in Washington, which nearly burned down.

Kroft: So, you've given up the apartment in Washington that you stayed in?

Mr. Obama: I used to get teased, not just by Michelle, but by my own staff. They'd say, 'You know, you're the only senator that has a worse apartment than your 25-year-old staff people.' Eventually, I think, Secret Service kind of looked at me like, you know, once the building caught fire, and the ceiling caved in, I said…

Michelle Obama: But he moved back in anyway.

Mr. Obama: For a while.

Michelle Obama: After the fire.

Mr. Obama: Shortly.

Kroft: Did you ever stay there?

Michelle Obama: I visited, but I didn't sleep there.

Mr. Obama: She insisted on a hotel room.

Michelle Obama: I saw it. I saw it long enough to know that I wasn't gonna stay there.

Mr. Obama: Yeah

Kroft: It is one bedroom? Studio?

Mr. Obama: Yeah, it was sort of a one bedroom. It had kind of the vintage, college dorm, pizza…

Kroft: Community organizer, right?, feel to it.

Michelle Obama: It reminded me of a little better version of the apartment you were in when we first started dating. That was a dump too.

Mr. Obama: Right near Harold's Chicken Shack.

Michelle Obama:Yeah.

Mr. Obama: Yeah. That's when I had the car with the-the hole in it.

Michelle Obama: And you could see the sidewalk, because the rust had gone through.

Mr. Obama: The air-conditioning.

Michelle Obama: So that was my side. I would look and see the ground going past. And I still married him.

Mr. Obama: That's how I knew she loved me. It wasn't for my money.

They got their first look at their new home last Monday, when the President and Laura Bush invited the Obamas to the White House, which has 130 more rooms than that old Washington apartment.

Kroft: What was it like going through there?

Michelle Obama: Well, first of all, Laura Bush was just so gracious. She is a really sweet person. And couldn't have been more excited and enthusiastic about the tour. So that was wonderful. And her entire team, their team has been working closely just to make us feel welcome. But the White House is beautiful. It is awe-inspiring. It is. What I felt walking through there was that it is a great gift and an honor to be able to live here. And you know we want to make sure that we're upholding what that house stands for. But I couldn't help but envisioning the girls running into their rooms and, you know, running down the hall and with a dog. And, you know, you start picturing your life there. And our hope is that the White House will feel open and fun and full of life and energy.

Mr. Obama: Sleepovers.

Michelle Obama: And sleepovers.

Kroft: I know that from talking to you, you've said that this has put a lot of, you know, your husband's involvement in politics has put strains in your marriage from time to time. He's about to take over the most pressure packed job in the world. But he's also gonna be home, right?

Michelle Obama: Oh yeah. He's got a big office at home now.

You know, this entire year and a half has brought us closer together as a family. And we managed to stay close and become even closer with Barack gone most of an entire two year period. And now we get to be together under the one roof, having dinners together. And, you know, I envision the kids coming home from school and being able to run across the way to the Oval Office and see their dad before they start their homework. And having breakfast. And he'll be there to tuck them in at night. And, you know, again, you know, there'll be moments of deep seriousness and times of great focus. But, you know, we'll be together doing that. And that gives me reason to be very excited.

But that's not the only thing that is about to change for the Obamas. When 60 Minutes first met them two years ago in Chicago, everything was much simpler.

Kroft: I can remember the first time we went to your house We were greeted at the door by the girls. They were a little smaller then. A couple years younger. But that has to have changed. I mean, you can't get in the car and drive all over Chicago, right?

Mr. Obama: Yeah. I remember the first time we interviewed - we just drove down right near your mom's house.

Michelle Obama: Oh, that's right. That's right. You did.

Mr. Obama: Got out of the car, walked--

Mr. Obama: Yeah, that's a little harder to do now.

Kroft: You told me that when you went off to Washington and made the decision to live there and when you came back to Chicago you had certain chores that you had to perform. You had to wash the dishes and make your bed.

Mr. Obama: Yeah.

Kroft: Are you free now on that front?

Mr. Obama: Well, I…

Kroft: Certainly there's gonna be somebody else to wash the dishes and make your bed.

Michelle Obama: Yes.

Mr. Obama: There sometimes it's soothing to wash the dishes.

Michelle Obama: You? Since when was it ever soothing for you to wash the dishes?

Mr. Obama: You know, when I had to do it. I'd make it into a soothing thing.

Michelle Obama: The thing you have to remember, Steve, is that you, the interesting part about this year is that it is slowly transitioned us into this. So today doesn't feel as normal as it did yesterday. If we had compared it to the January before he announced, it would seem truly odd. But we have gradually, you know, had more and more changes. And I think, for us, that's helped us get adjusted to do it. So today isn't a shock.

Mr. Obama: One of the great joys of this campaign is the seeing how the girls have adjusted to this thing. They have stayed their normal, cheerful, happy, courteous, curious selves. And that was one of my biggest worries. And remains one of my biggest worries. You know, when we think about, I know Michelle and I have talked about this a lot. How do we just maintain that precious normalcy in our two girls? And, you know, 'cause right now they're not self-conscious. They're. you know, they don't have an attitude. And I think one of our highest priorities, over the next four years, is retaining that. If at the end of four years, just from a personal standpoint, we can say they are who they are. They remain the great joys that they are. And this hasn't, you know, created a whole bunch of problems for them. Then I think we're gonna feel pretty good.

Kroft: How has your life changed in the last ten days?

Michelle Obama: You know, it's calmed down a bit. I mean, we're-- we're back into more of a routine.

Mr. Obama: There's still some things we're not adjusted to.

Michelle Obama: Like what?

Mr. Obama: Like--

Michelle Obama: What do you want?

Mr. Obama: Me not being able to take a walk.

Michelle Obama: Oh, well, you know.

Mr. Obama: No, I mean, though those are things that…

Michelle Obama: I don't walk as much as he does though. So I guess I don't miss it.

Mr. Obama: Yeah. I mean, you know.

Michelle Obama: You want to go for a walk?

Mr. Obama: I do. I'd love to take you for a walk. Although it's cold today. But…

Michelle Obama: Yeah, I wouldn't go with you.

Mr. Obama: I know. Well, that's something that I don't think I'll ever get used to. I mean, the loss of anonymity and this is not a complaint, this is part of what you sign up for. Being able to just wander around the neighborhood. I can't go to my old barber shop now. I've gotta have my barber come to some undisclosed location to cut my hair. You know, the small routines of life that keep you connected I think - some of those are being lost. One of the challenges I think that we're going to be wrestling with is how to stay pretty normal. Because they and we said this before the campaign, and I believe this. actually think that we are as close to what normal folks go through, and what their lives are like, as just about anybody who's been elected president recently hanging onto that is something that's important. Michelle helps on that 'cause she's just a sensible person.

Kroft: I know you've said that your first priority is to be mom in chief.

Michelle Obama: Yes.

Kroft:You're a Harvard Law School grad yourself. And a Princeton grad. You were a high-powered executive. How long do you give her, knocking around that big house, before she starts to want to imprint on the job of being first lady?

Mr. Obama: I think Michelle is gonna design her own role. I think she's gonna set her own path. But I here's one thing I know about Michelle she's serious when she talks about being a mom. That's why our girls are so wonderful. I'd love to take credit for it. But this is the one who deserves most of the credit. And…

Michelle Obama: Well, the thing we've learned, you know, as we've watched this campaign, is that people, women, are capable of doing more than one thing well at the same time. And I've, you know, had to juggle being mom in chief and having a career for a long time. The primary focus for the first year will be making sure that the kids make it through the transition. But there are many issues that I care deeply about. I care about military families and the work/family balance issue. I care about education. I, both Barack and I, believe that we can have an impact in the D.C. area. You know, in terms of making sure we're contributing to the community that we immediately live in. That's always been something that we try to do. Whether it's in our own neighborhoods or in the schools that we've attended. So there's plenty to do.

Kroft: Did you seriously consider sending the girls to public school?

Michelle Obama: You know, we're still in the process of figuring out that transition. And what we have asked people to understand is that the decision that we make will be based on the best interest of the girls. We haven't made that decision yet. And you know, we want that to be a persona; process. And people have been really good about respecting that.

Who else will be moving into the White House with them? Find out in the next part of our interview.

Produced by L. Franklin Devine, Michael Radutzky and Andy Court