Talking Is Good. Conversations Have To Be

But, As Potentially The First African American First Lady, I Was Also The Focus Of Another Set Of Questions And Speculations; Conversations Sometimes Rooted In The Fears And Misperceptions Of Others. Was I Too Loud, Or Too Angry, Or Too Emasculating? Or Was I Too Soft, Too Much Of A Mom, Not Enough Of A Career Woman?

The One Thing I Believe Is That Families Are Off-limits. And I Think My Husband Said It, And He Was Clear On That. And I Totally Agree With Him.

If I Point To Anything That Makes Me Who I Am, It's That I Have A Whole Lot Of Common Sense. I've Got A Good Mind And A Good Ability To Read People And Situations.

Value Everyone's Contribution And Treat Everyone With Respect.

Cute's Good. But Cute Only Lasts For So Long, And Then It's, 'who Are You As A Person?' Look At The Heart. Look At The Soul. Look At How The Guy Treats His Mother And What He Says About Women. How He Acts With Children He Doesn't Know. And, More Important, How Does He Treat You?