Nov 6, 2008 9:14 pm US/Eastern
New First Lady Michelle Obama Brings Her Own Style
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Michelle Obama waves from stage at the election night victory rally for her husband, Barack Obama, at Chicago's Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008, in Chicago.
Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images
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President elect Barack Obama walks on stage, with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha to, address his supports during an election night gathering in Grant Park on Nov. 4, 2008, in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Michelle Obama has a style all her own which goes well beyond her clothes. The next first lady is a title Obama adds to a resume that includes attorney, hospital administrator, mother and politician's wife.
Dorothy Tucker of CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago talked to people who know the new first lady and what's on Obama's mind as she heads to Washington.
Long before her husband won the presidential election, Michelle Obama talked about what she might bring to the table as the nation's first lady.
"I hope it would be work-family balance, you know," Michelle Obama said. "I mean, you hear me talking about this because it's the life that I'm living.
"Even now on the campaign trail, I've got one eye on the campaign and two eyes at home worrying about how the kids are eating, when the parent-teacher conference is happening," she said.
"She's going to be a fantastic first lady," said attorney Alan King.
King has known Michelle since they were both studying for the bar in the late 1980s. He believes his longtime friend will remind some of a former first lady.
"I see some Jackie O. there, sort of a grace in the way she carries herself, very supportive of her husband, but at the same time she's vocal when she needs to be," King said.
And like Jacqueline Kennedy, King says Michelle will put her children first. Michelle's former boss Attorney Susan Sher from University of Chicago Hospitals agrees.
"The first thing she'll do is focus on being the mom-in-chief and making sure that the girls are set," Sher said.
Since the girls will be raised in the White House, Sher says Michelle has already reached out to former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush for advice.
"About sheltering children from the press, from some of the criticism of the family and parents so they could have the kind of childhood one would want," Sher said.
Friends say Michelle also reached out to Caroline Kennedy to get her views on being raised in the White House, and she's seeking advice from former first families on the best schools for the girls.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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