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http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/07/michelle-obama-on-bid-laden-raid-i-knew-something-was-happening-/1

Michelle Obama on bin Laden raid: 'I knew something was happening'


Michelle Obama is the cover girl of AARP's magazine.
Just five days after the death of Osama bin Laden was announced, First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden sat down with AARP The Magazine at the White House for an exclusive interview in the September/October issue.
The two talk about discovering with the rest of the world that a team of U.S. Navy Seals had raided a compound in Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden.

How much did they know about the attack before it happened?

JILL BIDEN: "I didn't have a clue. Joe left early and was gone all day. Didn't come home for a meal—nothing. So I knew something was happening, but I thought it was about Libya. [When I heard,] I was grading papers and watching TV."

MICHELLE OBAMA: "I knew something was happening, but when it gets down to that level of secrecy, there's just a small number of people who know anything."

She adds, "I was actually out to dinner with girlfriends, and I didn't know until I walked in the door. It was later in the evening, and Barack had his suit on, because he was going to the press conference. And I said, 'What's going on?'"

Her reaction? "I was like 'Wow.' Then I wanted to know the details: 'How did it happen? Then what? And then what happened?' I was probably like every media person."

On explaining the mission to her children:

MICHELLE OBAMA: "I think kids instinctively feel that ambivalence—is this good or is this bad? And then you have to explain in a way that says it's not good, but it's good. The older kids, I think, get it. It's a convoluted set of concepts. But I think they understand, when it's placed in context."

On a future in politics:

MICHELLE OBAMA: "The answer is N-O. Period, dot." She adds, "I think one reason Jill and I are comfortable and happy is that we're doing what speaks to us. And what I've learned as a woman growing up, getting older, is you've got to know who you are. And a politician—it's never been who I was or wanted to be."

JILL BIDEN: "No. We're emphatic." She adds, "There was never a desire. I never wanted to run."

See photos of: Michelle Obama


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