U.S. President Barack Obama broke down in tears as he paid tribute to
Michelle Obama, his wife and his teenage daughters at the emotional
farewell address in his adoptive city of Chicago Tuesday.
“Michelle LaVaughn Robinson, girl of the south side, for the past 25
years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you
have been my best friend,” Obama told the first lady, seated before him
dressed all in black.
“You took on a role you didn’t ask for and made it your own with
grace and grit and style and good humor,” he told her, at one point
pulling out a handkerchief to dab away tears — as the crowd of 18,000
cheered wildly.
“A new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role
model. You’ve made me proud. You’ve made the country proud.”
It was in Chicago that the Obamas met, that their daughters were
born, and in a Facebook post ahead of the speech Obama said, “for
Michelle and me, Chicago is where it all started.”
While 18-year-old Malia was there to hear her father’s farewell
speech, her 15-year-old sister Sasha was not — the most notable of a
series of public absences by the teen that prompted a flurry of good
natured chatter on social media, and a hashtag #SashaObama.
A White House official said Sasha stayed back in the capital Washington to prepare for a school exam in the morning.
But Obama addressed both girls in praising the “two amazing young
women” they had become, during the family’s eight years in the White
House.
“Of all that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your
dad,” he said — as Malia, dressed in black-and-white, shed a few tears
with her mother’s arm around her.
“You are smart, and you are beautiful, but more importantly, you are
kind, and you are thoughtful, and you are full of passion,” Obama told
them.
“And you bore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily.”
And finally, the 55-year-old president turned to Joe Biden — who
along with his wife Jill he described as a second “family,” drawing yet
another standing ovation for the vice-president.
“You were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the
best,” Obama told Biden. “Not just because you have been a great vice
president, but because in the bargain, I gained a brother.”
After the president’s speech drew to a close, the Obamas and their daughter came together on stage for a warm embrace.
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