First Lady tells pupils she knew her husband would be 'useful'

Published on 25/05/2011 18:12

MICHELLE Obama has revealed that she did not know her husband would one day be US president but had always "thought he would be useful".

In a meeting with pupils from London's Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School, who were invited to visit Oxford University's Christ Church College, the US First Lady was asked if she thought Barack Obama would "achieve great things".

To laughter, she replied: "Absolutely not," before adding: "I'm kidding."

"Honestly, when I met him I knew he was special. I'm sharing secrets here. I knew he was a special person and it had nothing to do with his education, nothing to do with his potential.

"There are a lot of women who have the boxes. Did he go to the right school? Does he have a good income? There was none of that. It was how he felt about his mother, the love he felt for his mother, his relationship to women, his work ethic."

She explained that, despite being a top student at Harvard Law School, Mr Obama had turned down an opportunity to be a clerk for the US Supreme Court, saying he felt he could do more with communities in church.

"He meant it, he wasn't trying to impress me. Those kind of values made me think: you don't meet people like that often. Couple that with his talent - and he's cute!"

To more giggles, she added: "I always thought he would be useful but I had no idea he would be president. I didn't think he was going to be president until the night he won."