And standing before you four years ago, I knew that I didn't want any of that to change if Barack became President.

Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways I never could have imagined, I have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are -- it reveals who you are.

You see, I've gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like.

And I've seen how the issues that come across a President's desk are always the hard ones -- the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer... the judgment calls where the stakes are so high, and there is no margin for error.

And as President, you can get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people.

But at the end of the day, when it comes time to make that decision, as President, all you have to guide you are your values, and your vision, and the life experiences that make you who you are.

So when it comes to rebuilding our economy, Barack is thinking about folks like my dad and like his grandmother.

He's thinking about the pride that comes from a hard day's work.

That's why he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to help women get equal pay for equal work.

That's why he cut taxes for working families and small businesses and fought to get the auto industry back on its feet.

That's how he brought our economy from the brink of collapse to creating jobs again -- jobs you can raise a family on, good jobs right here in the United States of America.

When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president.

He didn't care whether it was the easy thing to do politically -- that's not how he was raised -- he cared that it was the right thing to do.

He did it because he believes that here in America, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine... our kids should be able to see a doctor when they're sick... and no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or illness.

And he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care... that's what my husband stands for.

四年前，站在你們面前的我知道，如果巴拉克成為總統，我不愿意這些價值觀產生任何改變。

那么，今天，在那么多的艱苦奮斗和勝利，以及我的丈夫所經歷過的那么多我從未想象過的考驗之后，我親眼認識到，當總統并不會改變一個人——它只會揭示一個人。

你們瞧，我有幸能近距離親眼觀察當總統是怎么一回事。

我發現放到總統桌上的問題總是難題——那些無論多少數據或數字都無法得出正確答案的難題……那些風險如此之高的選擇，根本容不得一星半點的差錯。

還有，作為總統，你會收到各種各樣的人向你發出的各種各樣的建議。

但是到最后，需要做出決定的時刻，作為總統，你所擁有的全部指引就是你的價值觀，判斷力，以及那些對你影響深遠的成長經歷。

因此，當說到重建經濟的時候，巴拉克想到的是像我的父親和他的祖母一樣的人們。

他想到的是一天辛勤工作所帶來的自豪感。

這就是為什么他簽署了《莉莉·列得貝塔同工同酬法案》，以幫助女性得到同工同酬的公平權利。

這就是為什么他為工作家庭和小型企業削減了稅負，并努力讓汽車工業重新起步。

這就是他如何將我們的經濟從崩潰的邊緣拉回并使其重新開始創造工作機會——讓人們能夠養家糊口的工作，這些好工作就在這里，在美利堅合眾國。

至于我們的家庭健康問題，巴拉克拒絕聽從所有那些要他暫緩醫療改革，把問題留給下一任總統的人。

他不在乎這在政治上是不是一件容易的事——這不是他所受到的教育——他在乎的是：做正確的事。

他這樣做，是因為他堅信在美國，我們的祖父母們應該能夠負擔自己的醫藥費用……我們的孩子生病時必須能夠去看醫生……而且，在這個國家里，沒有人應該因為一場意外或疾病而破產。

他還相信，女性完全有能力對自己的身體和醫療做出選擇……這就是我丈夫的立場。