Michelle Obama's CBS exclusive: Barack loves her shrimp linquine

CBS “EARLY SHOW” INTERVIEW WITH MICHELLE OBAMA, WIFE OF SENATOR BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE INTERVIEWER: MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ INTRODUCTION BY: JULIE CHEN

8:06 A.M. EDT, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2008

MS. CHEN: During Maggie’s exclusive interview with Michelle Obama yesterday, we learned how tough it is on the campaign trail, as well as where she stands on some of the issues. This morning Mrs. Obama gives us a personal look into her marriage to Barack Obama, life at home with their two daughters, and the future.

(Begin videotaped segment.)

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Finish this sentence.

MS. OBAMA: Okay.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: “I wish I was more” —

MS. OBAMA: I wish I was more — probably patient. I’m getting there. (Laughs.)

MS. RODRIGUEZ: “I wish Barack” — “I wish Barack wasn’t so” —

MS. OBAMA: I wish Barack wasn’t so busy all the time. (Laughs.)

MS. RODRIGUEZ: I knew you’d say that. Who cooks at home?

MS. OBAMA: When we cook, I cook. But a lot of times we — you know, it’s a lot of ordering out. It’s a lot of folks bringing food, you know. It’s — this year has not been usual.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Yeah.

MS. OBAMA: But outside of this year, I would generally cook.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Are you a good cook?

MS. OBAMA: I’m a good cook when I have time to do it. But I’m not — you know, I’m not somebody who has to cook. If there’s somebody else who’s got a good meal, we’re there. (Laughs.)

MS. RODRIGUEZ: If he’s had a long day and he just wants to come home and have Michelle’s what — what’s the best meal you make that he loves?

MS. OBAMA: Oh, he loves my shrimp linguine. It’s garlicky, with sun-dried tomatoes. That’s one of his favorite dishes.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Is there ever a time, at the end of the day, when you and Senator Obama are home and you just think, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”

MS. OBAMA: (Laughs.) Well, first, we’d have to be at home together. (Laughs.)

MS. RODRIGUEZ: (Laughs.) Which doesn’t happen?

MS. OBAMA: And as you probably know — you have kids — your kids become your focus. And when we’re not doing this, we’re thinking about what we need to do to make sure that the girls are on point, that they’ve got their Halloween costumes, that we send in the project for the next assignment, that we’re going to make it to the parent- teacher conference. That tends to consume all that extra energy and time that you have to daydream and ponder and think about what we’ve gotten ourselves into.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: What do your girls say they want to be when they grow up?

MS. OBAMA: Malia says she wants to be an actress. But she wants to go to a good school like Yale so that she can get a job if the acting thing doesn’t work out. (Laughs.) Sasha says — I think she wants to sing or dance. They’re still into wanting to perform. I’m trying to, you know, get them focused on, like, law or something like that, but right now they love the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana. So I think they see themselves as Disney potential. (Laughs.)

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Favorite romantic movie. And can you recite a line from it?

MS. OBAMA: Oh, gosh. See, this is tough. I’m not good at lines from movies. Gosh, you’re stumping me on that one.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Best spontaneous romantic gesture from your husband.

MS. OBAMA: Well, I think this — our anniversary. It wasn’t — nothing is as spontaneous these days. But the fact that he took time off the campaign trail, flew home, took me to a wonderful dinner, gave me a beautiful gift — that I won’t share — and that, you know, the fact that he did it in the midst of all this, because I told him, “You know what, let’s just not worry about our anniversary this year; we can celebrate later.” He’s, like, “Absolutely not.”

MS. RODRIGUEZ: How many years?

MS. OBAMA: Sixteen.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Wow.

MS. OBAMA: Sixteen years.

MS. RODRIGUEZ: Where do you see yourself in 16 years?

MS. OBAMA: Sixteen years. Barack will have served two successful terms in the White House, and our children will have been in college and they’ll be starting their careers. And, you know, we’ll be starting to think about that next phase of life. But I’m hoping that he and I have some time to travel, spend time with friends. You know, I see us moving into the next phase of our adult life.