Michelle Obama At SXSW: “l Will Not Run For President’

Michelle Obama maintained her position that she will not seek the presidency at any point in the future – but vowed to remain in public life at the South by Southwest Festival.

Michelle Obama For President?

Many have wondered over the years if Obama would follow the path of former first lady Hillary Clinton, and carve out her own position in American politics outside of the shadow cast by her husband. However, as she has said in the past, after standing beside her husband President Barack Obama in the White House for the last several years, she has no intention of returning.

“I will not run for president,” Obama told the crowd at a SXSW panel Wednesday. “No, no, not gonna do it.”

A main factor in her decision not to pursue the presidency is her and the president’s two teen daughters – Malia, 17, and Sasha, 14.

“I’ve got these two young people at home. And being the daughters of the president, just think about it. Come on, young people, it’s not so easy,” Obama explained. “They handled it with grace and with poise.”

Obama also strongly believes that she’s more than capable of doing work that can help change the country for the better outside the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

“You don’t have to be president of the United States to do wonderful and marvelous things. And I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon, ” she said, adding to Chicago P.D. star Sophia Bush, “You talk about your 30s being good? Your 50s — wooo! Phenomenal. I plan to go into my 60s blazing. BLAZING! And trying to be as fly and as healthy as I can. Remember that 106-year-old woman, Ms. McLaurin, who was dancing with us? I told her, ‘I want to be just like you! 106 and movin’ and groovin’!’ So there’s so much that I can do outside of the White House, and sometimes there’s so much more that you can do outside of the White House without the constraints and the lights and the cameras and the partisanship.”

Obama continued, “There’s a potential that my voice could be heard by many people who can’t hear me now because I’m Michelle Obama, the First Lady. And I want to be able to impact as many people as possible in an unbiased way and to try to keep reaching people. And I think I can do that just as well by not being president of the United States. And you all can, too.”

SXSW will run through March 20 in Austin, Texas.