WASHINGTON (AFP) — Michelle Obama says her overriding role will be to serve as "mom-in-chief" to her and her husband Barack's two young daughters when -- not if -- they enter the White House.
Beyond that, the driven lawyer hoping to be the inaugural black first lady says she intends to restore a work-life balance to hard-pressed Americans and to support military wives of husbands serving extended tours overseas.
Interviewed by Ebony magazine, Michelle Obama was in no doubt about life after the November election when voters will decide between her husband and Republican John McCain.
"My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief," she said, "making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe."
Malia Obama, 10, and her sister Sasha, seven, are being brought up with the help of Michelle's mother as their parents campaign. They would be the youngest residents of the White House since president Jimmy Carter's daughter Amy.
Michelle Obama's certainty of tone could rile some on the right and foster charges by the Republican Party -- which has set up a website called "Audacity Watch" -- that her husband is arrogantly assuming the election is won already.
Obama, who is a style icon for her admirers and a lightning rod for conservative critics who question her patriotism, said she embraced the challenge of answering any concerns felt by voters.
"I am more than willing to share who I am and to open up my heart and soul to people so that they know that in addition to getting Barack -- this tremendous mind and person to lead our country -- that the people behind him and beside him, his wife and family, that we all represent what is good and wonderful about America," she said.
"Barack and I -- as partners, as friends and as lovers -- we accessorize each other in many ways," Obama added.
"The best thing I love having on me is Barack on my arm and vice versa, whether it's having him standing there smiling at me, or watching him mesmerize a crowd or talk to some seniors in a senior center."
On the potentially historic task at hand, Michelle Obama called on Americans to "vote their self-interest."
"Don't vote for Barack because you think he's cute or because you like his smile... This can be a purely objective decision because the choices are pretty clear.
"Supreme Court appointments are on the table. The fate and the direction of this country for the next four or eight years is on the table, and I would just urge people to be informed about the issues and then decide."
The Michelle Obama interview was released to the press Monday and will appear in the next edition of Ebony, a monthly aimed at African-Americans, on August 12.
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