Michelle Obama likes White House; Bo does too

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First Lady Michelle Obama fielded questions during an event to welcome children of Executive Office employees at the White House’s annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. First Dog Bo did a lot of barking too.

Does she like living in the White House?

‘Yes, it’s fun living in the White House,’’ she said. At which point, the first dog barked.

‘Bo likes it too,’’ she said. ‘Bo likes living in the White House too.’’

How does it feel being the first lady?

‘I think it feels like being me, you know? You don’t change as a person just because you have a different job, you know?’’

What are you doing for Earth Day?

‘I think we’re having a reception this evening,’’ she said. ‘Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep up with all the things that we’re doing. There’s a reception here this evening for Earth Day. And Sasha brought home some energy-efficient bulbs that we have to put in the house. So we’re going to do some bulb replacement.’’

Do you miss Chicago?

‘Yeah, there are some things that I miss about Chicago,’’ she said. ‘But I think the things that I miss about Chicago are the things that I would miss anywhere. ... And one of the things that the president and I can’t do is sort of just walk down the street by ourselves, you know? We can’t just leave the house and walk by ourselves because we always have security and we have to make sure that we got a lot of people with us. And I think that the thing I miss in Chicago is like being able to walk out of my house and go down on the lake and ride my bike -- but I can’t do that here either.’’

She was interrupted often by the barking Bo, the Portuguese water dog who was a gift to the Obamas from the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

‘I’ll let him get his energy out with you guys,’’ the first lady said, leading to some play time. ‘All right, he’s in play mode. So we’re going to -- I’m going to take him out, and then we’re going to -- I’m going to let him come back in.’’

The water dog, a breed known for helping sailors at sea, didn’t take to the water immediately, she noted. ‘At first he didn’t always want to swim -- we had to teach him how to swim -- but now he loves the water, and he gets in the water any chance he can get. ‘’

What’s the first lady’s favorite room?

‘My favorite room is actually the Blue Room,’’ she said. ‘It’s oval. It’s the oval shape. And when you walk down this hallway, it’s in the center, and it’s -- there are only three rooms in the residence that have an oval shape. And one is in the bottom. It’s called the Diplomatic Room, and it’s one of the rooms you come into. And then the second one, which is the Blue Room, and then there’s a room upstairs in our house that’s called the Yellow Oval Room.

‘And all of them look out onto the South Lawn, and you can see the fountain, and you can see the Washington Monument, and you can see so much of Washington. And it’s still a cozy-feeling room. So when we have a lot of guests over, it’s really nice to be able to have them see the view. ‘’

How often does she go to the Oval Office?

‘Not as often as you think,’’ she said. ‘I can’t think of the last time I was over there. No -- because that’s work to me. So that’s my husband’s job.’’

Is there anything she doesn’t like?

‘I think it’s just responsibility,’’ she said. ‘Sometimes you just don’t want any. You want to do what you want to do all the time. And I don’t think grown-ups are any different. Right, parents in the room? We’re not different. We want to be hanging out, too. But a lot of the things that I have to do are a lot of fun. Like, this is something that I love to do. And it’s -- and is this something that I have to do? I think so.’’

-- Mark Silva