Michelle Obama has been compared extensively to Jackie Kennedy, and today's visit by the Obamas to the White House summons memories of Jackie Kennedy's one-hour television special on Valentine's Day 1962, "A Tour Of The White House By Mrs. John F. Kennedy." The program, for which three out of four viewers tuned in, showed the iconic First Lady walking CBS' Charles Collingwood--and the world--through the rooms of the newly restored White House.***Scroll down for the video.***
On the Green Room:"This used to be the dining room, and this is where Jefferson gave his famous dinners and introduced such exotic foods as macaroni, waffles and ice cream to the United States."
On the inscription under the mantle of one fireplace:"Yes, that's from the very first letter that was ever written from the White House. It was written by John Adams, the first president to live here, to his wife Abigail when he'd only been here two days on November 2, 1800. In it he says 'I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house, and on all that should hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men rule under this roof.'"
President Kennedy on his wife's renovations (51:03 into the second video) : "I think the great effort that she's made has been to bring us much more intimately in contact with all the men who lived here.... I have always felt that American history is sometimes a dull subject...but I think if [young boys and girls] can come here and see alive this building and in a sense touch the people who lived here, then they'll go home more interested and I think they'll become better Americans. Some of them may want to someday live here themselves," then adds with a chuckle, "Even the girls."
Watch the first 15 minutes here :
Or see the tour in its entirety here:
**Watch 10-year-old Malia Obamatalk about White House decorating.**