In a transcript (transcribed with painstaking accuracy on the ABC website), Barbara Walters talks to the first couple about South Korea, Thanksgiving, Sarah Palin, and, of course, clothes. The whole interview airs Friday night on ABC at 10 EST. In this excerpt Michelle talks about her toned arms, and the president admits he admires his wife's wardrobe.
BARBARA WALTERS: Are you sick of people talking about your toned arms? I noticed you're not wearing a sleeveless dress.FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: No, I will never get sick of people talking about my toned arms. If it's a positive compliment, I am a woman, just, like, bring it on. I'm, I'm cool with it. But no, I, you know, I still wear what I like and enjoy, and I thought this dress is pretty.
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: And in fact, my, my husband is, he liked this dress.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It's a nice looking dress.
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Yeah. He, he said that several times today.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: She, she, she looks good, generally.
BARBARA WALTERS: Do you know one dress from another?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I do! I do. I, you know, I, I, I...
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Yeah.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: ...I notice what, uh, she wears.
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: No, he actually does, and it, sometimes it's a little irritating. Because it's like, is that new?
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: It's like, well, well--stay out of my closet! Still, we, I think he...
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I'm not rifling through your closet, but I...
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: But he'll, he'll definitely notice.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: ...Will notice.
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: He'll say that, that looks good.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: She's got to sneak in something, you know...
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Like, that's not new.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: She's got that old strategy--no, no, that's old.
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Yeah.
BARBARA WALTERS: Yeah.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Meaning that she bought it a month ago, it's the first time she's wearing it, but...
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Technically.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA:...Technically it's not brand new.
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: It's not new.
BARBARA WALTERS: But that's a problem, isn't it?
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: What?
BARBARA WALTERS: Having to have, you know, different clothes, and, and, and black tie...?
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: You know, that, that...
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The black tie is probably not the biggest...
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: Yeah, really, it's like...That is, that is not a, you know, I mean...
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Yeah. We, we, we, we don't spend a lot of time, uh, feeling sorry for ourselves...
FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA: No, no.