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Mrs. Obama: Excuse me, everyone.
Oh, that was so good.
I have a couple of things I want to -- first of all,
I want to make sure that you know that using your fingers
is completely fine here, okay?
So don't try to cut those things.
Pick them up; put them in your mouth.
The First Lady has said that it is okay.
Parents, okay?
(laughter)
Don't make them eat with a fork and knife.
Just pick it up.
(laughter)
Now, the second surprise
is that there is someone else here who wanted to say hello --
a dear, dear man in my life, someone who I love deeply,
who is the wind beneath my wings --
(laughter)
-- who is just a very awesome world leader --
the President of the United States, Barack Obama.
(applause)
The President: Well, hello, everybody!
(applause)
Everybody, have a seat, have a seat.
Now, first of all, usually at a state dinner, I get invited.
(laughter)
So I don't know what happened on this one --
somehow the invitation slipped through somewhere.
But it looks like you guys are having fun.
I wanted to come by, first of all,
because everybody looks very nice --
you guys all got dressed up.
Second of all, I hear the food is pretty good.
(laughter)
And I want to say I could not be prouder of the work
that Michelle has done,
her team -- Sam Kass and all of you have,
I really think, lifted up the whole fact that food can be fun,
it can be healthy, and that when you combine it with the work
that Michelle has been doing
and I know all of you are involved with,
with Let's Move, eating healthy, living healthy --
you are setting up habits that are going to be great
for your entire life.
And you're setting a great example for your classmates,
and I suspect you're setting a good example for your parents,
who sometimes may not always be eating as healthy
as they're supposed to.
So you're really making a difference
in all the communities and all the states
all across the country.
We could not be prouder of you.
And we're really proud of you winning this challenge --
because, frankly, I'm not a great cook and --
I'm not bad, but I don't do it that much.
It's hard to find the time.
But when I do cook, I'm following a recipe.
And to think that all of you
have invented all this fabulous food
just shows how creative you are and it shows
that food that tastes good can be healthy, too.
Because I think sometimes we get thinking
that if it's good for you then it must be nasty.
(laughter)
Now, I'll admit that there's some things
that are good for you that don't taste very good.
(laughter)
But it's usually because -- no,
it's usually because they're not prepared right.
So I will just tell you a story.
When I was a kid -- I'm now older than most of your parents,
which is kind of depressing --
but my family, when they cooked vegetables
they would just boil them.
Remember that?
And they'd get all soft and mushy,
and nobody wanted to eat a pea or a Brussels sprout
because they tasted horrible because they were all mush.
And broccoli, it would be all mushy.
And now I actually like vegetables
because they're prepared right.
And so you guys are getting a jump on things
because you're figuring that out earlier.
So I just want to say to all of the young people here,
keep it up.
You guys are going to set a good example for everybody
all across the country.
Because you're eating healthy, and you're out there active
and you're playing sports,
and you're out on the playground and doing all those things,
not only are you going to have a better life,
but you're also helping to create a stronger,
healthier America.
And that saves us money.
It means people are not sick as much.
It means that our health care costs go down.
So everything that you're doing really is having an impact
beyond just fixing a good meal.
And for parents, I want you guys to learn from the example
of your children and keep working on these good recipes.
So I hope everybody has fun.
Again, I couldn't be prouder of my wife
for this whole initiative,
but I'm also thankful to all of you.
And I will come around to the tables
just to say hi to everybody.
But I don't want to be too disruptive,
so everybody kind of stay in their seats.
I will come to you.
(laughter)
And I won't be able to take individual pictures
with everybody because I've got a few other things
going on right now --
(laughter)
-- but my White House photographer
is going to be following us around,
so he'll be taking pictures while I'm shaking hands
with everybody, and everybody will be able to get copies.
All right?
Now, one last thing I'll say -- Michelle never said to me I can
just pick up something with my fingers at a state dinner.
(laughter)
So --
Mrs. Obama: An you can't.
That's not -- we're not doing that.
The President: So that's not fair.
(laughter)
All right, thanks, guys.
(applause)