First lady Michelle Obama was all smiles Monday morning at the annual National Governors Association, where she told the crowd that staying up late for her surprise Oscars appearance "was well worth it."
"I hope you all got some rest after last night. We had a good time, a little tired. If you noticed, I stayed up a little bit later, a little bit longer than I anticipated, but it was well worth it," said
Obama.
Obama, flanked by service members at the White House, showed up via satellite at the tail end of the Sunday broadcast to
deliver the final award of the evening for Best Picture, which was bestowed upon the Ben Affleck film "Argo."
After being introduced by veteran actor Jack Nicholson, Obama said of the nine Best Picture nominees, “They reminded us that we can overcome any obstacle if we dig deep enough, and fight hard enough, and find the courage to believe in ourselves.”
The first lady is known to be an "early bird." In an interview with
CBS's "60 Minutes" last year, President Obama admitted that his wife is often in bed by 9:30 p.m.
“Well, I’m a night guy, as it is. And so, Michelle usually goes to bed about 9:30. She’s an early bird, maybe 10:00. The girls go to bed around 10:00," he said.
At the annual governors gathering, the first lady called for action to to help veterans returning home find jobs through programs aimed at converting military training to civilian employment.
"We want to make it easier for those who served as medics or drivers in the military to get new jobs as paramedics and nurses and physicians' assistants or truck drivers," Obama said. "And since the credentials and licenses for those jobs are issued through the states, that means that all of you, as America's governors, have a very unique responsibility and opportunity to address this issue."
Read more on Obama's remarks at the National Governors Association on The Hill's Blog Briefing Room.
