what he said in the campaign. for instance, he was asked about the infamous "access hollywood" tape and he admitted today what trump said on that tape would have been the equivalent of sexual assault. so we're seeing the institutional washington sort of confine some of these grandiose promises that trump had. >> another important day coming up tomorrow. that's it for me. thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "erin burnett out front" starts right now. a very special edition of "out front." the president bidding farewell to the nation tonight. after eight years president obama returns to where it all began, right here. we are live in chicago tonight. let's go out front. it is the final farewell for president barack obama, the 44th president of the united states,

arriving just moments ago here in his hometown of chicago to give his final address to the nation. in this hall before some 20,000 friends and supporters who will gather here at the president's side tonight, the first lady. tomorrow morning's return trip to the white house will mark their final scheduled trip on board air force one. there is a lot of excitement in the air tonight, people getting ready, filing in hours early. free tickets to this historic speech. of course now some selling for um to $5,000 according to the "chicago sun-times" tonight. the president has been planning his good-bye speech himself. he's been doing it for weeks and he's gone through at least four drafts, making last-minute edits on the flight here. the presidential farewell address is a tradition that goes back to george washington. this will be the first given by a departing president from his hometown. barack obama's presidency was born in this city on election night in 2008. we all remember a quarter

million people there to hear him, his young family at his side declaring in his words, quote, change has come to america. president obama leaves office riding on a wave of popularity. it is his highest approval rating tonight in seven years. tonight's speech will focus on his vision for the future. he gave a small preview on facebook today writing, "over the course of my life i have been reminded time and again that change can happen, that ordinary people can come together to achieve extraordinary things. we've made america a better, stronger place for the generations that will follow." we are counting down to the full address to president obama's farewell speech. we begin with michelle kosinski here with me in chicago at mccormick place. a speech he was even editing on the flight here. he's here in chicago. what can we expect tonight? >> he's been working on this for upwards of a week, at least. you can imagine the task at

hand. trying to encapsulate all that's happened in eight years, trying to touch on what just happened in america with this election, and then moving forward. the way the white house has framed it is he wants to strike an optimistic tone. he wants to look at the challenges america faces moving forward. he wants to propose the best ways in his view to tackle those challenges. he wants to offer advice. part of that is to the next administration but also to everyday people out there. the white house released just a few excerpts of his speech and he talks about where he came from, his roots, you know, starting out here in chicago, talking about how ordinary people working together is how change happens, how things get done. the white house says he wants to focus on american values, on diversity, on hard work, fairness, and justice, and pull

all that together somehow into one approximately half-hour-long speech. i think it will be interesting to see how he touches on the divisions in america. does he touch on race, does he touch on what happened during this election. because as we saw him out so many times, an unprecedented effort on the campaign trail trying to boost his own record but also trying to say that america really isn't as divided as some say. he kind of stopped talking about that so much as it got down to it. so how will he address those very real divisions right now, erin. >> all right. michelle, thank you very much. going to be about a half an hour. obviously there will be a lot of performances as well. doug brinkley, our presidential historian, stephanie cutter, senior adviser to president obama, david axelrod, also former senior adviser to president obama. he's been helping the president with tonight's address.

austan goolsbee. lynn suite from the "chicago sun-times," who's covered then barack obama well before he was president. keith boykin, former clinton white house aide and kayla mcinterknee, a conservative columnist. i heard four edits and probably more than that. >> i've had a couple conversations with the speechwriters and chatted with the president. i'm struck by the fact you noted george washington's speech and he set the tone for these farewell addresses. his message to the nation was that there was strength in unity and the greatest threat to our country was disunity. i suspect there will be echoes of that in this speech tonight. i think that tonight is not going to be a night for doing victory laps so much as talking about the future and talking about our democracy and what we have to do to keep it strong and vibrant. i think that will be the essence of what he says. >> is he emotional?

a lot of people in this room will be moved to tears tonight. >> yeah. it's funny, i have a drawer full of drenials that go back to the first events we held in 2007. tonight i picked up my credential and said the president's farewell address and i got choked up just picking that credential up. there of course is going to be that feeling in the room and he's going to feel it himself. there's an emotional connection to chicago and to come back to where it all began. how can you not? >> right. you would think, and so many of you were here in the beginning. stephanie, you were with him at the beginning. hope and change was his mantra. donald trump now of course is going to be coming into the white house. did trump's win affect his message tonight, what he's trying to say, how he feels as opposed to it being a victory lap versus something else? >> well, david would know that

better than i would. i would imagine that tonight is a little bit of a different speech than he would have given if hillary clinton had won the presidency. we're at a critical time in our country and we need hope and change more now than ever. i think the president -- as david said it won't be a victory lap, but he'll talk about some of the change he has brought about making this country a much more fair and just country. i think it will be a message looking forward about we need to stay the course and all of us can effect change. for those who may have lost the election, don't give up. we can still effect change. for those that won the election, let's work together. i think that's the kind of message we'll hear tonight. >> the significance of where we are. just today, spending a few hours before this event, you saw the people coming to hear him speak. these are his passionate supporters, people who love him. we saw someone with a my brother's keeper jacket on the

back. this is very significant. these addresses are usually given from the oval office, almost always, in fact. never from an adopted hometown as chicago is for him. >> always from the oval office or a state of the union address that might count as a farewell. george herbert walker bush gave a speech at west point that some consider his farewell address. nothing like this. this is a rock 'n' roll concert, a political rally. the energy level is high and the amount of love in this city for the president coming back here to this presidential center is sky-high. >> one of the messages of having it here is what stephanie spoke of. he believes change begins from the bottom up. so to mark this moment with sort of grassroots folks who have supported him from the beginning underscores that message about the vitality of democracy. >> lynn, you've covered him from the very beginning. before he was running for president, you've known him for

a very long time. he and his wife left washington tonight, the last time they expect to leave washington as president and first lady of the united states. a final flight on air force one. how emotional is this for them and their daughters? >> if i'm guessing what it is, this is the only thing their daughters have known, really. >> they were so very young. >> and we remember the pictures from dpragrant park and now the grown-up young women. how could you not be emotional? this is not just the president's journey. this is the family's journey. this is mrs. obama's journey who ended up as a very popular first lady. she'll make her final public appearance on jimmy fallon where she's shown she is a terrific -- a terrific personality.

as stephanie knows, tentative as she was at the beginning of first term, even getter her to do some shtick, everything was a little more cautious, to where she now has fully embraced social media and is kind of the -- >> the most popular democratic voice in this country. pretty clear. also the importance of chicago tonight. it's a town that he may come back to. of course he'll be living in washington, which carries his own level of awkwardness. but this speech tonight is in a city where murder rates have soared in the past year. there is frustration here. some say he didn't do enough for the city. does he feel an a guilt or obligation, a reason he wants to be here tonight? >> probably an obligation. it's got both sides. the magic of grant park wasn't far away from where we're

sitting tonight. but of all states in the union actually the state of illinois is the most resembling of the nation as a whole, a microcosm. i think it's totally appropriate that he would do it here. the country tends to grind up our political leaders while they're in office and venerate them when they leave. >> his approval ratings just surged. >> as we come to the end of the administration, you can see it on the faces of the people in the audience here. he's a decent man. he's confronted by a lot of tough challenges and he did a good job in my opinion. >> you can see the setup. 20,000 people in this room. they've been queueing for a long time to get inside. the emotion of the people coming here. i saw a lot of people under 30. they are coming in droves. >> i think that's right. he's representing not only a youth generation but a lot of

people who saw hope and change in his administration and in his campaign. i've known barack obama since we were in young, in law school together, and to see him be elected president -- >> i have to say, maybe it's that you don't have hair, but the presidency ages people. >> he was a year ahead of me. just to watch this young man who grew up from being editor of the law review to being president of the united states and eight years later the end of his administration. this is a sad moment for me. to know his administration will be book ended by two republicans, george w. bush before him and donald trump after him, it alds a certain sense of somberness to it as well. >> does he feel any sense of defeat because of that? >> i don't think he's someone who feels a sense of defeat. i think he reflects on events and thinks about how to move forward. you're going to hear that tonight. as michelle said, i think there will be an optimistic tone to this. i do want to mention about chicago, yes, if you go north,

you get to grant park where -- if you go a few miles south you're in the neighborhoods when he first came as young man to become a community organizer in the shadow of steel mill where is he faced all kinds of despair and helped forge small victories. he's not a guy who feels defeat. he's someone who looks for ways forward. >> that's the feeling we'll have tonight. you all are staying with us as we're counting down for this moment in history as it is, the farewell speech of barack obama, our president. coming up, a cnn exclusive report. intelligence officials presented donald trump with claims of russian efforts to compromise him. the breaking details coming up. and also a farewell to the first lady and the two little girls who are now two very striking and very successful young women. and the highs and lows of eight years in office.

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welcome back. we are live in chicago just moments away from president obama's farewell address to the nation. breaking news in the nation's capital. straight to jake tapper from washington. >> cnn has learned that the nation's top intelligence officials provided information to president-elect donald trump and to president barack obama last week about claims of russian efforts to compromise the president-elect donald trump. this information was provided as part of last week's intelligence briefings regarding russian efforts to undermine the 2016 u.s. elections. jim sciutto, evan perez, and carl bernstein and i have been work ong this story. i'll bring in my colleagues. jim, walk us through the basic story of what we know.

>> okay. multiple u.s. officials with direct knowledge of these briefings tell cnn classified documents on russian interference in the 2016 u.s. election presented last tweak to president obama and president-elect trump included allegations that russian operatives claimed to have compromising personal and financial information about mr. trump. the allegations were part of a two-page synopsis based on memos compiled by a former british intelligence operative whose past work u.s. intelligence officials consider to be credible. the fbi is investigating the credibility and accuracy of the investigations which are based primarily on information from russian sours but is not yet confirmed. many essential details in the memos about mr. trump. those briefings were presented by four of the most senior intelligence chiefs, james clapper, the fbi director james comey, cia director john brennan, and nsa director admiral mike rogers.

the two-page synopsis also included allegations that there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between trump surrogates and intermediaries for the russian government. this according to two national security officials. cnn has confirmed the synopsis was included in the documents that were presented to mr. trump. we cannot confirm it was discussed in his meeting with the intelligence chiefs as well. to be clear, the trump transition team have declined to comment, as did the officer of the director of the national telgs and the fbi, but jake, i know you're reaching out for comment. >> we reached out to the trump team earlier today. we are still waiting for them to give us a response to this information that cnn broke earlier today. i just want to put a button on the point you said, this synopsis was an addendum to the intelligence community report on the hacking, not part of it. >> that's right. the intelligence community report on the hacking focused on did russia hack the election,

their assessment, yes. why? to help donald trump. thfls appended to that focused on these allegations of personal and financial compromising information about mr. trump. so not part of that initial and overall assessment. >> evan perez, we have allegations being made by russians and they're saying, a, they have compromising personal and financial information about the president-elect. b, they had exchanges with the trump team throughout 2016. what the intelligence officials did not do is say we know these things are true. they say russians are claiming it, that they believe. why bring up this information if the fbi and the intelligence community is still investigating it and hasn't corroborated it? why bring it to the president-elect? >> for a couple reasons. the intelligence cheechs decided to include these summaries in a way to remind donald trump that this information was out there, that these allegations involving

him were circulating among some of the highest level officials including intelligence agencies, members of congress, government officials in washington. several officials with knowledge of the briefings tell cnn is information was included in part to demonstrate in part russia had compiled information potentially harmful to both political parties but only released information damaging to hillary clinton and the democrats. this synopsis was not an official part of the report from the intelligence community. that was focusing on the russian hacks. some officials say it augmented the evidence that moscow intended to harm clinton's candidacy and help donald trump. >> let me bring in the legendary carl bernstein. this information did not start with u.s. intelligence officials or with the fbi or u.s. law enforcement officials. where did it come from originally? >> the information was developed by former british mi6 operative

with great experience in the former soviet union and russia. he had been hired by a washington opposition research group that in turn had been looking for information about trump for clients who were opposed to trump's candidacy in both the republican and democratic parties. as they developed in washington this information about donald trump's business ties in russia, the russian businessmen, it began to look to them as if there were a deeper story. they hired the former mi6 guy in london. he went to his sources, sources over many years apparently he'd cultivated in russia, and they began to tell him ostensibly about their knowledge of relationships with donald trump, with businesses that he was associated, and it became a ball that started rolling from there if we are to believe these assertions. then at a certain point the mi6 man in london thought the

information was sufficient to take to the fbi himself. he walked it into an fbi station in rome where he knew a colleague in the intelligence business in august, gave him the information. it came back to washington. then subsequently a former ambassador to russia from great britain also became aware of this information, brought it to the attention of senator john mccain, a 35-page report prepared by the mi6 agent of these purported allegations. and mccain thought it sufficient and serious enough that he took it to director james comey of the fbi himself. they had a meeting. it has been left at the fbi by senator mccain and people are kuwaiting to see what these investigations are going to produce. >> in october, senator harry reid wrote a letter to james comey, the director of the fbi, after a classified briefing.

halfry reid at the time was at the time one of the so-called gang of eight of the intelligence communities in the house and senate. he said to director comey, you possess explosive information about close ties in coordination between donald trump, his top advisers, and the russian government, a foreign interest openly hostile to the united states, which trump praises at every opportunity. today harry reid reached out -- his spokesman issued a statement saying harry reid's statements and letters from last year speak for themselves. who else would know this information? >> to be clear, as we've established, intelligence community has it, they're investigating. the fbi has it, they're investigating. we know senior congressional leaders have it, the same day the president-elect got his briefing, you have the so-called gang of eight. these are the top four congressional leaders welles the chairman and ranking members of the house and senate intelligence communities, this gang of eight were provided with

the synopsis of the moment mows. this gets to the sensitivity. only the president, the president-elect and that gang of eight got this synopsis. it was not included in the report that was shared more broadly with members of congress. that gets to the sensitivity here. that said, the essential allegations in there have not been confirmed. but agencies have looking at them. >> one of the most interesting subtexts going on today, evan perez, the senate intelligence committee had a hearing today about russian hacking. it seemed as though members of the senate intelligence community had heard some of this, at least about whether or not any campaign was working with the russian government and -- let's run a clip. there's this part of the hearing. senator ron widen asked the fbi director if he could say anything about it. comey kind of dodged, then senator angus king, independent from maine, did a follow-up on

behalf of his colleague, putting it again to fbi director comey. >> mr. comey, is there an investigation under way as to connections between either of the political campaigns and the russians? >> i didn't say one way or another. >> you didn't say -- >> that was my intention, at least. >> you didn't say one way or another whether there's an investigation under way. >> correct. especially in a public forum we never confirm or deny a pending investigation. >> the irony of your making that statement here i cannot avoid, but i'll move on. >> we sometimes think differently about closed investigations. >> that at the end a little reference to director comey's comments about hillary clinton's investigation into her. it seems as though members of the intelligence community want the fbi director to be more forthcoming about whether or not they think the trump campaign was coordinating or at least

whether or not this is being investigated, with russia. >> comey was definitely not going to open that question in an open setting. he said in a classified setting i could perhaps provide you with more information. we know they've been looking at people surrounding the trump campaign and people who are intermediaries of the kremlin. this is at the top of the list of concerns for the intelligence community as well as for the fbi. they want to know whether or not the intelligence activity of the russian government -- how far it extend. i think this is of utmost importance. again, we're not saying that they found anything or how far it goes, but it has drawn their interest and it's an ongoing matter. since the election, definitely something back up and running. >> we snow senators democrat and republican want to dig deeper, particularly on these alleged communications between the trump campaign, surrogates, and

russian government officials during the campaign. >> carl, what possible reason do intelligence experts you've spoken with, what do they think is the purpose of these top intelligence officials telling donald trump and president obama there is all this information out there and it comes from sources that we've checked out and they seem credible and our sources' sources also seem credible? >> it seems possible there's a determination by the senior officials of the intelligence community in washington to ensure that this event, these reports are thoroughly investigated. we have a new administration coming in. some of these officials might not serve in the new administration. it seems that they laid down markers that will make it impossible for their successors not to follow through with investigations. they deem it serious enough, these assertions, that they want to see that it's investigated in the new administration.

>> all right. carl bernstein, evan perez, jim sciutto, thank you so much. erin burnett, back to you. >> thank you very much, jake tapper. obviously a crucial breaking news report. here we are awaiting president obama. we understand he is at a local restaurant in chicago. he is now going to come where we are as we count you down to his good-bye address to the nation. his farewell speech tonight. plus, michelle obama, her equally historic eight years as first lady. perhaps the biggest question is what is next for her. and some memorable moments from the obama years including his emotional words after the massacre at sandy hook elementary school. >> every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. and by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago every day. [ gears stopping ] when your pain reliever stops working,

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live in chicago, president obama will be saying good-bye to the nation tonight. the first time a departing president has given the farewell address from his, in barack

obama's case, his adopted hometown. he'll take the stage shortly. michelle kosinski out front on the triumphs and some of the disappointments of president obama's eight years as president. >>. >> reporter: a homecoming and a good-bye. some 20,000 strong will see president obama deliver his farewell speech where his political career began. >> i might cry. >> reporter: some waiting here 14 hours. >> i have been successful for the last eight years because of this man. i'll continue to be successful because of his legacy. >> reporter: the eight years making history. he rarely misses a chance to lament his boyish looks and dark hair. >> i was a skinny guy with a funny name. when i look back at the pictures of me speaking back then, i look really young. >> reporter: from his victory speech -- >> because of what he did on this day, in election, at this

defining moment, change has come to america. >> reporter: to the wind do you think. a presidency both acclaimed and derided in a starkly divided america. >> one of the few regrets of my presidency that the rancor, the suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. >> reporter: his most applauded actions and great controversy, among his proudest accomplishments the weathering of america's economic crisis. >> [ bleep ]. >> reporter: also on his list, the passage of obamacare, the killing of osama bin laden, the iran nuclear deal, reopening of negotiations with cuba. but during that time congress turned when both houses went republican in his second term, his executive actions -- >> i've got a pen and i've got a phone. >> reporter: -- riled congress even more. his immigration plan now on hold. obamacare about to be dis mantled. he ended america's two long wars

but found himself embroiled in another against isis. not long after those often-quoted words calling it a jv t. president obama's administration saw the legalization of gay marriage though congress blocked his latest choice to sit on that court on education, high school graduate rates at an all-time high and president obama has made it his mission to expand access to college to try to close gaps between rich and poor, black and white. >> i'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem. i know that because i know america. >> reporter: his strongest emotion broke through whenever he spoke about gun violence. the limits on his ability to restrict access to high-powered weapons. >> from every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun, every time

i think about those kids it gets me mad. >> we saw this unprecedented effort by him on the campaign trail for hillary clinton, but of course he was also fighting for his own legacy. that defeat was a blow for him too. tonight he wants to seize on optimism, looking at ways forward. he's leaving office a very popular president. his latest approval ratings are approaching bill clinton numbers, but he's absolutely been buffeted by these strong winds of change, division, and uncertainty. >> michelle, thank you very much. my panel is back with us. bill burton also joins me, former deputy press secretary

under president obama. bill, let me start with you. his signature piece of legislation is obamacare. he took it on as his own. he told "the new york times" today, we have to get to business. obamacare has been a catastrophic event. how big a blow will it be to president obama if it's the first thing to go? >> he'd say it would be a big blow to the american people much more than him personally. you can't overstate how hard it was to get health care done. we went through these long periods of time where people thought it was dead. i wish david axelrod was still here. we were prepping gibbs for his briefing and i said what should he say if obama is dead? without missing a beat, axelrod goes health care's not dead, it's just sleeping. but it came roaring back. now i think president-elect trump and the republican congress will have a very hard time if they think they can get rid of a system of health care

where it protects people that have pre-existing conditions, allows kids to stay op health care for longer and going back to a place you could get denied health insurance because pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition is going to be a very difficult political thing for trump and republicans who do let alone completely senseless. >> trump a is aware of this. he's afraid of all of a sudden they do something and all the faults of obamacare become trump care. >> that's right. president-elect trump acknowledged the popular parts needed to stay, pre-existing conditions, kids staying on. he has a huge task and so does the republican congress. you can't just take it away without a replacement. >> we saw him at sandy hook, crying and reflecting how the nation felt.

fs incredible that the nation did nothing about gun control. he has spoken at gun attack after gun attack with increasing anger. here he is. >> the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years to old. once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. this is a political choice we make. to allow this to happen every few months in america. these kinds of tragedies have happened too often during the eight years i've been president. >> he has signed executive actions again and again but not a single law has changed. how does that affect him? this mattered deeply to him.

>> few things frustrate him as much as the lack of action on gun safety particularly talking about first and second-graders who lost their lives because of the lack of gun safety. the fact we don't have it is because of pure politics makes it worse. it will be interesting to see if he speaks about it tonight, how we address violence in this country. gun safety, gun control would be top five if not top two on his list. >> does he bring it up tonight? executive action, donald trump can undo all of these with executive action on day one. many think he will. >> i don't think if he'll do it on guns, not, you know, the broad center of the country

seems to be in agreement about preventing the violently mentally ill from getting weapons. >> of course it happened in ft. lauderdale again on friday. >> with a lot of executive orders i kind of think president trump is going to experience his obi-wan kenobi moment, remember in the "star wars" movie, darth vader comes out to fight the light sabre battle and says if you strike me down now, i shall become more powerful than you ever imagined. pi think the more he gets rid of b, then when things go wrong -- when obama comes into office, the economy is not doing well, epically bad. as we have turned that around to be something more solid when we didn't have a depression, any stumble in the economy people are going to say what did you do, donald trump? it was going well when you took over. >> millions of jobs have been

created since barack obama took office. not just getting back to even, net jobs created. yet we saw in this election, people didn't feel it. he does not get credit for that job creation because people didn't feel the wealth creation. >> partly true. i remember when ronald reagan declared there was mourning in america 1984, unemployment was higher -- it was 7.8%. unemployment is now 4.7%. he gets no credit for that. everybody has excuses as to why that's not acceptable. the reality is we were losing 800,000 jobs a month and now we're gaining almost 200,000 jobs a month. i think president obama tonight, i hope he at least -- david says he won't take a victory lap, but i hope he acknowledges we are better off than we were eight years ago. >> one other point i want to make, many promises he made, things he cared about.

one was the middle east. that much vaunted speech in tie kai row. historic and unprecedented moment in and of itself. he had a huge goal for the middle east. many of them. here's what he said in cairo. >> the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states where israelis and palestinians each live in peace and security. >> eight years later, no resolution, israeli settlements expanding. 500,000 in the west bank according to human rights watch. you have isis, syria, russia in syria. this is an area of his legacy that at least at this point has not lived up to any of the hopes and promises that he has. >> very hard to get a good outcome in the middle east. he famously gave his nobel prize speech talking about go into

warfare with a new kind of way. but he gets credit for iraq and afghanistan, but the hope of arab spring fizzled. the facebook revolution that was going to happen with young people on the streets boomeranged. the low moment of his presidency may be the red line in syria not met but not sending in troops in the long run. >> as we get ready for the president coming here momentarily, he's at a restaurant, nearby. you all know where the restaurant is. >> here his gnome home and the university of chicago. >> with michelle obama. tonight perhaps abequally important moment for michelle obama. here's what she said a couple days ago.

>> being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life and i hope i've made you proud. >> thank you. >> that was the first lady. very motion nal delivering her final address at the white house a few days ago. this is a family that is wildly popular across the country and obviously in chicago. the nad is even more popular than her husband. that what does tonight mean for her? she came into this so reluctantly and has emerged as a political star in her own right. >> part is because with the help of people like stephanie cutter early on, she decided to make herself into a brand and she was very judicious, who she would talk to, what events she would go at. she was very careful as to where she would devote herself. more important, she picked four

what in hindsight looked like terrific causes to be her initiatives. let's move, which is healthy eating and exercise. joining forces with dr. jill biden, who will be here tonight, helping military families and the families of veterans. her vet girls learn, which is done domestically and globally. she also has an event with the arts. some of these organizations she's already set out, erin, they have nonprofit structures, some of them behind them, so she could carry on with them. and of course let's remember literally the seeds of her popularity were planted with that white house garden which no one at the time knew would become in a sense her first major success in the white house, though no one knew at the time it would lead to this healthy eating and childhood crusade against obesity.

it didn't happen by accident. >> reading the labels, for example. she came in as a woman with an incredible professional success. and some say that rubs some people the wrong way and that she became much more successful as a first lady when she focused on her role as a mother and a caregiver, obviously crucial to her, no matter whether she was a professional or not, but something she emphasized more and more. here she is at the two conventions talking about her daughters. >> i come here as a mom, as a mom whose girl are the heart of my heart and center of my world. they're the first thins e think about when i wake up in the morning and the last thing i think about when i go to bed at night. you see, at the end of day, my most important title is still mom in chief. my daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world.

>> will that be her legacy? >> i have to say from the moment i met her early on in the early days she was always a mom first. that was her primary concern, to make sure those two girls could grow up and be whatever they wanted to be and do it on their terms even in the public eye. i disagree with one thing lynn said. it wasn't with the help of people like me. michelle obama was a star from the beginning. the only difference was she fully intended to be a private person for her life yet was married to this person who would become president. >> i was paying you a compliment, stephanie. >> i know. >> that's what you do. you help people do this. >> i know. thank you. but i just wanted to clarify that there is nobody -- i think few people would disagree with this, that knows how to communicate better, is more comfortable in her own skin and understands the position that she's in in terms of a responsibility to ip spire young women across the country and

over the world. >> what's next for her? when you say that, that naturalness, that is what she has. that, for example, hillary clinton does not have. michelle obama has the natural charisma and connectivity of a politician. >> but she is not a politician. >> but she doesn't want to be one. >> no, she doesn't. she also has integrity and grals about her. it's been extraordinary.ce about her. it's been extraordinary. she might do something like oprah winfrey's magazine, try to get school kids moving, continue to help build a center in chicago in the south side. she wanted it in the south side, not on lake michigan where the purists are going but where her neighborhood she loves could revitalize itself. she'll be active in a grassroots way. boy, her memoir will be popular. it might even outsell barack obama's memoir. they'll each get paid quite a bit of money because they are two popular people. >> she is very popular. she'll do another late night

show, her final good-bye. here are some of her best moments. ♪ oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ >> oh. >> what can we say? we just dropped the mike. don't tell people about my rash. >> a rash that she has. where is the rash? what area were you telling me about? >> my shoulder. >> lower than that. >> keith, you've known her a long time. is she going to miss that? >> the reality is i've not known her a long time. i met her when she became first lady. i never knew her in law school. she has this relatable personality. when i met her in the white house for the first time she hugged me like she'd known me

her entire life. as an african-american, it's been a joy to watch her on this national stage. i'm good friends with her hairstylist and we were just texting a few moments ago about what this means. she's become this icon in not only african-american culture but american culture. >> with a much envied hair style and stylist, i should say. all of it, yes. a quick word, something melania trump can learn from. >> just be yourself. that's what michelle obama did and that's why america loves her, the most popular politician on the democratic side, arguably overall in either party. she's a very likable woman. she's very relatable and she was just herself. i think if melania goes in and is hearse, she'll have the same success. >> thank you very much, all of you. we count you down to president barack obama's final address. well e we'll hear from the people in the audience who have been gathering all day. they braved the elements to come here to see him. what do they want to hear from

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you're born and raised in chicago. you supported the president from the beginning. >> i did. i got out and really rallied for this president from day one. >> tell me how you feel to want. this is emotion fl for you. >> it is. this country was in dire straits and this president has done a great job. to see him leave is kind of difficult for myself but the country is better off right now and he'll still be there for all of us. i think that's where we are currently. >> the other day we talked about a community organizer in chicago, some frustration where people feel the murder rate has gone up in the past year. he's visited the city 28 times. it's obviously a city he loves. but there's frustration that he didn't do everything he could for chicago. when you hear that, do you feel anything true about that for you or no? >> not at all. as a president, you have to look globally as opposed to city

wide. you can't put a president in one city and say he has to speak on a particular city because that's where he's from. that's an injus us the fir him. he loves chicago. his heart is here i'm sure and he'll do everything after hi president ti. i'm sure he's done a lot of things during his president ti that will gate him into the way moving forward. >> what are you listening for? we understand it will be about a half an hour. what are you listening for and do you think that there will be tears in your eyes tonight? >> i know there will be. just being here issen ean emoti experience for me, one. i'm looking to hear him say, america, let's rally around our new president, make this happen for all of us. it's not about one side, one party. it's about everyone that's here tonight in this country, you know, the world. we have to think about a ghoebl picture as opposed to one particular party or person. >> as much as you are a supporter of his, you want to hear him stay embrace donald trump, move on.

>> i want him to say donald trump is our new president,ly support him wholly and give him my feedback as i see it and hopefully he accepts it. if not, we'll continue to move in a direction that will accept us succeed. >> thank you so much for being with us. good luck tonight. as you see, i think frankly looking a little emotional talking to me. a lot of people feel that way. it will be a special moment for so many year across the country. thanks for watching. anderson is next. good evening from chicago. if carl sandberg were writing a poem today he might add a phrase or two to city of the big shoulders, something along the lines of launching pad for a president or writer of history. at mccormick place, president obama will look back on his time in the white house and by extension his place in the payments of american history. the president and first family arriving at o'hare on air force