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Both Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, said that the fact that he was president-elect had not entirely sunk in yet. He told of how he grappled with the notion of becoming the first black president of the United States while surrounded by his family on election night.

“There was a sense of emotion that I could see in people’s faces and — and in my mother-in-law’s face. You know, I mean, you — you think about Michelle’s mom, who grew up — on the west and south sides of Chicago. Who worked so hard to help Michelle get to where she is, her brother to — be successful. She was sitting next to me, actually, as we were watching returns. And she’s like my grandmother was, sort of a no-fuss type of person. And suddenly she just kind of reached out and she started holding my hand, you know. Kind of squeezing it. And you had this sense of, well, what’s she thinking? For a black woman who grew up in the 50s, you know, in a segregated Chicago, to watch her daughter become first lady of the United States. I think there was that sense across the country. And not unique to African-Americans.”