Michelle Obama on president's drug use: 'He was like many young people' but moved on

Michelle Obama on president's drug use: 'He was like many young people' but moved on

Photo:  AP

Michelle Obama wasn't "taking any bait" Tuesday as late night host Jon Stewart tried to get her to crack a joke about former President George W. Bush.

And the same was true throughout her appearance on "The Daily Show" to promote her new book, "American Grown," as the first lady held back from getting too silly on the Comedy Central show.

Asked by Stewart about her husband's high school and college years, which the host described as "the script of a Cheech and Chong movie," the first lady avoided directly commenting on the president's youthful drug use. New details of his use of marijuana have emerged ahead of the release next month of David Maraniss's deeply reported biography of the young Barack Obama.

"He was like many young people," the first lady said. But, in time, "he realized he could with do more with his life."

"He had a mother who that always saying, you're so gifted, so talented, slap him on the head, 'get yourself together,'" she continued. "When he lost his father that was one of those click-in moments. And he really buckled down, he transferred schools, went to Columbia and thought about how to use his life to the fullest."

Though the first lady's approval rating is solidly above her husband's -- Stewart joked that hers is "like ice cream; your husband's approval rating is like astronaut ice cream" -- Obama said she doesn't try to use it to her advantage in marital disputes.

“I don’t wield it over him,” she said. “One of the things I’ve seen over the last 3 1/2 years, I’ve seen what it takes to be president. I kind of watch this thing pretty closely. You know, the president is getting all the hard decisions, where there is no easy answer.”

Obama said there's no job in the White House she'd want to do, including that of gaffe-prone Vice President Joe Biden. "I love Joe," she said. "He's a great vice president and he's a great friend. My kids hang around with him and I'm good with it."

The first lady's last appearance on Comedy Central was in April, when she marked the anniversary of her Joining Forces initiative for military families.