When you watch first lady Dr. Jill Biden out on the road in Philadelphia pushing the administration's efforts to get Americans vaccinated, said correspondent Rita Braver, you get a sense of how seriously she takes her role. "I told you, Rita, a long time ago, I think, that I would never waste my platform," Biden said. "And if I can help in any way with this pandemic, if I can help to heal this nation, I want to be in, I want to do this she said.
She wants to do it so much that, at age 70, she will then fly two-and-a-half hours to the solid red state of Oklahoma (one of 35 states she's visited this year), where she meets with the Republican governor and his wife; then, drives another hour-and-a-quarter to show the president's support for members of the Cherokee Nation and their efforts to preserve their native language.
"You are not alone in this endeavor," she told her audience.
"I feel excitement,' Biden replied. "And I'm so happy that they're happy to meet someone who cares about them."
And the Bidens' daughter, Ashley, who usually keeps a low profile, was along for the trip. "She's so excited," said Jill, "because when I said I was coming to Cherokee Nation … 'Mom, can I go?' And I said, 'Of course, you can go."
And aboard an Air Force plane as she traveled back East late that Friday night, Dr. Biden said, "You keep asking me why do I keep going?"
"I do keep asking you that," laughed Braver, "'cause I'm exhausted!"
"Because of days like today. How can you not keep pushing forward every day, to try to make a difference and change people's lives, right?”
And her energy never seemed to flag, when she met Braver the very next day, for a rare visit to Camp David, the rustic presidential retreat in rural Maryland, and a conversation in Rosebud Cottage, to talk about the way she sees her role.
Braver asked, "Do you come up here a lot with the president?"
"Well, we've come, I think, 12 times now."
"Were you prepared for what its like to be the first lady?"
"I think it's a little harder than I imagined," Biden replied. "It's not like a job that you do; it's a lifestyle that you live. It's 24 hours a day."
Dr. Biden, the first president's wife in history to work outside the residence, is still teaching in-person classes two days a week at Northern Virginia Community College.
Braver asked, "I know, for example, that you came home from giving a final exam, changed your clothes and went to the Christmas tree lighting … I think some people would say, 'Hey, you've earned it, you've proven it, it's okay, you can hang up your text books now.' Why haven't you done that?"
"Because teaching really is who I am; it's a part of life for me," she replied. "And when I go into the classroom, people accept me for being their English teacher. And that's a gift. I mean, that's a gift they give to me."
But though Jill Biden is a long-time advocate for free community college, the president has now dropped it from his "Build Back Better" bill.
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