Michelle Obama stopped by The Tonight Show last night for her final late-night appearance as First Lady. Through the show’s Thank You Notes segment, Obama used the occasion to bid farewell to public life, her husband’s administration, and her role in it.
“Thank you, Barack,” she begins, “for proving you’re not a lame duck, but my very own silver fox.”
Host Jimmy Fallon used the opportunity to thank Obama herself, for, among other things, “showing us all what it would look like if Beyonce had married a much nerdier Jay-Z.” “That’s my boo,” Obama responded, as a picture of the president in a pair of sensible jeans and a sweater appeared onscreen. “Mom jeans and all.”
The First Lady may be staying quiet for now on her post-White House plans, but there’s clearly a ravenous appetite for the former law professor to take a leadership position after stepping down from her current perch. “Since you like exercise so much,” one of Fallon’s notes began, “how ’bout running for president?” — to which the audience responded with cheers and applause.
Obama may have inadvertently stoked such desires when she joined Fallon behind his desk for the Thank You Notes bit. “I like this side of the desk,” she commented. “I’m not leaving, I’m not leaving!” Fallon quipped. Too bad.