Roland Martin Previews His Michelle Obama Interview

FYI: Roland Martin will interview Michelle Obama on TVOne, Sunday, August 24th, 8pm EST.

Here is The Official TVOne Press Release.

Here are Roland Martin's thoughts about the interview.:

August 22, 2008
Up close and personal with Michelle Obama

On Wednesday I had a chance to sit down with Michelle Obama for our first ever on-camera interview at the new Trump Hotel in Chicago.

But it wasn't the first time we've chatted on the air.

She has been a guest on my radio show on WVON-AM in Chicago, and the one thing I can say about her is that she hasn't changed one bit since we first met.

Going through a presidential campaign literally changes people. Having Secret Service agents clear rooms before you walk in, as well as having staff members hanging on your every word with their tape recorders and furiously tapping away on their Blackberrys could drive some folks nuts.

But Michelle? Nope. Still playful. Still focused. And still keeping it all in perspective. Truth be told, I guess that's the best way to handle all of the drama of being the spouse of a presidential nominee.

Early on in the campaign, a lot of people weren't too happy with Michelle Obama talking about her husband's stinky socks, forgetting to take out the trash and that nasty smoking habit he used to have. But the reality is that was her way of remaining level-headed about the presidential race and continuing to see her husband as the guy who walked through the Sidley Austin law firm as an intern fresh out of Harvard.

One of the issues that we wanted to achieve at TV One with the interview was not waste our precious time going through intricate policy positions and rehashing a bunch of drama. Frankly, that can be saved for news networks.

Our goal was to get a sense of Michelle and her view of family, and what it mean to the nation - and for her - to be the first African-American First Lady. She spoke consistently about their children, and what this historic moment means to them.

One thing that jumped out was when she talked about the impact of the couple showing intimacy in front of their daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Obama said their daughters are always watching and paying attention, and she found it was important as a parent for her children to see their parents expressing their love for one another publicly.

If you are looking for Michelle expound on taxes, illegal immigration and offshore oil drilling, you're out of luck.But if you are interested in seeing a confident woman share her thoughts on family, faith and the love of her life - Sen. Barack Obama - you'll enjoy the one-hour conversation a lot.

I'm looking forward to it.