Obamas signal shared retreat from public eye as Michelle says she wants a 'quieter life'

WASHINGTON, DC: For the first time in nearly a decade of retirement, Barack and Michelle Obama are speaking candidly about what’s next, and it sounds less like a political resurrection and more like a purposeful retreat.

In a rare joint television interview with ABC News ahead of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Michelle admitted she would “very much prefer a quieter life” for the couple.

Obama explained why he has deliberately resisted returning to the center of American politics despite persistent calls from supporters.

Barack Obama embraces mentor role after presidency

Obama acknowledged that many Democrats would like him to be more vocal in today's political climate but said he now views his role differently than when he occupied the Oval Office.

"You pick and choose your spots," he said, explaining that he now thinks of himself "less as a player" and more as "a coach" for a new generation of leaders.

To explain that philosophy, Obama pointed to America's first president. He said George Washington deliberately stepped away after completing his time in office, returning home instead of remaining at the center of national politics.

"He kind of said, 'All right, I've done my stint. And now I'm going back home,'" Obama said, adding that while some people want him "out every day banging the drum," Michelle has long preferred a quieter chapter of life together.

Still, Obama expressed confidence that new leaders will emerge despite today's political divisions.

"People are a little discouraged right now," he said. "But I believe that we go through these cycles, and there's going to be a younger generation that pops up."

Obama Presidential Center aims to inspire leaders

Rather than returning to electoral politics, the Obamas said they hope their new presidential center will inspire future generations to lead.

With the Obama Presidential Center, part of the hope, Obama said, is to "encourage the next generation of leadership."

The center's campus spans 19 acres in Chicago's Jackson Park, just steps from the University of Chicago. It will cost $850 million and feature 3.7 acres of parkland, offices for the Obama Foundation, an auditorium for public events, public art and athletic facilities, and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library.

The Obama presidential archives are fully digital, in partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration.

In addition to highlighting his legislative accomplishments, the museum also tells the story of Obama's political rise and how the core messages of “hope” and “change” were critical to his first presidential campaign.

Despite the harsh partisanship of today’s political culture, Michelle said those messages are still possible.

“People just have to be fed up enough. They have to want more," she said. "And I think the presidential center hopefully will remind people of just how close we are to moving this country in the direction that we want to move it in."

For a couple long viewed as potential power brokers within the Democratic Party, the interview suggested that their biggest political investment going forward may not be in another campaign, but in preparing the generation that comes after them.

"The premise of this country is everybody gets a right to say, 'No, I don't agree with that. I challenge that. No, Obama, I think you're making a mistake,' you know?" he said.

"And then we have a conversation about it, and then it gets settled in an election. And if enough people decide I didn't know what I was doing, then you move on to the next person."