Michelle Obama defended her husband against some of his most vocal critics, saying President Obama did a “phenomenal” job this year and that change is a long-term process.

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“I think my husband has done a phenomenal job staying on course, looking his critics in the eye, coming up with clear solutions against staying the course,” Michelle Obama told Robin Roberts in an exclusive morning television interview on “Good Morning America.” “That’s what leadership is. But people have the right to criticize the president of the United States.”

Michelle Obama’s comments came in response to recent criticism from Sarah Palin, who told Tea Party conventioneers in Nashville, Tenn., this weekend that she wants to ask Obama supporters, “How is that hope-y, change-y stuff working out for you?”

“Rightfully, some people are frustrated, right?” the first lady said. “But one of the things that Barack Obama said and continues to say is change isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight. And it certainly doesn’t happen in a year.

Read More: By JAKE TAPPER, ABC