Michelle Obama has electrified the Democratic Convention in
Philadelphia imploring the party of her husband to “knock on every door”
to ensure Hillary Clinton is the next American president.
With an intensity of passion the country had never seen before, the
first lady delivered a primetime address driving home her commitment to
supporting Ms Clinton while offering pointed digs at her Republican
foe, Donald Trump, while never once mentioning his name.
“Don’t let anyone tell you this country isn’t great,” Ms Obama
declared, thrilling a sports arena in Philadelphia that was packed to
capacity on the convention’s first night. “That somehow we need to make
it great again. Because this right now is the greatest country on
earth.“
In a speech that emphasised children, including her own daughters, Ms
Obama offered the most poignant evidence of the progress America has
made when she noted the history of black Americans who “felt the lash of
bondage” and the “sting of segregation”.
“I wake up every day in a house that was built by slaves,” she
declared before reflecting that now she can look out and “watch my
daughters, two intelligent black young women, play with their dog on the
White House lawn.”
Raising the volume in a speech that won a rapturous reception, Ms
Obama exhorted Democrats to work as hard as they can to deny Republicans
victory in November. It was a case being made by a serving first lady
on behalf, of course, of someone who had held that position before her.
It was also a case, however, made by a wife, who eight years ago had
invested all her emotions in blocking the rise of that same Ms Clinton
who threatened her own husband’s rise and bid for the White House. But
that was then. And between then and now, they have worked often
together.
“Hear me,” she cried, “between now and November we need to do what we
did eight years ago and four years ago. We need to knock on every door,
we need get out every vote, we need outpour every last ounce of our
passion and strength” to make sure Ms Clinton is president.
“I want someone with the proven strength to persevere, someone who
knows this job and takes it seriously, someone who understands the
issues a president faces are not black and white,“ Mrs. Obama. Referring
to Trump’s penchant for practising politics by the medium of Twitter,
she said of the presidency: “It cannot be boiled down to 140
characters.“
With former Bill Clinton in the hall to cheer her on, Ms Obama was
clearly emotional as she spelled out her admiration for the former first
lady – who on Thursday will be on the stage herself to accept the
Democratic nomination – and highlighting the contrasts between her and
Mr Trump.
Once a reluctant participant in the political sphere, the first lady
has grown into a potent cultural icon in America, a journey that
recently included her appearance as guest on carpool karaoke segment
made popular by the British comedian and now late-night TV host, James
Corden, singing – or rocking – with Mr Corden and, in the last minutes,
Missy Elliott.
But on Monday night in Philadelphia she also showed a new
willingness to engage directly in the political drama that the 2016
election has become, driven clearly by her own alarm at the nature of
the man challenging Ms Clinton.
“When you have the nuclear codes at you fingertips and military at
your command, you can’t make snap decisions,” she said. “You can’t have
thin skin or a tendency to lash out. You need to be steady and
well-informed. I want a president with a record of public service,
someone who’s life work shows our children we don’t chase fame and
fortune for ourselves.”
“She has made all of us proud,” Senator Bernie Sanders said of Ms
Obama at the start of his own speech that came later and triggered an
even greater festival of frenzy in the hall. Her husband, Barack Obama,
expressed his pride in a Tweet. “Incredible speech by an incredible woman,” he said.
Incredible speech by an incredible woman. Couldn’t be more proud & our country has been blessed to have her as FLOTUS. I love you, Michelle.— President Obama (@POTUS) July 26, 2016
This presidential election “is about who will have the power to shape
our children for the next four or eight years of our lives,” Ms Obama
said, “and I am here tonight because in this election there is only
person I trust with that responsibility.that is our friend, Hillary
Clinton.”
“Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States,” she added.
