Michelle Obama Caps Chicago Night At Convention

DENVER — Michelle Obama declared "I love this country" Monday as she sought to reassure the nation that she and her husband Barack share Americans' bedrock values and belief in a dream of a better future.

In the first major address at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama described herself as a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, no different from many women. She told a boisterous crowd waving signs reading "Michelle" that she and her husband feel an obligation to "fight for the world as it should be" to ensure the promise of a better life for their daughters and all children.

Michelle Obama talked about tucking in her daughters Malia and Sasha at night.

"I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they _ and your sons and daughters _ will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming," she said.

Michelle Obama's mission was to humanize her husband and convince skeptical voters to look past his unusual name and exotic background to envision him as the next president. Barack Obama has repeatedly faced questions about whether he's a real American.

She also used the address to dismiss questions about her patriotism. Republicans have criticized her comments earlier this year that she was "really proud" of her country for the first time. Her answer at the convention was to express her love of country.

The Obamas' two daughters joined their mother on stage after the speech as Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" blared from in the convention hall.

They spoke to Barack Obama, who appeared by satellite connection from Missouri.

Story continues below

advertisement

"How about Michelle Obama?" he asked the crowd. "Now you know why I asked her out so many times even though she said no. You want a persistent president."

The girls responded to their father on the giant screen with "Hi, Daddy!" and "I love you, Daddy."

Michelle Obama didn't explicitly address race, but allaying concerns among white voters was part of the strategy for the first black nominee of a major party.

"Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party _ if any _ you belong to. That's not how he sees the world," she said. "He knows that thread that connects us _ our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future _ is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree."

She joked about his love of basketball and his overcautious driving when he drove their first daughter home from the hospital. She described his upbringing by a single mother and grandparents who "scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves."

E-mails and videos circulating on the Internet criticized him for attending a church that promoted black culture, for not wearing a flag pin on his lapel, for not putting his hand over his heart during the national anthem. They suggested _ falsely _ that he was secretly Muslim.

Michelle Obama's job was to show voters they have nothing to fear.

She said little about his policies beyond quickly mentioning his goal of ending the Iraq war, improving the economy and providing health for those who need it.

Michelle Obama drew enthusiastic cheers by praising Hillary Rodham Clinton for putting "those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" _ a reference to the failed Democratic candidate's vote total in the primaries. The crowd also roared

She was introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson, the head basketball coach at Oregon State University. Robinson noted that she memorized every episode of "The Brady Bunch" and praised her passion for helping others.

And before she appeared, the audience watched "South Side Girl," a biographical film narrated by her mother. It covered everything from her childhood to her career in law to her puzzled reaction to a hotshot law student interning at her firm.

Comments

[huffybike]

MP3 highlights of Obama's masterful speech are up: http://www.entertonement.com/collections/2482/One-Nation-Speech

[MrCleaveland]

I was pleasantly surprised that she talked about hard work and individual initiative and the American Dream (instead of more government handouts) and she seemed to mean it. There may be hope for some of you yet.

Good speech.

[IRC]

Michelle knocked this one out of the park!

Her speech had both passion and grace. Judging from the camera shots, I wasn' t the only one who was tearing up. She is an incredible role model.

Obamas (Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha) 08!

[Kiwi12]

Simply awesome :-)

The freakshows over at Michelle "Coulter v2.0" Malkin's site are desperately trying to pick it apart. "Desperately" being the operative word...

[mstoot]

Michelle Obama is a class act and a real asset to her husband's campaign. I can easily see her as First Lady. I guarantee that she is going to start a new fashion trend in this country, the same way Jackie Kennedy did in the 60's. She is so elegant, yet her clothes are simple. What a lady!!

[Rumba]

Excellent speech delivered from the heart.
It is such a pleasure to see this intelligent lady talking WITH the audience rather than stridently talking AT the people like someone I won't mention.
As a non American I envy you guys having such a genuine family who are motivated by altruistic goals rather than greed and power.
I urge all Americans to put petty differences aside and seize this once in a lifetime opportunity to bring about changes that will better your country and the rest of the world.
An inspirational leader is much more effective in changing the course for the better, than one who repeats the same old stuff over and over for years on end, and claims it as experience.