The opening night of the Democratic National Convention definitively proved once and for all that a First Lady deserves to be President of the United States.
I’m talking, of course, about Michelle Obama.
Delivering the most powerful speech in an evening filled with more drama than usual for a convention’s opening lap, Michelle handily repaid Bill Clinton for the stirring address he gave four years ago that re-energized her husband’s re-election campaign. Providing a passionate endorsement of Hillary in the most personal terms, Michelle showed that she’s more than a match for Barack when it comes to soaring oratory.
Introduced by a laudatory video produced by J.J. Abrams — the Democrats don’t fool around when it comes to exploiting their show business connections — Michelle cannily made her children, and the nation’s children, the theme of her address. Like any mother anxiously sending off her kids to a new school, she talked about the anxiety of watching Malia and Sasha head for their first day of classes “in black SUVs filled with big men with guns.” And she stressed the importance of electing someone worthy of “the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives.”
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She praised Hillary as she’s never done publicly before, commending her for her indomitability after losing the presidential nomination eight years earlier.
“She didn’t get angry or demoralized,” she pointed out. “Hillary didn’t pack up and go home.”
Michelle also took determined aim at Donald Trump, although never once mentioning him by name. But her barely veiled description of a thin-skinned figure handling the nuclear codes was enough to trigger a Dr. Strangelove flashback.
She also painted an inspiring portrait of America’s ability to make progress. “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves,” she said, making clear how far America has come (whichever speechwriter penned that line deserves a big fat raise).
(BTW, if you missed Michelle’s speech, not to worry. If Trump wins, you’ll have the opportunity to hear Melania delivering it four years from now.)
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