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Michelle Obama speech | Ted Kennedy | Comment | Clinton-Obama tension | Across the Pond | Big business on show
Michelle Obama declared last night that "I love this country" as she sought to persuade a sceptical US electorate that she and her husband shared the values of ordinary Americans and would fight for the many working-class voters who remain stubbornly hostile to his presidential bid.
Mrs Obama, delivering a passionate and very personal speech about her life with Barack Obama and their "blue collar" roots, also praised Hillary Clinton for her role in advancing the cause of women during her bitter primary battle against her husband, at the start of a week where many of the former First Lady's supporters are still refusing to back his candidacy.
She was seeking to humanise her husband as polls demonstrate that, despite his fame, many Americans feel they do not know who he is and remain unconvinced that he has either the experience to be president or an understanding of the financial struggle faced by millions of Americans in a faltering US economy. Mr Obama, who accepts the nomination on Thursday night, is effectively tied with John McCain, his Republican opponent.
"I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president," Mrs Obama declared to a cheering audience, less than an hour after they watched with extraordinary emotion an address by Senator Edward Kennedy, who in June underwent major brain surgery for a malignant brain tumour.
Referring to her daughters Sasha and Malia, who took the stage after the speech had ended and teased their father by video link, Mrs Obama added: "I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the centre of my world.
"We want our children and all children in this nation, to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them."
Mrs Obama, a Princeton and Harvard-educated lawyer, spoke of her working class roots in Chicago's South Side, and of her husband's work as a community organiser in the same impoverished area after he himself left Harvard Law School. She spoke of "ordinary folks", of "men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms", as her husband on the campaign trail this week had begun to deliver a sharper, more populist message to blunt attacks by Mr McCain that he is a fussy elitist.
"And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine," Mrs Obama said. "He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves.
"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them. And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children – and all children in this nation – to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
Mrs Obama has been accused by Republicans of being an angry, unpatriotic black woman after she said in a speech in February that "for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."
She praised the struggle and hard work of the less fortunate "driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do – that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope. That is why I love this country."
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Just like me? I think not! I can't believe the people of this nation are so blind. Even his very name. . ( oh, it's just a name.. IS IT?)
And why wasn't he raised by his parents?? Because if you knew who his parents were, and what they were really like, no one would ever say anything the Palins!
Woods, G-town, USA
How can you lose something you didn't have to begin with?
Philip Goh, Oxford, UK
All too soapy and contrived for my taste, who is running for nomination, surely not his wife and those precocious children of theirs, and all the praise for Hilary so why didn't he choose her?
Anthony Becker, Nice, France
While intellectuals & the US media continue to gush over the Obamas, the bloom is off the rose for the American middle class, which increasingly perceives Obama as too Marxist-leftist, too internationalist (3rd world variety) and too elite. In other words- unelectable.
Jim Savage, Washington, DC, USA
You're a Gusher Jimmy C, you're a gusher. Only problem is you can't vote. Of course she charged up the crowd, they are all programmed Democrat activitists who drool over their canidates, and would cheer all statements such as "I've got Herpies", Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, shout the adoring fans!
Grow up
jim, framingham, USA
If there was no ' message ' in the first place, it is no wonder that it has become 'lost '. After all , if your message is re-hashed Saul Alinsky quotes who obtained them from Rouseau
then it does not take much noise. Could that be plagiarism a la Biden ?
Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA TX
The Democrats have definitely bought all the rights to the use of metaphors and adjective/adverbs.
Sugar coated hokum reigns supreme!
Prudence Eely Bond McGuire BA, LONDON, ENGLAND- UK
They are Middle America and experienced? In your dreams. 143 days of Senate experience before his campaign started. Harvard Law School for both of them. Million dollar shady home purchase with the help of a recently convicted felon. Million dollar paycheck each year. These are middle americans?
William, Stuart, FL, USA
Well done to Teddy Kennedy who despite his recent battle with brain cancer, gave an excellent speech.
Sentiment aside, I am still convinced Obama will not be elected, no matter how much he tries to guilt trip voters with emotional displays. The man doesn't matter, it's his policies which do!
Alex, London,
The role of First Lady is an essential role. She should be a model of righteousness and decency for other women, setting high standards as wife, mother, and humanitarian. She should serve as the ultimate system of checks and balances for her husband, challenging him to heights of utmost integrity.
Teri Foss, Forks, USA
I'm sorry but doesn't the president get paid by the tax dollars taken from our paychecks? Aren't Mccain and Obama running for this position? Does that mean that presidents are not true Americans? Obama isn't 'rich' (5 million) by Mccain's definition. Lol, try again. You Go Michelle, GREAT SPEECH!
Lakota, Pembroke, North Carolina
The Clintons are going to make damn sure Obama doesn't win this election. Picking Biden was a big mistake - after all the hype, Barack Obama is finished. He will go down in history as another great pretender.
M, London, UK
Why are Americans always droning on about being proud to be American? What should Michelle Obama be so proud of, the discriminations she suffered when she was young because she is black? That's what America is: nationalistic and gun-toting. That's why McCain will win.
Lukas, Tokyo,
To: TL HUBBARD, Atlanta, Georgia
Do you really think anyone writes their own speeches? Do you think McCain keeps stumbling through his OWN writing? All of the government is paid for by our taxes.. this is how public service works. It's crazy how something so important gets the most juvenile response
Alexander, Toronto, Canada
Michelle Obama delivered the "goods", the republicans have been trying to tell America that she is "elistist, and not one of them", after this speech it is clear that the Obamas are mid-America and therefore acceptable to the average citizen who also struggles making a living.
John
John Burke, Santa Cruz, USA
Michelle Obama's message: I was not proud of America 6 months ago, but now that I may be the first lady, I am definitely very proud of America. What are the odds that if Obama loses the election Michelle will go back to not being proud of America?
Eduardo Pierce, Atlanta, USA
I don't understand this 'First Lady' concept. It doesn't seem to be an elected office, yet carries influence and comes with ready-made authority. Is it like the Pharoah's Great Wife, or the Byzantine Empress Consort? Hardly democratic. Of course there's the Queen, but she's politically silent.
philip, cambridge,
This entire Democratic debacle occurred because the party prematurely promoted their superficial dream candidate.
Who cares about the convention speeches ? They're all carefully crafted to stay on point. Obama's 3am text message spoke volumes about his immaturity and egomania.
Taniqua, Detroit, USA
As the MB advert says, if you have to make a point by saying that you are something, you were never 'that' in the first place, it should be obvious and effortless.
As much as I would like someone new, fresh and uncorrupted by the system in the White House I think now that it will not be Obama.
Andrew Doyle, Manchester,
This was just FANTASTIC! Michelle Obama is a great asset to the Democratic Party, this fall and for the next 8 years! She will make a terrific First Lady!
She certainly charged up the crowd with her eloquence and sincerity. My prayer is that America makes the right decision and elects Barack POTUS.
Jimmy C, Letchworth Garden City, UK
Anyone tough and smart enough to beat the Clinton machine must be tough enough to beat anyone.
Phil, Hong Kong,
Uhmmm... The soldiers from our tax dollars from our paychecks. McCain grew on our tax dollars. His money, excluding the beer money, comes from our tax dollars? Does that mean the soldiers and McCain are not american???
Rose, Greenville.,
I thought he said he wanted to keep his family away from the limelight
knight, aberdeen, uk
Clearly you have never worked in public service. Pay is notoriously low. If you wanna make money you work for the oil industry. Wait, didn't we already have an administration that made their living that way and continued to benefit while living on the public dole? Such true Americans they were too!!
Margaret, washington, USA
And so the pathetic speeches begin wriiten by other people and not from the minds of those saying the words.They really think we are all that stupid to believe Obama is "blue collar"? He has never held a job that wasnt paid for by the tax dollars taken from our paychecks.Thats a true American huh?
TL HUBBARD, Atlanta, Georgia