After watching the first night of the Democratic Convention, there were obviously two things that stood out (neither of which were Nancy Pelosi or Howard Dean).
First of all, Ted Kennedy made an emotional appearance and spoke for about 10 minutes. Was it a classic Kennedy stem winder? Obviously not- his illness would not permit that, but he did look better than I expected, and he gave a full, albeit short speech.
Michelle Obama, for her part, gave a great speech. Credit must also be given to whomever wrote the speech. It was simple in words and content, but her manner and her smile made it, as they say in politics, "a home run". Everyone agreed that she had to do two things: She had to avoid looking angry and, yes, militant. She also had to do something to dispel that memory of previous statements that called into question her feelings for America.
"And that is why I love this country." I guess we all knew that there would be a line like this in the speech.
"....people like Hillary Clinton....." Yes, we also expected that Michelle had to throw a conciliatory bone to Hillary Clinton. Was that line forced on her? Almost certainly so.
Mrs Obama also used her smile to great advantage. She had to show a softer side, and she did. She came across as likable. I also would add that this speech was ten times better than the one we had to endure 4 years earlier by Teresa Heinz Kerry about herself in five languages.
By the way, where are you really tonight, Senator Obama-St. Louis or Kansas City?
Just nitpicking.
She wrote it herself...
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