Summary of Michelle Obama's Speech: The President Is Just Like You

September 4, 2012 22:50:00
By JULIE PACE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Michelle Obama's
message: President Barack Obama is just
like you.
"Barack knows the American Dream
because he's lived it," the first lady told the
Democratic National Convention on
Tuesday in an address intended to reassure
voters that her husband share their values –
hard work, perseverance and optimism –
while also drawing a contrast between him
and Mitt Romney.
Mrs. Obama never mentioned the
president's Republican challenger, who
grew up in a world of privilege and wealth.
But the point was clear as she weaved a
tapestry of their early years together, when
money was tight and times were tough,
when they were "so in love, and so in debt."
She reminisced about the man who now
occupies the Oval Office pulling his favorite
coffee table out of the trash and wearing
dress shoes that were a size too small. And
she told stories about a president who still
takes time to eat dinner with his daughters
nearly every night, answering their
questions about the news and strategizing
about middle-school friendships.
With a mix of personal anecdotes and policy
talk, Mrs. Obama's speech was by far her
most political yet.
"Today, after so many struggles and
triumphs and moments that have tested my
husband in ways I never could have
imagined, I have seen firsthand that being
president doesn't change who you are – it
reveals who you are," she said.
To that send, the first lady painted a portrait
of a leader who knows first-hand the
struggles of everyday Americans, who
listens to them as president, and who
pushes an agenda with their interests in
mind.
"That's the man I see in those quiet
moments late at night, hunched over his
desk, poring over the letters people have
sent him," she said. "I see the concern in his
eyes ... and I hear the determination in his
voice as he tells me, `You won't believe
what these folks are going through,
Michelle . it's not right. We've got to keep
working to fix this. We've got so much more
to do.""
She added: "I see how that's what drives
Barack Obama every single day."
With such stories, the first lady sought to
counter Republicans trying to paint Obama
as something other than a typical American,
and implied that it was Romney who
couldn't relate to people trying to get by in
tough economic times.
To be sure, neither Romney nor Obama fits
the bill of the average, working-class
American struggling with credit card debt
and mortgage payments. Both are
millionaires who live a privileged life few
Americans will ever experience.
But each candidate is trying to convince
Americans that they're best-suited to run an
economy hampered by sluggish growth and
high unemployment. Polls show Romney
leading on who voters say would best to
manage the economy, but Obama with the
advantage on who voters believe
understands their economic challenges
better.
As she stood in the center of the
convention's blue-carpeted stage, Mrs.
Obama's words went straight to the core of
the contrast Democrats are trying to draw
between Obama and Romney. They say the
president is pushing policies to boost the
middle class, while Romney wants to
protect the wealthy and hope their success
trickles down.
Once a reluctant political spouse, Mrs.
Obama delved more deeply into the details
of her husband's policies than she has in her
previous speeches. She promoted his health
care overhaul, push for tax cuts for middle
income earners and the auto bailout. And
she took on the economy, her husband's
biggest political liability, arguing that he
"brought our economy back from the brink
of collapse to creating jobs again."
"In the end, for Barack, these issues aren't
political. They're personal," she said.
The president watched Mrs. Obama's
speech from the White House along with the
couple's two young daughters.
"I'm going to try to not let them see their
daddy cry because when Michelle starts
talking, I start getting all misty," Obama
said at rally earlier Tuesday in Norfolk, Va.
Mrs. Obama will likely have one more turn
in the convention spotlight later this week.
She is expected to introduce her husband
Thursday night when he accepts the
Democratic nomination before a crowd of
up to 74,000 and a television audience of
millions across the country.
The Obamas' daughters, Malia and Sasha,
are also expected to join them on stage
during the convention's closing night,
leaving voters with fresh images of the
photogenic family.
While at the three-day convention, Mrs.
Obama will also focus on shoring up support
for her husband among key constituencies.
She plans to speak to the party's African-
American, Hispanic and women's caucuses
and address a gay and lesbian luncheon.
Along with the vice president's wife, Jill
Biden, the first lady will also participate in
an armed services event Thursday and put
together care packages for U.S. troops
serving overseas.
The first lady took the stage Tuesday as the
most popular figure in this year's
presidential campaign. She earns higher
favorability ratings than her husband, his
Republican rival, the other contender for
first lady, or either candidate for the vice
presidency, according to the latest
Associated Press-GfK poll.
In the poll, conducted before the Republican
convention began, 64 percent of Americans
said they had a favorable view of Mrs.
Obama. President Obama came in at 53
percent favorable.

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