First Lady Michelle Obama, donned in a custom cobalt blue Christian Siriano dress, stood front and center at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) stage and delivered the most powerful endorsement speech Former Secretary Hillary Clinton has received to date. She never raised her voice to shout, she didn’t lean on disparaging or unfounded remarks about the other candidate, she simply and uniquely spoke from the heart. For a brief moment, throughout the duration of her speech, the jeering of a divided party was silenced as they hung on to her every word.
Perhaps, the true mark of her genius was the way that she swiftly addressed all of the issues at hand. She praised Hillary Clinton’s resilience and consistency of servitude even in the wake of defeat. In a clear nod to the Bernie Sanders supporters who spent the majority of the day booing, Flotus explained, “When she [Hillary Clinton] didn’t win the nomination eight years ago, she didn’t get angry or disillusioned. Hillary did not pack up and go home. Because as a true public servant, Hillary knows that this is so much bigger than her own desires and disappointments. So she proudly stepped up to serve our country once again as Secretary of State.”
She addressed all of Donald Trump’s antics in what might go down in history as the greatest read to date by not mentioning his name but stating plainly certain qualities a president should embody. “…the issues a President faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters. Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military in your command, you can’t make snap decisions. You can’t have a thin skin or a tendency to lash out. You need to be steady, and measured, and well-informed.”
She spoke about the importance of being a good example for her children and coyly referenced the citizenship foolishness Trump pulled years ago. Staying in line with positivity and the idea that children are always watching she shared the motto she and her family live by. “…when someone is cruel, or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level – no, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
Amid party scandal, party division, and a nation on the brink of civil unrest…the First Lady gave a unifying speech of hope. “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn’t great,” the First Lady said, “that somehow we need to make it great again, because this right now is the greatest country on earth.”
The most poignant part of her speech was when she expanded on the history of how she came to be where she is today. With a quiver in her voice she said, “…the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today, I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves — and I watch my daughters – two beautiful, intelligent, Black young women – playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters – and all our sons and daughters – now take for granted that a woman can be President of the United States.”
Needless to say First Lady Michelle Obama, politics aside, I’m with you.