Michelle Obama speech

Michelle Obama: ‘This right now is the greatest country on Earth’

By Nolan D. McCaskill

Michelle Obama made perhaps the most effective pitch for unity on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention, moving a once-divided crowd to its feet by the end of her prime-time remarks.

In what was unmistakably the most widely praised DNC speech Monday, the first lady endorsed Hillary Clinton in a passionate plea for America’s next president to simply be someone the nation’s families can be proud of.

At the outset of her remarks, she spoke of the first family’s early days in the White House and the pressure of raising two daughters whose father is the first black president in the nation’s history.

“I realized that our time in the White House would form the foundation for who they would become and how well we managed this experience could truly make or break them,” she said. “That is what Barack and I think about every day as we try to guide and protect our girls from the challenges of this unusual life in the spotlight.”

She said the Obamas urged their daughters to ignore the public questions of their father’s citizenship and faith, insisted that the “hateful language” they heard on TV didn’t represent “the true spirit of this country” and explained that they shouldn’t respond in-kind to bullies.

“Our motto is: When they go low, we go high. With every word we utter, with every action we take, we know our kids are watching us,” she said. “We as parents are the most important role model. Let me tell you, Barack and I take that same approach to our jobs as president and first lady because we know that our words and actions matter, not just to our girls, but the children across this country.”

In her endorsement, Obama addressed Clinton’s biggest liability — her trustworthiness — by insisting that, as a mother, the former secretary of state is the candidate she trusts in the Oval Office and believes is truly qualified to shape her and all of America’s children.

November’s election isn’t Democrat versus Republican or left versus right, Obama said. “No, in this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives,” she said. “And I am here tonight because in this election, there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility, only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States, and that is our friend, Hillary Clinton.”

She praised Clinton’s resiliency after the bitter primary in 2008, one that had similar levels of heat as this year’s battle between Clinton and Sanders, whose supporters are angry and divided over a Democratic National Committee email scandal that showed party officials working to undermine the Vermont senator’s White House bid.

“When she didn’t win the nomination eight years ago, she didn’t get angry or disillusioned,” Obama said, a remark likely aimed at staunch Sanders supporters who are not ready to support Clinton. “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.”

Obama, who took to the stage inside the Wells Fargo Center to Clinton’s campaign music — “Brave” by Sara Bareilles — cast Clinton as a lifelong fighter who has spent decades trying to improve the lives of others while implicitly rebuking her rival, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

While touting Clinton’s experience fighting for children with disabilities as a young lawyer and pushing for health care when she was first lady herself and child care as a New York senator, Obama contrasted the drastically different character traits of America’s next potential leader.

“There were plenty of moments when Hillary could have decided that this work was too hard, that the price of public service was too high, that she was tired of being picked apart for how she looks or how she talks or even how she laughs,” Obama said. “But here's the thing: What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life.”

And that’s the type of leader she wants in the White House, Obama said, the kind of president she wants her daughters and the nation’s children to grow up with. And, without restating the message the Clinton campaign has been pushing against Trump, the first lady also suggested the real estate mogul lacked the temperament to be commander in chief, ridiculing his Twitter tendencies and “thin skin” without ever mentioning his name.

“I want someone with the proven strength to persevere. Someone who knows this job and takes it seriously,” she said. “Someone who understand that the issues a president faces are not black and white, and it 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 continued. “I want a president with a record of public service. Someone whose life work shows our children that we don't chase fame and fortune for ourselves. We fight to give everyone a chance to succeed.”

Obama described the ideal 45th president as a unifying figure who won’t pit divisions of people against each other because “we are always stronger together.”

“I am here tonight because I know that that is the kind of president Hillary Clinton will be, and that is why in this election, I'm with her,” she said. “You see, Hillary understands that the president is about one thing and one thing only: It is about leaving something better for our kids.”

But before she closed, she delivered a message unmistakably aimed at the billionaire businessman. “Don't let anyone ever tell you that this country is not great, that somehow we need to make it great again,” she said. “Because this right now is the greatest country on Earth.”

And she issued a call to action, urging Democrats to be just as active, if not more, than they were when they elected and reelected President Obama in 2008 and 2012.

“In this election, we cannot sit back and hope that everything works out for the best,” she said. “We cannot afford to be tired or frustrated or cynical. No, hear me: Between now and November, we need to do what we did eight years ago and four years ago. We need to knock on every door. We need to get out every vote. We need to pour out every last ounce of passion and our strength and our love for this country into electing Hillary Clinton as president of the United States of America. So let’s get to work.”