Ladies First

Teddy Kennedy was an impossible act to follow. His appearance the
first evening of the Democratic National Convention was meticulously
managed—far in advance of the convention, it was suggested he
might appear, but the morning of his “tribute,” another rumor
circulated that he wasn’t feeling up to it. Throughout Caroline
Kennedy’s low-energy introduction, yellow-vested officials had been
spreading blue Kennedy signs throughout the state
delegations—but even so, people seemed shocked when Senator
Kennedy finally stepped onstage. He spoke perhaps a little more slowly
than you remembered, but otherwise he looked robust, energetic, and
fearless, dropping a prime-time shout-out to gays and lesbians amid the
calls for universal health care and an end to worthless wars. As
political theater goes, this was flawless, toe-curling
suspense.

Had Kennedy upstaged Michelle Obama, the scheduled headliner for the
night?

Not a chance. Obama smashed it up—people were laughing
sympathetically, they were crying silently, they were hanging on her
every word. The speech had barely a scrap of policy and not a word
about big bad John McCain. (Some analysts have complained that Monday
was light on attack politics, but please—the last thing middle
America wants to see is an angry black prospective first lady.)
This was a speech meant to soften her image and to bring the celebrated
Barack Obama down to an ordinary, relatable size. On the floor, it went
over like gangbusters.

Framed by a very clever introduction by her older brother, head
basketball coach at OSU, Michelle Obama opened with a dud of a joke:
“As you might imagine, for Barack, running for president is nothing
compared to that first game of basketball with my brother, Craig.” But
she recovered quickly with a moving evocation of her childhood on
Chicago’s South Side, describing how her father, who suffered from
multiple sclerosis, continued to work. She had some trouble with the
teleprompter, which made her look human, and at points struggled
to hold back tears, which made you want to give her a hug.

The most important moment in her speech: She proclaimed her love for
her country, earning fierce cries of support from the floor, and she
quoted Hillary Clinton’s proud concession speech, saying that she
“put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our
daughters—and sons—can dream a little bigger and aim a
little higher.”

Appealing to disaffected Clinton voters and delegates is a top
priority. And to judge from the emotional Washington State subcaucus
for Clinton delegates that I attended Monday morning, it’ll take work.
Michelle Obama is doing her part—and people here seem to
appreciate it. At an LGBT delegate reception Tuesday afternoon, where
she made a completely unexpected appearance, Obama’s praise of
her husband’s former foe earned her several standing ovations from the
audience. Gay and lesbian delegates are more likely to be Clinton
supporters, but they seemed won over.