Watching Washington

Michelle Obama Makes Her Case

DENVER -- There were many ways to react to Michelle Obama's speech, which capped the first night of the Democratic convention here, including the impulse to send a text message to the Obama campaign saying: "OK, we got it."

The aim and purpose of the address had been telegraphed for days. It was the first foray in what might be called the week's ABO mission: Americanizing Barack Obama. And if the first night was any sign, we are in for a real hammering on this theme.

An early warning of the deluge came in the video tribute to the candidate's wife that preceded her address. In it, we learn that as a young swain, Barack pursued his future wife with repeated requests for a date and an eventual offer of ice cream. (One could almost see Emily waiting at the drugstore fountain in Our Town.)

From Craig Robinson, her brother, we learned that Michelle woke him up too early on Christmas morning. We would hear that she memorized whole episodes of The Brady Bunch as a child, that her parents were blue-collar people whose lives revolved around work, family, church and a belief in education. While neither of her parents went to college, they saw to it their children did.

Michelle Obama described her parents' credo in phrases we know well. She spoke of the enduring American dream, of how her parents "scrimped and saved," of a world where "your word is your bond" and "you can make it if you try." She spoke from the beginning of "every grace-filled moment in my life," and she did not fail to mention "the military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table."

And, at the moment the speech reached its emotional turning point, Michelle Obama intoned: "That is why I love this country."

It was a direct response to the characterization that has grown up around Michelle Obama's oft-quoted statement that her husband's political success this year was the first time she had been "really proud" of her country.

But beyond that one lingering wound, Michelle Obama's challenge on this night was to reposition her husband and his views. With each image, detail and phrase, Michelle Obama the attorney was building a case for her husband, not as an exceptional orator or brilliant decision maker, but as a deeply rooted American, a responsible father and, just as important, a quintessential guy.

In-depth polling and focus groups have found lingering doubts among many Americans that someone named Barack Hussein Obama can truly be one of them. And there are always plenty of people to foster and fuel the fears that go with a lack of information.

That's why we heard a litany of Americanisms, the catalog of Kodak moments and Norman Rockwell memories from Michelle Obama. Not that there's anything wrong with that — it's been a staple of our politics from the beginning. But there was so much of it, woven into practically every sentence she spoke, that one senses a return to similar themes in subsequent nights.

The performance was stunning inside the hall. The tall and striking woman made everyone forget she is not a professional speechmaker herself (although she is a Harvard-trained lawyer). She was direct, she was emotional and she was thoroughly in command. You had to wonder what kind of orators these two parents might be raising.

Some who watched on TV received a different impression. For them, the intense facial concentration, distressed expressions and body language conveyed something unsettling — or at least less reassuring than the impression left inside the Pepsi Center.

But then it's not necessary for Michelle Obama to make the world fall in love with her. It's only necessary that she reclaim her dignity and risk the categorizing we in the media do for our own efficiency.

10:18 AM ET | 08-26-2008 | permalink

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