‘Being President doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who you are’
Last night was the first night of the Democratic National Convention and the highlight of the evening was the First Lady Michelle Obama who rocked the house with a passionate, moving speech about President Obama. Dressed in a Tracy Reese dress and J Crew shoes, Michelle showered the audience with personal stories about their family life, their history together and their love for the country they serve.
The self-title “mom-in-chief” touched on everything from President Obama picking her up in a rusted out hooptie when they were dating to their personal experience with high student loan bills that were higher than their mortgages. ‘We were so young, so in love and so in debt’. She also sang his praises, calling him a man of character who measures his success, not by the money he made but how he helps changes the lives of others.
The President wasn’t in attendance for Michelle’s speech because he stayed back in DC to send Sasha off for her first day of high school, however, he looked like a proud husband as he watched the speech with his two daughters from the White House.
Check out a few highlights from Michelle’s DNC speech below, plus video below:
On Life Before the White House
“Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys. Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma’s house and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn’t stay awake for both. And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls and I deeply loved the man I had built that life with and I didn’t want that to change if he became president. I loved Barack just the way he was.”
“You see, even though back then Barack was a senator and a presidential candidate, to me, he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by in a hole in the passenger side door. He was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he’d found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.”
On If The White House Has Changed Them
“So when people ask me whether being in the White House has changed my husband, I can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions, and his heart, Barack Obama is still the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.”
“Well, 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. No, it reveals who you are.”
“For Barack, success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the differences you make in people’s lives.”
On Student loans and health care
When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically – that’s not how he was raised – he cared that it was the right thing to do.
He did it because he believes that here in America, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine . our kids should be able to see a doctor when they’re sick . and no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or illness. And he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care . that’s what my husband stands for.
When it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, Barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never could’ve attended college without financial aid. And believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bills were actually higher than our mortgage. We were so young, so in love, and so in debt.
That’s why Barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down, because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.
On her love
I didn’t think it was possible, but today, I love my husband even more than I did four years ago. Even more than I did 23 years ago, when we first met.
I love that he’s never forgotten how he started.
I love that we can trust Barack to do what he says he’s going to do, even when it’s hard – especially when it’s hard.
Now, that’s a woman with style, grace and class. According to CNN, ‘If Barack Obama is re-elected on November 6, he will owe more to his first lady than any president ever to win a second term.’ Michelle’s constant use of the word love, paired with her personal stories helped connect the First Family to the lives of millions of American’s looking for hope and in return, could help them win the election.
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