A Homerun
- filed under Misc.
That playbook was dusted off earlier this year when the criticisms of Michelle Obama began.
Last night’s speech was, in part, an effort to counter those attacks — and it succeeded brilliantly:
Michelle Obama successfully rooted herself as the daughter of a hard working middle class family. This will help reassure those blue collar holdouts that the Obamas understand their lives and struggles.
She informed voters that she and Senator Obama have lived the American dream and made explicitly clear that she loves our country. This admission was critically important in countering the charge that she is unpatriotic.
Finally, she and her wonderful daughters helped bring Senator Obama down to size in the best possible way. Through her eyes we saw, not a rock star, but a loving father and husband, peering anxiously in the rear view mirror as he drove his new born baby home for the first time.
Last night was not a night for policy or attacks on John McCain. It was instead an effort to shore up the image of Michelle Obama and help Americans become comfortable with her as First Lady. It was a homerun.
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I honestly feel that I saw a different speech than the one that you and all the talking heads are reviewing. Yes, she showed herself to an American “just like us,” but I thought it was very flat on giving the insights that only a wife can give into the man her husband is. For those that were suspicous or unsure of her (I am not one), I think it helped humanize her, but I am not sure that beyond that it did much for her husband. If they had just cut to little Sasha with the microphone, I would have been fine.
It is more interesting to me that people aren’t openly discussing the similarities between her challenges and those that Hillary faced in the ‘92 election. It is horrifying to me that in this day and age and in both instances an accomplished, well-rounded wife, mother and lawyer has to launch an initiative to show people she is not some sort of over-ambitious, un-American freak.
To me the night was all about Senator Kennedy. He is not without flaws and I think his support for Obama over Hillary was misguided, but I believe he loves this country and that we are better off because of his and his family’s service to our democracy. I can’t imagine the strength that it must have taken to do what he did last night, but I am glad he found it.
Howard, you’re right: with one speech, Michelle Obama erased much of the damage of her “proud of my country” slip from a few months ago and inoculated her husband, at least partly, from the inevitable charges of elitism to come this fall.
The issues, money, enthusiasm and political cycles are on Obama’s side; McCain’s only chance is to persuade voters that they don’t trust or like Obama. That’s why the GOP is working overtime to make Obama appear unacceptable. Last night, he and his family seemed anything but.