The DNC: How Michelle Made Me Feel

My cell phone died mid-way through the convention tonight, so I didn't get to do the play by play for the blog that I had hoped to. This means you, the reader, now have *heard* on TV or *read* in the newspaper someone else's account of Michelle's speech. And if you've heard what I've heard then I want to counteract it right now.

To me, Michelle's speech struck the perfect balance of issues and took the perfect tone. She told stories to illustrate who Barack is and why we should vote for him. She made him three dimensional, in contrast to the figure who has been on a pedestal for 19 months. She spoke beautifully, smoothly, thoughtfully with candor and humor, and she told it like it is. She gave us a clear sense that the "change" the Obamas believe in is deeply rooted in family values born of the struggle they each experienced personally which gives them tremendous authentic compassion for those who struggle.

At one point she talked about driving home from the hospital after Sasha was born, with Barack driving at a snail's pace presumably out of the most over-protective fear new parents have with a newborn. She said Barack wanted to give Sasha what he never had: a strong father, and when she said that, the white man next to me wept out loud. Later I learned that his own parents divorced when he was young, and Michelle's tender statement struck a chord deep within him.

Frequently, I found my hands pressed open-palm against the lower part of my face, holding the emotion in and expressing awe for the woman in front of me. I wept openly at the sight of a strong black woman addressing a live audience of thousands and a television audience of millions, with a good chance of being the First Lady in a few months. I wept for the black children watching tonight, who might as a result of this Obama experience begin to see that they can in fact be anything their little hearts and minds tell them they want to be. At the end I was overcome with relief and amazement that the future we envision is on its way to being here, and I sobbed out loud against the shirt of the man next to me, so much so that I had to remove my glasses and wipe the water from my face. It was a cathartic, optimistic, uplifting, transformative speech.

And then Barack came on at the end via live feed from Missouri and addressed us all in the background as he interacted with Michelle, Sasha and little Malia. And in the less than five-minute glimpse we had into the lives of the Obamas, we saw a man who adores his wife, and a playful, proud, loving father. Millions of American women do not have the former. Millions of American children do not have the latter.

I hate that CNN and NPR are criticizing Michelle's speech. All I can think is the people they interviewed came with a different perspective and heard different things. But I'm not sure how anyone could have watched what I watched, and heard what I heard, and not have been transformed.

Michelle redeemed me. And that is something worth weeping over.