That there is a very large block of voters who thought she wasn't human, and now they watched the speech, realize she is, and will vote for Barack.

The best part of the night was right after her speech. Olbermann gushed for a while and then offered Chris to take over because "I'm probably starting to sound sycophantic"

Gee Keith, ya think so?

Joan,

You have to step out of your bubble more often. The speech was a very plain, old, high school worthy, "What America Means To Me". I'm sure her thoughts were hope that she could make everyone forget the past. People didn't buy it and I just don't see her making many sales during this campaign.

What a horrible idea. Besides the fact that it's highly questionable to get a former president to be the warm-up act for a possible future first lady, it was important for Michelle to shine. Having a charismatic speaker with a much, much higher q-rating go on before would be the best way to make sure she *didnt* shine.

Michelle's photo was plastered all over the front page of all the papers today. That's what the campaign needed. Sharing the spotlight with President Clinton would have diffused the message.

(and this is coming from someone who is a huge fan of the Obamas and not a fan of the Clintons)

I'm not the first to say this, but speeches like this are part of the problem. They help make this election cycle much like all the rest. I breathlessly await the upcoming Republican whining about how wonderful Cindy MCCain is once you get to know her. What a waste of time and effort.

Warner's already telegraphed that he's gonna waste his speech preaching bipartisanship.

Clinton though, she can wipe away any and all lingering animosity people like me feel toward her if she does her job and hits a home run. And she can do that by classily honoring her historic run and the voters who supported her, and then transitioning into a hardcore attack dog and go after John McCain, by name, hard. (Which she didn't do in her tardy concession speech... one of the things that created that lingering animosity.)

I don't know if she will. I definitely have my doubts. But I sure hope so.

Join the bandwagon everyone, let's GUSH!]

/clean up aisle Salon.

I will stil vote for Michelle's husband enthusiastically, but let's face it, if Cindy McCain had given the identical speech, Salon columnists would dismiss as the sappiest, banality they'd heard, patronizing to middle Americans, lower Americans and upper Americans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/25/AR2008082502334.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter

"Hillary Clinton will be damned if she looks too methodically perfect, too much the purveyor of practiced routine and not enough the cheery personification of enthusiasm. She'll also be damned if she's too exuberant, too obviously raising her voice in unbridled exhortation for the team. She will either be deemed too cool or all-too-cagily warm.

Clinton can't win tonight. But then, she knows that."

Fuck you Rush Limbaugh, fuck you George Bush, fuck you John McCain and sinful Cindy, fuck you hard-working white Hillary and your pack of angry pumas, fuck you Bill and Monica for soiling the furniture,

Then flip everyone the bird and sit down.

But its fun to think about.

I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment. She's really something else.

As to her having to work harder to be accepted, of course race is always a factor, but frankly, that's not really the problem.

Authenticity is the problem.

Teresa Heinz Kerry had the same problem not because she was rich, but because she was authentic.

Judy Dean had the same problem because she was one hippy weirdo who admitted on national television that she doesn't watch much television (and hence didn't see her husband's scream) because she just doesn't want her children "drawn to it."

And of course Hillary had the same problems.

Frankly, I don't think misogyny or racism are as much to blame as the fact that authenticity seems to spook people. Faux authenticity, sure, they eat that up. They also eat up shameless, over-the-top painted aloof contrivance, a la Cindy McCain.

But there's something in the American psyche that just can't abide authenticity.

Won't have to give a speech like Michelle Obama's because alot of people/press accept McCain's and his wife's imperfections - I think the flip side is would Michelle Obama even be at the convention if she'd stolen prescription drugs like Cindy McCain, or lied about the circumstances of adopting a child, or having been the mistress of the presumptive candidate? I'm betting no --

To me the big question remains why do voters allow Republicans like Bush and McCain, with plenty of skeletons in their own closets to dictate what is allegedly good and and bad in the world and in other politicians. It's amazing the Republicans would diss Obama, who embodies the American Dream, and portray him as elite - when it's Bush and McCain who are the recipients of rich white guy affirmative action- getting a better promotion to offset each failure.

I agree with Joan it was very moving not only seeing Michelle Obama but all of the African American women in the audience with the looks of almost disbelief that the moment was even happening. I don't think anyone could have properly injected negativity last night given the speakers - but I'm hoping the Clintons will be in rare form tonight and tomorrow and give McCain et al. the comeuppance they deserve.

I hear words before I see how they are delivered. So I was disappointed by how pedestrian the speech was. Same old, same old in a new wrapper. But perhaps that is the point. The only thing I thought real was the look on Michelle's mother's face.

Michelle made it clear they aren't taking any chances. Don't expect to see much of the real person. The "professionals" have created her persona now so don't expect any changes or mistakes. If something happens like it did to Hillary and she has to make a personal choice in public, the hypocrites will assassinate her character in the same way.

That isn't to say I don't have great sympathy. Being an elected official, or married to one takes nerves of stone--which also explain why so many of them are frauds and psychopaths.

What is inexplicable is how it has come down to this: still fighting for credibility in the face of the McCain campaign. It destroys my faith in the nation.