The highest-rated political convention in American history commenced symbolically the moment Michelle Obama materialized before a thundering throng inside the cavernous Pepsi Center in Denver last Monday night. This is a most historic campaign for the mahogany-hued queen of the Democratic Party, resplendent in a one-piece turquoise dress — the first prospective First Lady not to descend from Western Europe. Commandeering the attention of the delegates inside the convention hall, as well as millions around the country, Michelle Obama riveted with a poignant portrait of her blue-collar family’s triumphs and tragedies on the South Side of Chicago, including her hard-working father who was stricken with multiple sclerosis in his 30s. Riding on the opening night’s theme of “One Nation”, Michelle Obama strove to convey to prospective voters that her husband, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was not an aloof aristocrat and prima donna celebrity, but a man ingrained with bedrock American principles that shared the same values and grappled with similar issues as millions of families across the country.The Harvard- and Princeton-educated lawyer addressed the Congressional Black Caucus the following morning inside the Colorado Convention Center, a short drive from the Pepsi Center where she ruminated on the magnitude of this occasion. “This has been a very exciting week for me. Yesterday was the 88th anniversary for women winning the right to vote. And tomorrow [when Barack would address the nation] is the 45th anniversary of when Martin Luther King stood up on the Lincoln Memorial and he laid out eloquently his dream for America. It’s amazing,” she said. “We still have a lot more to do. But this week, this 2008 campaign season has demonstrated that this country has moved forward. We’ve made significant process. We’ve broken the stereotype that a woman cannot be president of the United States. That is over. Now my daughters can look at themselves differently.”Obama implored the audience to step up their efforts in this campaign if her husband’s dream to become the first-ever African American president is to come to fruition. “We would not have gotten to this place, at this point in time in history, if not for all of you. Because something miraculous happened. People got engaged who had not been engaged in a long time. I can’t tell you how many times I ran across people on the campaign trail saying that this is the first time that they’ve been engaged — the first time they registered to vote, the first time people have knocked on doors,.thThey listened to debates and they followed the delegate process. Folks have been talking about superdelegates and pledged delegates, and they’re watching this convention and they’re trying to figure out what’s going to happen. They’re writing checks — $20 checks, $5 checks. They’re doing whatever they can to be a part of this process. That is something new and quite important. So I am proud of my country,” she said as the audience roared their approval. “Yes, I’m proud of my country.” –terry shropshire
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