bdmetronews desk ॥ In an emotional, soaring and pointedly political speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia tonight, first lady Michelle Obama braided together her case for her husband’s legacy, her support for the woman who is trying to succeed him, and her repudiation of the man who is trying to defeat her.
The role of a president, she said, is to create the future for the next generation, and it was that goal that guided Barack Obama’s presidency.
“That is what we’re deciding,” in this election, she said, as those in the packed arena waved purple signs that simply said “Michelle.” “Not Democrat or Republican, not left or right, this election, and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four to eight years of their lives.”
The only person “who I trust with that responsibility,” she said, is “our friend Hillary Clinton.”
Michelle Obama has not always felt this warmly about Hillary Clinton, who ran hard against Barack Obama in 2008. But in remarks designed to simultaneously allude to those mended fences and at the same time send a message to Bernie Sanders supporters who have protested her, often loudly on this opening day, she said: “When she didn’t win the nomination eight years ago, she didn’t get angry or disillusioned. Hillary did not pack up and go home. Because as a true public servant, Hillary knows that this is so much bigger than her own desires and disappointments.”
Returning to theme, she continued, “Hillary understands that the president is about one thing and one thing only, it’s about leaving something better for our kids.”
But most of the first lady’s comments were reserved, directly and obliquely, for Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“When I think about the kind of president I want for my girls and all our children,” she said, “I want someone who knows that the issues a president faces are not black and white and can not be boiled down to 140 characters. Because when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military at your command, you can’t have a thin skin and a tendency to lash out. You need to be steady and well-informed.”
