I have to say that I was disappointed at how the DNC presented her speech. I listened to the speech in NPR and all the comments prior to her speech where about Michelle introducing herself as a wife and mother. I think that is OK because it is the truth, but what about introducing herself as wife, mother and career woman? Is that too scary even for democrats? I asked my boyfriend that and he said that Michelle is not interviewing for a job, but is Barack who is running for president. Mmm, any other thoughts?

I thought of listening to it again, just to count the times she dropped Christian catch phrases:
blessed, graced, prayed

She definitely got the point across that the reason for her whole existence is to serve her husband and her children.

She spoke of men being frustrated because they are unable to support their families, but, as a single mother (one of a rising demographic) I was annoyed that she didn't give time to women who are the sole supporters and what we go through. She seemed very "support your man" which I suppose is how she is supposed to come across as First Lady. Unfortunately I get the feeling that she thinks women should stay at home unless they have to work outside the home and that a woman's top priority should be serving her man and children. I like to think we are moving towards a world where men and women equally serve each other and their families while realizing their individuality first.

The speech made me a little sick.

As a lawyer, she delivered a closing argument.
To sum up what I thought her argument was:
"Look, I am not pushy, I am not going to intrude my opinion or thoughts on any subject at any time. I am just going to be a supportive wife and mother. Support, support, support with prayer, prayer, prayer.
And yes, god is a big scary man in the sky, who looks over us when he isn't looking down on us like my daddy and my brother"

Wow, I thought it was a great speech. And I am an atheist and was a single mom for 8 yrs.

She talked about her mom and daughters quite a bit. I was quite moved and impressed by Michelle.

She came across as a strong, loving woman committed to making our country better for us and our children. She is human though - and if her faith and father/brother give her strength and fortitude, well more power to her.

I feel as if she would treat my family and our beliefs with respect and consideration......that is a far cry from the usual feeling I get from most politicians and their spouses.

I just don't trust politicians, lol!

I was really moved by this speech -- I'm crying a little. Sure, it was carefully crafted and filled with the necessary buzzwords. But I really like the idea of having people in the White House who had to work for their success -- and did it not through military service but through public service.

Didn't anyone see the opening video about Michelle narrated by her mother? A great deal of that was devoted to her career first as a lawyer and then as a community leader.

I don't doubt that she was there to speak about family, and to paint a picture of the Obamas as "typical" Americans. However, I don't find it offensive or even unreasonable for someone to be humble about their professional accomplishments or to genuinely feel more pride about their familial accomplishments than their professional ones.

i_muse,

that's pretty damning... incisive to be sure. at the same time, they're trying to win a race... doesn't excuse her choice of words... as a prepared speech should be, well... there are no excuses for leaving out hardworking women, especially when she clearly nodded to working class men and privileged women (presidential glass ceiling comment). i don't really get the same "feeling" as you do... the one i get is that she carefully wants to make sure not to alienate people who believe women should be barefoot and preggers in the kitchen... which is almost as bad, given the sort of clout she has right now. maybe she plans on getting more real when she gets into office... oh, wait, barack is running... damn!

cecelia, i feel ya!

Is the following quote (from Barack Obama) contrary to feminism?

"I asked her out so many times, even though she said no..."

John Dias-
The context for that quote was that Michelle kept saying "no" because she wasn't sure how it would look, professionally, for two coworkers to date. It wasn't because she wasn't interested in him. In one of the videos from the night she herself said she was attracted to him the minute she walked into the office.

I'm with Californienne - the tribute video beforehand was mostly about her academic and professional accomplishments, so it made sense that she would then focus more on her family in the speech. And while I'm sure the family emphasis was planned for political reasons, it didn't sound at all contrived to me. Clearly, she loves her (adorable) daughters. Overall, I thought the speech was terrific - incredibly intelligent and delivered with a lot of emotion. Go Michelle!

Yeah, Doh! I figured it out as soon as I hit "submit."

Could we please be a real, inclusive community for five minutes and acknowledge that women who are mothers, who are real and equal partners with another person (husband or wife or boyfriend or girlfriend or whomever) and who take pride in their relationships are still incredibly strong feminists? Just because my daughter is, in my mind, the greatest accomplishment of my life doesn't diminish any accomplishments someone without kids has. And having a partner you're proud of doesn't make you Tammy Wynette. Hell, standing by your man in real life doesn't make you a non-feminist pathetic woman, thanks Hillary and Elizabeth.

iMuse, I just don't even know what to say to your post except please read a bit more about Michelle. About how her career choices affected the family, about how she made those choices with her partner and was supported as much as she supports him. Remember a year ago when the Obama family came together as Barack campaigned and Michelle kept her position at the hospital because she believed her work was important too, and how we heard all about what a cold hard bitch she must have been for making that choice, and what BS that so obviously is.

She also spoke about single mothers in the framework of her husband and his experience- since she isn't one or hasn't been the child of one, I'm not sure how she could have nodded towards their work more vehemently?

I love the way Michelle and Barack have similar speech patterns, the way their voices sound so singular- a trait that comes with being a partner you share your life with. They radiate equality and passion for family and for each other.

I can only hope that my daughter grows up for the next 8 years with Michelle as a roll model. I had my roll model when I was in high school... Hillary Clinton.

Google Hillary's speech from the '96 convention- CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. She had the added bonus at that convention of not having to introduce herself and her husband to the world- he'd been President for 4 years. Michelle introduced her family (which is one of the #1 issues that swing voters bring up- not knowing Obama) and managed to talk with strength and conviction about something we all care about- a better tomorrow, for our daughters and sons and everyone in between. Say what you will about the speech but Stand By Your Man? Hardly. Let's not get so bogged down in the drama of having wanted someone else to be the nominee that we can't recognize strong, brilliant females when they're in front of us. Let's not be in the business of tearing them down.

MelissaL, great post!

I completely agree.

or, you know, a ROLE model. What would a "roll" model do, do you think? :)

I agree with Californienne. I liked the way they introduced Michelle Obama with that beautiful video tribute by her mom, which talked extensively about her career and community accomplishments. I liked the fact that she was Barack's mentor at the law firm and he had to pursue her because she didn't believe in dating someone from work.

She didn't have to toot her own horn because it was done for her by her mom and Barack (always best in my opinion!). Then she could talk about the personal side of the Obamas, which needed to be shared for the benefit of those voters who feel the need to "know" their candidates on a personal level.

She's between a rock and a hard place--she needs to appeal to those middle-of-the road voters who want to make sure the first lady is suitably in the background--while presenting herself as strong and intelligent in her own right.

This former Clinton supporter, work-outside-the-home mom of 3 boys was very impressed with Michelle Obama's speech and the video beforehand. We can be feminists and still be dedicated to making the world a better place for our children.

@imus

I'm not sure which speech you were listening to but Michelle gave a good amount of time giving props to her single mother. I'd say about three minutes straight. I didn't gather that she thought that all woman should stay at home either, I mean wouldn't that completely contradict her entire career trajectory? I thought the speech was overall excellent and very real. Yes, there were a couple of lulls, but altogether I think she did a fantastic job, and i loved how she talked about Hilary paving the way for other woman, and about breaking the glass ceiling.

@imus

I'm not sure which speech you were listening to but Michelle gave a good amount of time giving props to her single mother. I'd say about three minutes straight. I didn't gather that she thought that all woman should stay at home either, I mean wouldn't that completely contradict her entire career? I thought the speech was overall excellent and very real. Yes, there were a couple of lulls, but altogether I think she did a fantastic job, and i loved how she talked about Hilary paving the way for other woman, and about breaking the glass ceiling.

@MelissaL

I could not agree with you more. Too many times woman think that the phrases "support your husband" and stand by your ma" cannot be used in the same sentence as "feminist". Hell, I'm a married woman and I've had people question me as a feminist b/c I'm one married, and I strongly support my marriage over many other things. Well said.

@MelissaL

I could not agree with you more. Too many times woman think that the phrases "support your husband" and "stand by your man" cannot be used in the same sentence as "feminist". Hell, I'm a married woman and I've had people question me as a feminist b/c I'm one, married, and I strongly support my marriage over many other things. I completely understand the scrutiny that Michelle went under from many women when she left her high position job to join her husband on the campaign trail. Before my husband was deployed I decided to take time off from school and move down where he was so that I could be a supportive wife. Lol, you wouldn't believe the questions I got from women. I think that we each need to recognize that feminism comes in all forms, whether we are housewives or CEOS, whether we stand by our men or we don't. Thank you for your post Michelle, well said.

sorry for the two double posts, lol, not sure how that happened

I was creeped out by the "isn't she lovely" theme song for her...really? Isn't she lovely is how she wants to portray herself? Her lovely looks is what she is bringing to the table? I was annoyed that so much of her speech was about being a family member-wife, mother, sister--I wanted to hear about what she would do as First Lady.

I did appreciate her nod to Sen. Clinton.

@Jen
Certainly it would have been nice to hear about Michelle's plans for when she becomes First Lady but for some reason there is an incredibly long learning curve when it comes to the american people as a whole accepting both Barack and Michelle as being 'cut from the same cloth' as those from the 'heartland' we hear so much about. In my opinion it has everything to do with the fact that they are black but I've come to accept the not so latent racism present in the U.S. Unfortunately that means that Michelle's hand is forced to play the introduction card over and over again in the hopes that she will not alienate any potential voters by giving the right any 'angry-black-woman' fodder. The whole process upsets me because I think Michelle is a tremendous inspiration and cannot fathom how she would be scary in the least but national politics in a two party state requires obscene amounts of eggshells and soft-stepping.
Her speech had me in the tears though.

She is very impressive, they are a perfect couple they balance each other so well.

I would have liked to have asked Michelle to explain why she sat on the board of a Chicago Hospital making nearly $300,000 a year, while this hospital dumped patients and charged uninsured patients (mostly minority) 5 times as much a insured patients. See www.ObamaTruth.org. Talk is cheap.