Michelle Obama looked stunning during her speech at the Democratic Convention last night. Fashion’s current golden girl sparkled in a soft turquoise Maria Pinto Jackie-esque sheath and perfect hair. With her two charming daughters waiting in the wings, she certainly looked the part to try to convince Americans that she’s not the angry leftist who is proud of her country “for the first time in [her] adult life.” Did she succeed? Does she really believe, as she said in her speech, what many of us have known all along: that “this great country” is one where “a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to law school and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House”? Many bloggers–even those on the right–were impressed. At Contentions, Linda Chavez says, “If your first introduction to Michelle Obama was the speech she just delivered–as it is for many Americans–she hit a home run.” The Corner’s Jonah Goldberg concludes, “It was a nice speech, well delivered and not so over-the-top with her love of country refrains that it felt forced.” Also at The Corner, Ramesh Ponnuru says she “did not seem aggrieved, entitled, whiny, extreme, unpatriotic, or even particularly liberal.” But Power Line’s Paul Mirengoff wasn’t convinced: “Plainly, Ms. Obama wishes to be viewed as an ‘ordinary’ American. To the extent that her real biography is known, or emerges over the course of the campaign, some voters may conclude she was a bit phony tonight.” Michelle Malkin agrees: “Said with such practiced emotion. Such a professional performer.” And at Contentions, John Podhoretz quips, “Michelle gets a huge ovation for saying she loves her country, ‘this country that has given me so much.’ I love my country too. You may begin applauding.” She might be a good actress–but I’d like to think that she’s finally realized that America isn’t so “mean” if a working-class South Side girl can grow up to wear a designer dress onstage as the possible future First Lady of the United States.
