First lady Michelle Obama emerged from the first day of the Democratic Convention as an unexpected ace in the hole for Hillary Clinton, as many Democratic observers said she bridged the party divide like no other on Monday, and successfully made the case for a former rival she once described as unfit for office.
After a day full of party divisions and rancor over leaked Democratic National Committee emails and jeers by Bernie Sanders’ supporters, Democratic party operatives and current White House staffers were left cheering the first lady’s prime-time speech. Some even hailed it as one of the greatest Democratic convention speeches in history.
Top Democratic operative and former Clinton strategist Paul Begala tweeted, “@FLOTUS now in the Hall of Fame.” The Atlantic’s James Fallows tweeted that the first lady’s address should be considered one for the history books, along with President Clinton’s endorsement for Barack Obama in 2012 and Obama for then-Sen. John Kerry in 2004.
Dan Pfeiffer, who previously served as Obama’s communications director, remarked on twitter: “This is why @FLOTUS was called ‘The Closer’ in the 2008 campaign.”
NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell tweeted a photo of White House aides, including senior adviser Dan Simas, celebrating after the first lady’s remarks.
And Obama himself tweeted his pride and effusive praise.
“Incredible speech by an incredible woman,” he remarked on Twitter. “Couldn’t be more proud & our country has been blessed to have her as FLOTUS. I love you, Michelle.”
Although she never mentioned Donald Trump by name, she cast Hillary Clinton as a positive role model for children and the country, and portrayed Trump as a destructive, self-aggrandizing bully.
It was a rare, if not unprecedented political strike by a first lady, and the most telling compliment on its effectiveness may have come Trump himself, who tweeted attack lines at Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., after their remarks, but left Michelle Obama alone.
Speaking in personal terms of how the first family has dealt with the harsh political rhetoric this campaign season, Obama decried the “hateful language that we hear from public figures on TV,” adding that the first family’s motto is “when they go low, we go high.”
She also delivered a contrast to Trump’s “make America great again” campaign slogan, describing how she has marveled about the country’s progress while raising her children in a White House that was built by slaves.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that this country isn’t great,” she said. “This right now is the greatest country on earth.”
The remark immediately drew comparisons to her darker comments in 2008, when she commented on the political climate and the desire for change by saying, “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.”
The firestorm that comment sparked stung Obama, who back then was more gun-shy about appearing in the spotlight on behalf of her husband.
Despite her reluctance to enter the political fray, she still managed to land some punches against Clinton early on in the 2008 Democratic primary.
“So, our view is that if you can’t run your own house, you certainly can’t run the White House,” she said about Clinton while stumping in Iowa in the summer of 2007.
That campaign animosity, Obama recalled, quickly faded after Clinton became secretary of state in her husband’s administration.
“When she did not win the nomination eight years ago, she did not get angry or disillusioned,” Obama said, referring to Clinton as “friend.”
“Hillary did not pack up and go home because … Hillary knows that this is so much bigger than her own disappointment … she proudly stepped up to serve our country once again,” she said.
She went on to laud Clinton as the “one person who I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States,” amplifying her “trust” in Clinton to lead the country.
The first lady’s speech, Begala and others pointed out, was so positive, personal, fresh and rousing, it made Warren’s and Sanders’ feel a little stale and policy wonkish by comparison.
Others, including Peter Beinart of The Atlantic, pointed out that Obama’s message that America is already great contrasted sharply with Warren and Sanders who didn’t seem all that convinced.
Still, the confident execution by a popular first lady, whose first convention speech was plagiarized just last week by Trump’s would-be first lady, Melania, had Democratic backers raving for more Clinton surrogacy from her.
“Congrats to @FLOTUS and [her speechwriter] Sarah Hurwitz: 3-3 on convention speeches, and saved the best for last,” tweeted Jon Favreau, Obama’s former speechwriter.
David Axelrod, Obama’s top strategist in 2008, said the first lady was the most powerful messenger for Clinton yet.
“To come here and command that stage the way she did tonight was extraordinary — and I think did for Hillary Clinton what no one else has done to this point,” Axelrod said on CNN.
