by Bankole Thompson

Real Times News Service


DENVER -- Presenting her role as wife and mother, Michelle Obama, wife of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama gave a moving speech on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.

To the standing ovation of thousands at the Pepsi Center numerous times during her speech, Michelle delivered one of the most important messages with grace and nobility according to experts.

The woman who could beome the nation's first African American first lady said she loves America and said that her life has been about giving back to the nation in a small way. Throughout the speech, she touted values that most Americans can connect with.

"I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. And I come here as a mom, as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world," Obama said.

"They're the first things I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to bed at night. Their future, and all our children's future, is my stake in this election."

On values, Michelle Obama said she and her husband were raised with so many of the same values that "you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say you are going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you do not know them and even if you do not agree with them. And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values and pass them on to the next generation."

Barack Obama has a passion to lift up the undeprivileged of the world, she said.

"(Barack) talked about 'the world as it is' and 'the world as it should be.' And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two and settle for the world as it is - even when it does not reflect our values and aspirations," she said.

"But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves, to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?"

She issued a call to action.

"All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do, that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. That is the thread that connects our hearts," She said.

"That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope. That is why I love this country."

Barack Obama will achieve goals as president the way he has achieved goals up to this point --  "by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are.

"You see, Barack does not care where you are from or what your background is or what party - if any - you belong to. That is not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us: our belief in America's promise."


(Bankole Thompson is Senior Editor for the Michigan Chronicle.)