Last night kicked off the first night of the Democratic National Convention. The convention started out a bit rocky with leaked DNC emails proving that the DNC was working against Bernie Sanders. This incident reignited already high tensions among Sanders delegates who already struggled to support Clinton. In the wake of the email leak, Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schulz resigned from her position as chair of the DNC.
Although she resigned and Donna Brazile was named interim DNC chair, Congresswoman Schultz still came to convention to address delegates, which did not go well. Was anyone really surprised through? All of these events led to a very tense opening of this year’s 2016 Democratic National convention in Philadelphia.
As tense and divided as the day began it was met with excitement and unity as First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage. Mrs. Obama has always been a star in the Democratic party. However, her star power hit new highs as she hit on powerful line after line addressing the delegates on just how important this election is and why the party must elect presumptive democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. She did not mention Trump’s name yet still managed to speak on him with her statement: “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that this country isn't great. Because right now this is the greatest country on earth.”
Additionally she took a dig at Trump’s temperament and said, “I want someone who understands that the issues the president faces are not black and white and cannot be boiled down to 140 characters. When you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military at your command, you can’t make snap decisions. You can’t have a thin skin or a tendency to lash out.”
In addition to her remarks about Trump, Michelle hit the heart strings of many Americans while talking about her daughters, and how they have grown up during President Obama’s time in office , and how she does not want them to live in an America that Trump represents. She stated, “How we urge them to ignore those who question their father’s citizenship or faith. How we insist that the hateful language that they hear from public figures on TV does not represent the true spirit of this country. How we explain that when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level.” She topped this off with a statement that became one of the biggest punchlines of the entire speech “No, our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”
Michelle closed off the speech by giving Hilary a residing endorsement, saying, “I’m With Her” and was met with huge applause and excitement. While her speech may not have influenced every Bernie supporter to become a Hillary supporter, it did create a sense of excitement and party unity and helped over-shadow the mess of the morning. Michelle Obama, you are officially a Democratic party rock star!
