Best Speech of the Conventions: Michelle Obama

/

Many are saying Michelle Obama's speech was the best of the bunch at the Democratic National Convention (Hillary's aside), and I would agree. From her humble laugh, overwhelmed at the crowd's response at the beginning to her call to action at the end, she captured the hearts of the delegates and, Democrats hope, some Republicans too. 

Obama talked about children throughout her speech, particularly her own: 

"That is the story of this country, the story that has brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done so that today I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.

And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.

And because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States."

She tried, as did other speakers, such as Mike Bloomberg, to elevate the vote beyond a Republican/Democrat decision and focused on the best person to lead: 

And make no mistake about it, this November when we go to the polls that is what we're deciding, not Democrat or Republican, not left or right. No, in this election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives.

And I am here tonight because in this election there is only one person who I trust with that responsibility, only one person who I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States, and that is our friend Hillary Clinton.

Discussion Starters:

  • What makes Michelle Obama's speech so compelling? Consider the content as well as her tone and body language. Do you agree that hers was the best of the convention? 
  • Obama didn't mention the controversy around Melania Trump plagiarizing her 2008 DNC speech. Should she have? 
  • Which other speeches in both conventions were powerful? Do you find any compelling, even though they may not align with their political views?