It Was The First Lady's Night

Photo: Associated Press

There's nothing we could write that would do justice to the iconic speech that First Lady Michelle Obama delivered last night to the Democratic convention.* It was the absolute highlight of the night, perhaps an unintended one, but it was nonetheless. It's hard to imagine anyone topping the emotion, the intelligence and the soul of her words, which were a paean to family, children, decency and hope for the nation's future. The wonderful speeches that followed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders (giving a forceful, classy endorsement of Hillary Clinton) were overshadowed by the First Lady's. Without mentioning him once, Ms. Obama contrasted her vision and those in the hall with the dark, selfish and bitter one of the Republican nominee, and made it clear that the example he was setting was not one for our children to follow, not to mention the nation. The speech was so moving that it drew widespread praise across the partisan divide.

Some of the best images from the speech are captured here, but the one that hit home and reminds us how much we're going to miss the Obama family was this:

“This 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.”

The optimism, and fulfillment of the American dream expressed in that vivid, almost poetic image was the perfect antidote to the bile spewed against the First Family for the past 7½ years. Almost made you wish that she was the one breaking that "highest and hardest glass ceiling."

BONUS:

One can completely understand why people plagiarize Michelle Obama

— mia farrow (@MiaFarrow) July 26, 2016

*BONUS II:  You can take our word for it, or you can watch it here: