Michelle Obama at the 2008 DNC

Summary

In this heartfelt speech, Michelle Obama introduces her family and shares her personal journey, highlighting the values instilled by her hardworking parents. She passionately supports her husband, Barack Obama, emphasizing his commitment to public service and the American dream. Michelle's narrative weaves together themes of family, community, and the pursuit of a better future, inspiring hope and unity in the audience.

Takeaways

• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Michelle Obama emphasizes the importance of family, mentioning her brother Craig, her husband Barack, and her daughters as central figures in her life.
• 🏀 She humorously compares Barack's presidential campaign to a challenging basketball game with her brother, highlighting the support and camaraderie within her family.
• 🙏 Michelle speaks of her father's strength and perseverance despite his struggle with multiple sclerosis, reflecting on the values of hard work and resilience.
• 🌟 She shares her belief in the American dream, drawing from her own experiences and her parents' sacrifices to ensure opportunities for her and her brother.
• 🤝 Michelle and Barack Obama were both raised with similar values, such as the importance of hard work, integrity, and respect for others, which they aim to pass on to their children.
• 🌱 Barack's early work in Chicago, focusing on community development and job creation, is highlighted as a testament to his commitment to social change and justice.
• 🌐 Michelle calls for unity and shared values, arguing that Barack's vision for the country is inclusive and transcends political, geographical, and social divides.
• 🌈 She celebrates historical milestones like the anniversary of women's suffrage and Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, linking them to the ongoing struggle for equality and justice.
• 💪 Michelle encourages the audience to vote for Barack Obama, outlining his policy goals such as ending the Iraq war, improving healthcare, and providing quality education for all.
• 🌟 The speech concludes with a personal and emotional appeal, envisioning a future where her daughters and others can achieve their dreams, and calling for collective action to build a better world.

Q & A

Who is being introduced at the beginning of the transcript?

Michelle Obama is being introduced at the beginning of the transcript.

What is the significance of the basketball game mentioned by Michelle Obama?

The basketball game is used as a metaphor to describe the support and camaraderie between Michelle and her brother Craig, as well as the challenges faced by her father, who had multiple sclerosis.

What personal attributes does Michelle Obama highlight about her father?

Michelle Obama highlights her father's role as a provider, champion, and hero despite his diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, emphasizing his strength, determination, and the sacrifices he made for his family.

How does Michelle Obama describe her relationship with Barack Obama?

Michelle describes her relationship with Barack as one of deep love and shared values, with Barack being a loving husband and a dedicated public servant who she believes will be an extraordinary president.

What values were instilled in Michelle Obama by her parents?

Michelle was instilled with values such as hard work, integrity, compassion, the importance of education, and the belief in the American dream by her parents.

What is the 'improbable journey' that Michelle Obama refers to?

The 'improbable journey' refers to the unexpected and challenging path that led to Barack Obama's presidential campaign and the experiences and struggles they faced along the way.

What does Michelle Obama say about the American dream?

Michelle Obama asserts that the American dream endures and is attainable through hard work and determination, as evidenced by her own family's story and her husband's background.

What community work did Barack Obama engage in after college?

After college, Barack Obama worked in neighborhoods devastated by the closing of steel plants, helping to rebuild communities and speaking to people about how to improve their circumstances.

What is the message Michelle Obama conveys about the world as it is and the world as it should be?

Michelle Obama conveys that while people often accept the world as it is, they should strive for the world as it should be, reflecting fairness, justice, and opportunity, which was a message that resonated with her from Barack's early community work.

How does Michelle Obama connect her personal story to the broader American narrative?

Michelle Obama connects her personal story to the broader American narrative by highlighting the shared values, struggles, and aspirations of hard work, education, and the pursuit of a better life for future generations.

What are the key policy areas that Michelle Obama mentions Barack Obama will focus on as president?

Michelle Obama mentions that Barack Obama will focus on ending the war in Iraq responsibly, building an economy that lifts every family, ensuring healthcare for every American, and providing a world-class education from preschool through college.

Outlines

00:00

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family and Values

The speaker warmly introduces Michelle Obama as a public servant, sister, wife, mother, and the next First Lady. She reflects on the importance of family, mentioning her brother Craig and her father's enduring presence in her life. The narrative highlights the journey of her husband Barack Obama and the shared values of hard work, integrity, and respect that were instilled in her by her parents. She emphasizes the American dream and the importance of education, drawing parallels between her family's struggles and those of Barack's, and how they both aspired to a better life through hard work and opportunity.

05:02

🌟 Dreams and Determination

The speaker discusses the values that guide her and Barack Obama's lives, focusing on the importance of striving for one's dreams and the belief in a just and fair America. She shares Barack's early work in Chicago, where he chose to help communities affected by job losses rather than pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. She describes his commitment to community rebuilding and his vision for a better world, urging people to believe in themselves and work towards their ideals. The paragraph also touches on historical milestones like the women's right to vote and Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream, connecting them to the ongoing fight for a better America.

10:02

🤝 Unity and Hope

The speaker emphasizes the need to work towards a better world and the collective responsibility to fight for it. She shares her own experiences in public service and Barack's efforts to improve the lives of ordinary Americans through job training, education, and healthcare. The paragraph highlights Barack's political career and his commitment to ending the Iraq war, building a strong economy, and ensuring access to quality healthcare and education for all. The speaker stresses the importance of unity and shared values, regardless of background or political affiliation, as the foundation for a hopeful and progressive America.

15:02

🏡 Family, Legacy, and the Future

In this final paragraph, the speaker reflects on the personal significance of the journey she and Barack have taken, from their shared dreams to the aspirations they hold for their daughters and the nation's children. She speaks of the importance of building a world that reflects our hopes and values, and the legacy they wish to leave behind. The speaker calls for a collective commitment to finish the work of those who came before and to elect Barack Obama as the President of the United States. The paragraph concludes with a personal and emotional appeal to the audience, invoking the memory of her father and the future of her daughters, and a call to action to stand together for change.

Keywords

💡First Lady

The term 'First Lady' refers to the wife of the President of the United States. In the script, Michelle Obama is introduced as the next First Lady, highlighting her role as a public figure and partner to the President. The script emphasizes her personal qualities and her dedication to her family and the nation.

💡American Dream

The 'American Dream' is a national ethos that suggests anyone can achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The script mentions Michelle Obama's belief in the American Dream, drawing from her own family's experiences and aspirations, and how Barack Obama's policies aim to make this dream accessible to all.

💡Public Service

Public service refers to work carried out by individuals that benefits the community or the public as a whole. The script highlights Michelle Obama's career shift from a corporate law firm to public service, emphasizing her commitment to empowering young people and contributing to the nation's well-being.

💡Family Values

Family values are the principles and beliefs that guide a family's decisions and lifestyle. The script underscores the importance of family values in shaping Michelle and Barack Obama's lives, with examples such as Michelle's father's work ethic and her mother's nurturing role, which influenced their approach to parenting and governance.

💡Hard Work

Hard work is the effort put forth to achieve a goal or complete a task. The script repeatedly mentions the value of hard work, as exemplified by Michelle Obama's father's struggle with multiple sclerosis and Barack Obama's community work, which are portrayed as integral to achieving the American Dream.

💡Community

Community refers to a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. The script discusses Barack Obama's work in Chicago, where he helped communities devastated by industrial closures, illustrating his commitment to community development and upliftment.

💡Education

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and habits. The script emphasizes the importance of education in the Obamas' lives and their policy agenda, with Michelle mentioning her own educational journey and Barack's plans to ensure quality education for all children.

💡Change

Change refers to the act or instance of making or becoming different. The script is centered around the theme of change, with Michelle Obama discussing the need for a change in leadership to address societal issues and fulfill the American Dream for all citizens.

💡Dignity and Respect

Dignity and respect are the qualities of worthiness and esteem that should be accorded to all individuals. The script mentions the values instilled in the Obamas, including treating everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of their background or beliefs, which is a cornerstone of their political philosophy.

💡Hope

Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. The script conveys a message of hope, inspired by the historical progress and the potential for a better future under Barack Obama's leadership, as seen in the reactions of the people and the aspirations for the next generation.

💡Responsibility

Responsibility refers to the state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or to account for one's actions. The script discusses the responsibility that Michelle and Barack Obama feel towards the nation and its citizens, particularly in terms of creating opportunities and ensuring a better life for all.

Highlights

Introduction of Michelle Obama as an impassioned public servant, loving daughter, wife, mother, and sister.

Emotional connection to her brother Craig and the presence of her father's memory.

The importance of family support and the journey to the presidential campaign with Barack Obama.

Michelle's role as a wife, believing in her husband's potential as an extraordinary president.

The centrality of her daughters in her life and their future as her stake in the election.

Her upbringing on the south side of Chicago by blue-collar parents and the impact on her values.

The struggle and resilience of her father, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and his influence.

The American dream as experienced through her family's sacrifices and achievements.

Shared values with Barack Obama, including hard work, integrity, and respect for others.

Barack's community work in Chicago and his dedication to social change.

The vision of the world as it should be, striving for fairness, justice, and opportunity.

The Great American story and the collective effort to shape the future according to ideals.

Michelle's own contributions to public service and empowering young people.

Barack's legislative efforts to improve job opportunities, education, and healthcare.

The importance of unity and shared beliefs in achieving the American promise.

Barack's campaign promises to end the Iraq war, build a strong economy, and ensure healthcare for all.

The emotional appeal to the audience to join in the effort to build a better future for the next generation.

Closing remarks, expressing gratitude and a call to action to elect Barack Obama as president.

Transcripts

please join me in welcoming an

impassioned public servant a loving

daughter wife and mother my little

sister and our nation's next First Lady

Michelle Obama

as you might

imagine for for Barack running for

president is nothing compared to that

first game of basketball with my brother

Craig I I can't tell you how much it

means to have Craig and my mom here

tonight like like Craig I can feel my

dad looking down on us just as I've felt

his presence in every Grace filled

moment of my life and at

6'6 I've often felt like Craig was

looking down on me too

literally but the truth is both when we

were kids and today Craig wasn't looking

down on me he was watching over me and

he has been there for

me every step of the way since that

clear day February 19 months ago when

with little more than our faith in each

other and a hunger for change we joined

my husband Barack Obama on the

improbable Journey that has led us to

this moment but each of us comes here

also by way of our own improbable

journey I come here tonight as a sister

blessed with a brother who is my mentor

my protector and my lifelong friend and

I come here as a wife who loves my

husband and believes beles 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

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

and I come here as a daughter raised on

the south side of

Chicago by a father who was a Blue

Collar city worker and a mother who

stayed at home with my brother and me my

mother's love has always been a

sustaining Force for our family and one

of my greatest Joys is seeing her

Integrity her compassion her

intelligence reflected in my

daughters my dad was our Rock

and although he was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis in his early 30s he

was our provider he was our champion our

hero but as he got sicker it got harder

for him to walk took him longer to get

dressed in the morning you know but if

he was in pain he never let on he never

stopped smiling and laughing even while

struggling to button his shirt even

while using two canes to get him s

across the room to give my mom a kiss he

just woke up a little earlier and he

worked a little harder he and my mom

poured everything they had into me and

Craig it was the greatest gift a child

could receive never doubting for a

single minute that you're loved and

cherished and have a place in this world

and thanks to their faith and their hard

work we both were able to go to college

so I know firsthand from their lives and

mind that the American dream

endures and you

know what struck me when I first met

Barack was that even though he had this

funny name and even though he had grown

up all the way across the continent in

Hawaii his family was so much like mine

he was raised by grandparents who were

workingclass folks just like my parents

and by a single mother who struggled to

pay the bills just like we did and like

my family they scrimped and saved so

that he could have opportunities that

they never had for themselves and Barack

and I were raised with so many of the

same values like you work hard for what

you want in life that your word is your

bond that you do what you say you're

going to do that you treat

people with dignity and respect even if

you don't know them and even if you

don't agree with

them and Barack and I set out to build

lives Guided by these values and to pass

them on to the next Generation because

we want our children and all children in

this nation to know that the only limit

to the height of your achievements is

the reach of your dreams and your

willingness to work hard for them

and as our friendship

grew and I learned more about Barack he

introduced me to work the work that he

done when he first moved to Chicago

after college you see instead of going

to Wall Street Barack went to work in

neighborhoods that had been devastated

by the closing of Steel

plants jobs dried up and Barack was

invited back to speak to people from

those neighborhoods about how to rebuild

their community

and the people gathered there together

that day were ordinary folks doing the

best they could to build a good life see

there were parents uh trying to get by

from paycheck to paycheck grandparents

trying to get it together on a fixed

income men frustrated that they couldn't

support their families after jobs that

disappeared you see those folks weren't

asking for a handout or a shortcut see

they were ready to work they wanted to

cont R tribute they believe like you and

I believe that America should be a place

where you can make it if you

try and Barack stood up that

day and he spoke words that have stayed

with me ever since he 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 we settle for the world as it is

even when it doesn't reflect our values

and

aspirations but he reminded us that we

also know what the world should like

look like he said 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

it's it's the story of men and women

gathered in churches and union halls in

high school gyms and people who stood up

and marched and risked everything they

had refusing to settle determined to

mold our future into the shape of our

ideals and it's because of their will

and determination that this week we

celebrate two anniversaries the 88th

anniversary of women winning the right

to vote

and the 45th

anniversary and the 45th anniversary of

that hot summer day when Dr King lifted

our sights and our hearts with his dream

for our

nation and I stand here today at the

crosscurrents of that history knowing

that my piece of the American dream is a

blessing hard one by those who came

before me all of them driven by the same

conviction that drove my dad to get up

an hour early each day to painstakingly

dress himself for work the same

conviction that drives the men and women

I've met all across this country people

who work the day shift then kiss their

kids good night and head out for the

night shift without disappointment

without regret see that good night kiss

is a reminder of everything they're

working for the military families who

say grace each night with an empty seat

at the

table the

servicemen the service men and women who

love this country so much they leave

those they love most to defend it the

young people across America serving our

communities teaching children cleaning

up neighborhoods caring for the least

Among Us each and every day people like

Hillary

Clinton who put those 18 million cracks

in that glass ceiling so that our

daughters and our sons Can Dream a

little bigger and aim a little higher

people like Joe Biden

who has never forgotten where he came

from and never stopped fighting for

folks who work long hours and face long

odds and need someone on their side

again all of us driven by the 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 and

that is the thread that connects our

hearts 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 and you see that is why I

love this country

and in my own

life in my own life in my own small way

I've tried to give back to this country

that has given me so much see that's why

I left a job at a big Law Firm for a

career in public service working to

empower young people to volunteer in

their communities because I believe that

each of us no matter what our age or our

background or our walk in life each of

us has something something to contribute

to the life of this nation and it's a

belief that Barack shares a belief at

the heart of his life's work see it's

what he did all those years ago in

Chicago setting up job training to get

people back to work and after school

programs to keep kids safe working block

by block to help people lift up their

families it's what he did in the

Illinois Senate moving people from

welfare to jobs passing tax cuts for for

hardworking families and making sure

women get equal pay for equal

work it's what he's done in the United

States Senate fighting to ensure that

the men and women who serve this country

are welcomed home not just with medals

and parades but with good jobs and

benefits and health care including

mental health

care that's why barack's running to end

the war in Iraq

responsibly to build an economy that

lifts every family to make sure Health

Care is available for every American and

to make sure that every single child in

this nation has a worldclass education

all the way from preschool to

college

that's what Barack Obama will do is

president of the United States of

America he'll achieve these goals the

same way he always has by bringing us

together and reminding us how much we

share and how alike we really are you

see Barack doesn't care where you're

from or what your background is or what

party if any you belong to see that's

just not how he sees the world he knows

that thread that connects us our belief

in America's promise our commitment to

our children's future he knows that that

threat is strong enough to hold us

together as one nation even when we

disagree it was strong enough to bring

hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago

it was strong enough to bring hope to

the mother he met who was worried about

her child in Iraq hope to the man who's

unemployed and can't afford gas to find

a job hope to the student working nights

to pay for a sister's Health Care

sleeping just a few hours a day and it

was strong enough to bring hope to

people who came out on a cold Iowa night

and became the first voices in this

Chorus for change that has been echoed

by millions of Americans from every

corner of this

nation millions of Americans who know

that Barack understands their dreams

millions of Americans who know that

Barack will fight for people like them

and that Barack will bring finally the

change that we

need and in the

end and in the end after all that's

happened these past 19 months see the

Barack Obama I know today is the same

man I fell in love with 19 years

ago he's the same man who drove me and

our new baby daughter home from the

hospital 10 years ago this

summer inching along in a snail's

pace peering at us anxiously at the

through the rearview mirror feeling the

whole weight of her future in his hands

determined to give her everything he'd

struggled so hard for himself

determined to give her something he

never had the affirming Embrace of a

Father's

Love and as I tuck that little girl in

as I tuck that little girl in and her

little sister into bed at night you see

I I think about how one day they'll have

families of their own and how one day

they and your sons and daughters will

tell tell their own children about what

we did together in this

election they'll tell

them they'll tell them how this time we

listen to our hopes instead of our

fears how this

time how this time we decided to stop

doubting and to start

dreaming how this time in this great

country where a girl from the south

Southside of Chicago can go to college

and law school and the son of a single

mother from Hawaii can go all the way to

the White

House that we committed

ourselves we committed ourselves to

building the world as it should be so

tonight in honor of my father's memory

and my daughter's future out of the

gratitude for those whose triumphs we

mark this week and those whose everyday

sacrifices have brought us to this

moment let us devote ourselves to

finishing their work let us work

together to fulfill their hopes and

let's stand together to elect Barack

Obama president of the United States of

America thank you God bless you and God

bless America

hi

Daddy hey

sweetie hello everybody hello from

Kansas City how about Michelle

Obama now you know why I asked her out

so many

times even though she said

no you want a persistent

president Michelle you were uh you were

unbelievable and uh you also look very

cute thank you

I I I'm here with the the Gerardo family

uh here in St Louis this is Jim and

Alicia and like us they've got

daughters the uh we've got uh

Lindsay and we've got Hannah and we've

got Grace over

here and and and theyve just been one

wonderful hosts uh the the whole time

that we've been

watching Daddy what city are you in I'm

in Kansas City

sweetie Malia Sasha how do you think Mom

did I think she did

good all right I think so too well

listen I want you guys to look after the

girls uh look after Mommy uh before I

get there and I'll I'll see you guys on

Thursday all right I love you

Daddy love you guys love you swe tight

bye-bye love you love daddy love you

sweetie you great