First lady’s apolitical image big part of her political draw
PHILADELPHIA, United States (AP) – Sorry, Democrats. #ElectMichelle will never be more than a wishful hashtag.
The same thing that made Michelle Obama such a powerful voice for Hillary Clinton at the Democratic convention makes it unlikely she’ll spend a huge amount of time on the campaign trail or, heaven forbid, run for president: She’s just not a political animal.
That’s sorry news to delegates who were moved to tears by the first lady’s nailed-it speech at the convention Monday night, where she delivered a compelling argument for Clinton’s election from the perspective of Sasha and Malia’s mom and also managed to skewer Donald Trump without uttering his name.
Democrats were still enthusing over Mrs Obama’s speech the next day – and hoping the first lady’s message would help win over those who have yet to commit to Clinton.
“Imagine yourself being a Bernie-or-Bust person listening to that,” said Representative Keith Ellison, a prominent Bernie Sanders supporter during the primaries. “You’ve gotta kind of say, ‘Well, I guess Michelle has an important point to make here.’ This is how we get to unity.”
Before the first lady’s speech, New York’s
Daily News tweeted out its planned front page, focused on Clinton-Sanders discord. Three hours later, the paper tweeted: “Stop the Presses! New front … THE LADY IS HER CHAMP. @Flotus speech brings down the house.”
Creative twittering commenced, involving the hashtags #ElectMichelle, #FLOTUSforPOTUS and #Obama2020.
Even Trump, who has an insult ready for any Democrat who crosses his path, had only nice things to say.
“I thought her delivery was excellent,” he said in an interview with
The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought she did a very good job. I liked her speech.”