Michelle Obama, Superstar
The entire production and content of Michelle Obama's speech tonight was so well done that I feel compelled to make a comment or two now, tired as I may be which will lead to more misspelled words and awkward sentences than usual.
She definitely does not wear J. Crew anymore as she looked more like an icon than a woman trying to downplay her energy, intelligence or creativity. I doubt if there has ever been a speech like this by First Lady or potential First Lady at any policital convention in this country that can rival her style and carefully thought out content. She had the crowd in her hands, and the camera flow across the crowd was moving. Michelle Obama is a vivid personality. Her anecdotes about her life in the White House or with the years of the life of her husband were in no way ones that appeared, well what can I say, phony. She spoke to many issues that any parent or spouse has experiened, as well as broadly about issues affecting our country in ways that affect the Repubs without ever mentioning the word Romney.
The speech was exceptional. My only gripe is that these teleprompters trap their speakers. In my minor experience as a speaker, only at a big bank both quite a few years ago and but for quite a few years of speaking, I learned that putting down the notes(we had no teleprompters then) and turning off the visual aids, at the end of speech and stepping out of the stage podium cocoon and making forceful impromptu remarks, that had developed internally during the well worked over formal speech, was the most exhilerating thing possible for the speaker and more often than not for the audience. I experienced that early on in my speaking career but learned that one needed to feel just right to pull it off. She could have done it, if just for a minute or two. Maybe this is just an egotistic or nostalgic remark here, and Michelle Obama really was appealing, in tone, in voice, in message. If allowed to step out, my guess is that the place would have been ecstatic.
Julian Cruz, the mayor of San Antonio, the major speaker before fine the First Lady, did a fine job as well, not seeking the limelight but gettting it because he was not. He hit some fine points about education in particular that highlight the advance of this city surrounded by drug transit points but has still made significant economic progress in high tech industries in the last decade. Two of my short term friends died in this city in 2005 from reciprital too pure and purposeful overdoses, meaningful murders. Steve Earle's recent book, written about here several months ago, also highlights a sort of Baltimore problem in this city. What I have read recently tells of a real turnaround, which is amazing. Or is it? Booker of Newark is at the top of a small list of politicans that really deserve respect, but is it because of a real turnaround or because he has risked his life to save neighbors this year. He is the real thing.
Postscript --- 1:06am this morning --- of course Michelle did her "stand by your man" thing that is required, and no one who has ever been in a relationship, been married, or had children knows that all is not perfect. She did that in a way that did not distract from some of the subconcious, or to most of those conscious, viewers could not miss. She delivered real policy messages in the most polite way. It now the challenge of the next two days to back her up.
Postscript 2 --- And she did not do the usual arranged come up to the stage and have her husband and kids hug her thing. She was her own self.!
She definitely does not wear J. Crew anymore as she looked more like an icon than a woman trying to downplay her energy, intelligence or creativity. I doubt if there has ever been a speech like this by First Lady or potential First Lady at any policital convention in this country that can rival her style and carefully thought out content. She had the crowd in her hands, and the camera flow across the crowd was moving. Michelle Obama is a vivid personality. Her anecdotes about her life in the White House or with the years of the life of her husband were in no way ones that appeared, well what can I say, phony. She spoke to many issues that any parent or spouse has experiened, as well as broadly about issues affecting our country in ways that affect the Repubs without ever mentioning the word Romney.
The speech was exceptional. My only gripe is that these teleprompters trap their speakers. In my minor experience as a speaker, only at a big bank both quite a few years ago and but for quite a few years of speaking, I learned that putting down the notes(we had no teleprompters then) and turning off the visual aids, at the end of speech and stepping out of the stage podium cocoon and making forceful impromptu remarks, that had developed internally during the well worked over formal speech, was the most exhilerating thing possible for the speaker and more often than not for the audience. I experienced that early on in my speaking career but learned that one needed to feel just right to pull it off. She could have done it, if just for a minute or two. Maybe this is just an egotistic or nostalgic remark here, and Michelle Obama really was appealing, in tone, in voice, in message. If allowed to step out, my guess is that the place would have been ecstatic.
Julian Cruz, the mayor of San Antonio, the major speaker before fine the First Lady, did a fine job as well, not seeking the limelight but gettting it because he was not. He hit some fine points about education in particular that highlight the advance of this city surrounded by drug transit points but has still made significant economic progress in high tech industries in the last decade. Two of my short term friends died in this city in 2005 from reciprital too pure and purposeful overdoses, meaningful murders. Steve Earle's recent book, written about here several months ago, also highlights a sort of Baltimore problem in this city. What I have read recently tells of a real turnaround, which is amazing. Or is it? Booker of Newark is at the top of a small list of politicans that really deserve respect, but is it because of a real turnaround or because he has risked his life to save neighbors this year. He is the real thing.
Postscript --- 1:06am this morning --- of course Michelle did her "stand by your man" thing that is required, and no one who has ever been in a relationship, been married, or had children knows that all is not perfect. She did that in a way that did not distract from some of the subconcious, or to most of those conscious, viewers could not miss. She delivered real policy messages in the most polite way. It now the challenge of the next two days to back her up.
Postscript 2 --- And she did not do the usual arranged come up to the stage and have her husband and kids hug her thing. She was her own self.!
posted by John Borden at 11:46 PM
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