First Lady Michelle Obama took the stage to thunderous applause at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, and delivered a speech that hit all the right personal notes, but was also surprisingly long on substance. While recounting the values that she and “Barack” grew to share, Mrs. Obama also made important connections between those values and President Obama‘s achievements. 
 
 There were also a few possible veiled shots at Republican candidate Mitt Romney. 
 
 The First Lady framed her speech as the story of how she feared her husband’s presidency might change him, versus how it actually did (“I have seen firsthand that being president doesn’t change who you are,” she concluded. “No, it reveals who you are.”), and wove it together with stories of their family histories, of struggle and sacrifice, and of the sometimes stingy rewards of hard work. There were also colorful threads about the young future president’s rusted-out car and too-small shoes, but Mrs. Obama largely avoided the treacly pitfalls of the spouse’s speech, in favor of crystal clear, passionate advocacy for her husband’s work, and the values that guide it. 
 
 In describing the lessons she and her husband took from their respective upbringing, the First Lady delivered what might seem, to some, like veiled shots at Republican rival Mitt Romney, whose tremendous wealth, and secrecy about it, have earned him heavy criticism. 
 
 “We learned about dignity and decency,” she said. “That how hard you work matters more than how much you make. That helping others means more than just getting ahead of yourself. We learned about honesty and integrity. That the truth matters. That you don’t take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules. And success doesn’t count unless you earn it fair and square.” 
 
 Mrs. Obama sounded a similar note later in the speech, but this time, in almost poetic fashion. “For Barack,” she said, “success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” 
 
 As a writer, this was probably my favorite line of the entire speech, but politically speaking, it’s a tossup as to whether the sentiment, lovely on the lips, gets any traction on the ground. 
 
 She connected the personal threads of her story with things like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the President’s efforts to keep federal student aid available and affordable, and his health care reform law. 
 
 “When it comes to the health of our families,” the First Lady said, “Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically. No, that’s not how he was raised. He cared that it was the right thing to do. He did it because in America, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine. Our kids should be able to see a doctor when they’re sick. And no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or an illness.” 
 
 Then, to a raucous ovation, Mrs. Obama said “And he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care. That’s what my husband stands for.” 
 
 It was a wonderful performance by the First Lady, perhaps as everyone would expect from a woman of her extensive experience, but it will be interesting to see how the media’s reactions to it compare with the gonzo enthusiasm generated by Ann Romney’s speech at the RNC. 
 
 Here’s the speech from MSNBC: ||||| CHARLOTTE, NC - Day one of the Democratic National Convention was a tale of two events. Throughout the early evening session -- prior to the major primetime hour -- the proceedings featured angry attacks on Mitt Romney and Republicans, an unshakeable fixation on trivial, minor issues (other than jobs and the economy), and a disquieting, heavy emphasis on abortion and divisive social issues. Especially unpleasant were the patriotism-questioning shout-fest from former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland ("If Mitt Romney were Santa, he'd fire the Reindeer and outsource the elves!") and the pro-abortion screed from the president of NARAL, a hardcore pro-abortion organization. Rare highlights included a strong speech from wounded warrior Tammy Duckworth, who is running for Congress in Illinois, and an energetic performance from Newark Mayor Cory Booker. In primetime, Democrats shelved most -- though not all -- of the bitter edginess and Left-wing social issues bravado. For what it's worth, here are my quick-take grades for the main speakers: 
 
 Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland: D. For a guy who's rumored to be in the 2016 mix, O'Malley was terrible. His delivery would have won gold in the "trying too hard" speech Olympics, his criticisms of Mitt Romney were as unoriginal and shrill as they were misleading, and he didn't offer a single memorable line. Stick to budgets in Maryland, governor. 
 
 San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro: B-. Castro has been billed as both the 'Hispanic Barack Obama' and the Democrats' answer to Sen. Marco Rubio. Based on tonight's keynote address, he is neither. His speech was fine and included some moving tributes to his family, his smile was broad and inviting, and his little daughter was adorable. But he was first elected mayor in 2009, and offered little insight into what he's actually accomplished. As he launched into his requisite attacks on Mitt Romney, I could imagine average viewers asking, "wait, who is this guy?" In short, Castro seems pleasant and fairly promising, but his resume is very thin -- and unlike Obama in 2004, his speech wasn't nearly captivating enough to compensate for that. 
 
 Michelle Obama: A. The First Lady turned in a masterful showing, delivering a subtlely yet distinctly political speech without seeming to do so. She looked confident and in command throughout -- she's gotten used to this. Her message: I love my husband. He's the same man I fell in love with. He understands real struggle and the help we give each other (subtexts: dig at Romney, rebuttal to you didn't build that), and he really cares about the pain too many Americans are experiencing. This was the first time all night that anyone on stage even came close to conveying the nation's bleak economic picture. She didn't try to claim that her husband had all the answers or that he's fixed everything -- she simply said that he feels the challenges acutely and is determined to make things better. It remains to be seen whether her uber-personal reintroduction of "Barack" will sway too many viewers, but I think she did everything she could on her husband's behalf. The issue the Obama campaign may encounter is that the president's personal likeability and personal qualities *aren't* his problem. His problem is the 23 million Americans who are out of work, under-employed, or have given up looking. It's the $16 Trillion national debt. It's the slowing growth. It's the soaring poverty, and dropping household incomes. Will "he's a great guy, who gets it and really cares" be enough? 
 
 Other notes: It was remarkable to hear one speaker after another inveigh against "the failed policies of the past" (as if Obama's policies have been the antidote), before ceding the convention floor to a message from...Jimmy Carter. It was equally remarkable to watch a convention overtly geared toward hyping "women's issues" loudly cheer a tribute to...Ted Kennedy. It was also interesting to hear from three Democrat Governors (O'Malley, Quinn, and Patrick) who have unapologetically raised taxes and whose states are fiscal basketcases -- and another (Perdue) whose approval rating is so far under-water in North Carolina that she chose not to run for another term. Patrick went after Mitt Romney's record in Massachusetts, misleading on the debt, lying on job growth, and eliding Romney's final unemployment rate (4.7 percent, versus Patrick's 6.1 percent today). It was frustrating, but not the least bit surprising, to hear nearly every speaker misstate facts or straight-up lie about Romney's alleged "outsourcing," his (bipartisan, shhh) Medicare plan and his "middle class tax hikes." Will our intrepid MSM fact-checkers hold them accountable? Finally, it's fascinating how deeply invested Democrats are in the "equal pay" smoke-and-mirrors act they recycled constantly throughout the evening. I'm reminded of something candidate Obama said in 2008: 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a big election. Tonight -- and indeed the entire Obama re-election campaign -- was about small things.
– Michelle Obama's speech to the Democratic National Convention is being widely hailed as a triumph. Even many conservative pundits praised her performance, while some of the giddier Democrats are now hoping she plans her own run for office. She "knocked it out of the park" by delivering "a series of devastating contrasts with the Romney family and policy agenda, cloaked in the bromides of wifely love," writes Garance Franke-Rute at the Atlantic. Michelle "reminded that she hasn't just been growing vegetables in the White House garden—she's been sharpening her political skills, too." Michelle "turned in a masterful showing, delivering a subtly yet distinctly political speech without seeming to do so," writes Guy Benson at Townhall.com. "It remains to be seen whether her uber-personal reintroduction of 'Barack' will sway too many viewers, but I think she did everything she could on her husband's behalf." "In a cloyingly theatrical modern tradition, first ladies attend the national conventions to testify about biography, not policy," writes Irin Carmon at Salon. But Michelle "managed to effortlessly marshal both to tell a story about change in America—with the promise of more to come—and to deliver her speech transcendently." Michelle "largely avoided the treacly pitfalls of the spouse’s speech, in favor of crystal clear, passionate advocacy for her husband’s work, and the values that guide it," writes Tommy Christopher at Mediaite. His favorite line was: "Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives," though "it’s a tossup as to whether the sentiment, lovely on the lips, gets any traction on the ground."