Michelle Obama in the Spotlight

Michelle Obama has been relatively quiet as candidate spouses go. Hillary has Bill, John Edwards has Elizabeth, but Michelle Obama is every bit as deserving of the spotlight. Before yesterday, she hadn't spoken to more than 250 people at a time. In Delaware, she spoke to overflow crowds in Wilmington and Dover. She certainly rose to the ocassion.

The News Journal summarizes her compelling speech:

She said her husband has exceeded the expectations of naysayers who believed he would never make it out of the presidential-race starting gate, then never raise enough money, then never develop the political organization, then never win the Iowa caucus.
"What we've learned this year ... is, the bar is set, you meet the bar, and then they move the bar."
It was a metaphor she returned to often, relating her and her husband's experiences
to that of everyday, working-class people who can't seem to get ahead or "reach the bar" in today's economy.

You can set the bar at any height you like. It was one of the best political speeches I have heard. She spoke of working her way from the south side of Chicago to Princeton without a trace of self-satisfaction or self-pity. Apparently she never found much time in her life to feel sorry for herself. She showed the remarkable ability to be tough minded and tender hearted at the same time. C-SPAN, which replayed the speech last night, has posted the speech on its website.