Michelle Obama Elegantly Eviscerated Donald Trump, Without Even Mentioning His Name

On the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, it was not an elected official, but one of the most brilliant and inspiring first ladies in American history, Michelle Obama, who lit up the room, silenced the booing throngs, and opened up a can of elegant whoop-ass on everyone who has been behaving poorly, all without mentioning any offenders by name. It was not just one of the best and most ingenious speeches ever given by a political spouse at a party convention, it was one of the finest speeches I have heard at a convention, period.

It had been — and would continue to be — a rocky, intense evening at the Wells Fargo Center. The house was packed to the rafters, a marked contrast from last week’s perpetually half-full arena in Cleveland, but both enthusiasm and tension were high. Despite the program’s best and cheesiest efforts at kumbaya healing (Paul Simon actually sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which was a poor choice for many reasons, most having to do with Art Garfunkel) loud rancor between Bernie loyalists and Hillary supporters remained steady. Anti-Hillary hecklers were so disruptive during Al Franken and Sarah Silverman’s performed rapprochement that Silverman, a vocal Bernie supporter, lost her temper, snapping with obvious irritation, “Bernie-or-Bust people: You’re being ridiculous!” When New Jersey Senator Cory Booker was delivering the portion of his speech about the ways in which America’s founding documents did not account for Native Americans, blacks, or women, Bernie supporters shouted “War Hawk!” over him. Even as progressive hero Elizabeth Warren told the story of her early life as the daughter of a janitor, progressives tried to drown her out by yelling “We Trusted You!”

On Monday, only Michelle had the power to shut them up.

It was clear from her introduction that she was going to come out strong and tough; a video showed kids talking about their admiration for her, with one saying “The First Lady has inspired me to become a stronger, more happy, independent young female,” another unknowingly riffing on an old Tammy Wynette-Hillary Clinton joke it would take too long to explain, “she’s not just a woman standing next to a man” and another noting of Michelle, “She’s making her own place in history.”

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