michelle obama, my hero.

So I am one nerdy kid but I watched the Democratic National Convention and the one highlight of the entire convention was Michelle Obama's speech. I had never really heard her speak because I am not an avid follower of the elections but I do keep up to date once in awhile on the presidential candidates. Although I have had a strong leaning toward Barack Obama since primary season, I wasn't exactly sure if he was the "capable" candidate but watching Michelle Obama's speech made me admire the qualities of the Obama family and Barack Obama as a future president.

Her speech literally made me tear up and CRY at some moments. Well I can emotional when watching things on tv but her sincerity and her speech that was straight from the heart--not just something written by some behind the scenes political speech writer-- and it made me tear up. Well I also teared up at the dedication to Ted Kennedy even though I barely know who he is besides that he is a senator. But Michelle Obama's speech truely touched me. Throughout the speech I was thinking "oh maybe this is some ploy to get the voters with that pathos (emotional) appeal" but when she was telling the story of her childhood and her career and her husband's, I realized that Michelle and Barack Obama truely care for their community, their country and the people around them. And even though they could have had prosperous careers in law, they first decided to give back to their community and help others. To me that is a great thing because I would do the same thing. I could feel their strong sense of helping others. And what I loved about her speech was that she was confident, calm and so real. Other previous speeches were just citizens or other delegates promoting Barack Obama through their experiences or what they saw in him. And although they were regular citizens, I did not connect without because their speeches seemed very pre-planned and impersonal, but Michelle Obama's was so personal. And the fact that her and her husband both came from blue-collar families and were able to prosper on their own, it truely touched and illustrated the American dream.

"And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them."

"They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming."

"Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is - even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves - to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?"

I really wish I could vote. The best part of her speech that struck me was when she talked about how Barack wanted to remind us that we often accept the world as it is even if we don't like it, but we need to learn to NOT settle for that and change the world to how WE WANT IT TO BE LIKE.

I do not care if others don't like Barack Obama for his lack of details, his lack of experience, those words and ideals of his struck a chord in me. And I believe in him.

---ck

p.s. i cant wait to see how the republican national convention will change my mind. can you beat that mccain?