Michelle Obama shines at the Democratic Convention

By Stone Martindale Aug 26, 2008, 3:38 GMT

Michelle Obama, wife of Barack Obama, addresses the 2008 Democratic National Convention at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado USA, 25 August 2008. The Democratic National Convention runs 25-28 August 2008 where it is expected that Illinois Senator Barack Obama will be nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate. EPA/SHAWN THEW

The Democratic Convention commenced tonight, and Presidential candidate Barack Obama's wife Michelle Obama took the stage in her bid to reveal the real Barack to Americans.

She declared "I love this country," in a speech that sought to give insight into the man who would be President.

In the first major address, Mrs. Obama described herself as "a daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother, no different from many women."

"Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party — if any — you belong to. That's not how he sees the world," she said.

"He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future — is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree."

Mrs. Obama said they would "fight for the world as it should be" to ensure the promise of a better life for their daughters and all children.

"I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. 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," she said.

Her words were aimed at skeptical voters and those who label Barack an "eliitist" and out of touch, and pointed out his hardscrabble upbringing and those who called her patriotism into question over past remarks taken out of context.

"How about Michelle Obama?" Barack Obama asked the crowd. "Now you know why I asked her out so many times even though she said no. You want a persistent president."