Michelle and Ted Go Their Way

The Lenny Kravitz song, "Are You Gonna Go My Way", has this interesting lyric:

I was born long ago
I am the chosen, I'm the one
I have come to save the day
And I won't leave until I'm done
So that's why we've got to try
We've got to breathe and have some fun
Though I'm not paid I play this game
And I won't stop until I'm done
(But what I really want to know is)
Are you gonna go my way
(Please baby) and I got to (please) got to know (I got to know) yeah

It seemed a tad messianic and funky for such a well-scripted convention. But it was one of the few off messages of the first night of the convention. Jimmy Carter? Could have been scary, but the 39th president stayed away from calling Israel an apartheid state and was the cuddly Jimmy Carter of building houses. There were plenty of white working-class types to testify that Barack Obama was no Moooslim weird. And there was a nice riff from his half sister.

Michelle Obama was the most important witness of the night, and there was nothing subtle about her pitch. "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. And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children—and all children in this nation—to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

Over all, I guess it worked. She's so pretty and poised that it's hard to see her as some kind of neo Angela Davis.

Ted Kennedy bore witness, too. But the Kennedy portion of the evening was really about the Kennedys, and that was pretty great. The film's mythic touchstones of Hyannisport and pictures of the lost brothers, the tributes from John Lewis and John Kerry, were pretty moving. It was unabashed in its liberalism and rightfully so. And Caroline's introduction was awfully touching.

Kennedy's speech was moving, not so much because of what he said, but by his mere presence. Watching a dying man mount a podium is always, by definition, moving, whether you're liberal or conservative. Following it with the cheesy hit "Still the One" by the seventies band Orleans was not a great move. Following that with the forgettable Chicago city clerk seemed off, but I guess they wanted an emotional break.

Michelle's night was a good one. I'm not sure character witnesses are what Obama needs, but it's just the first night.

Matt Cooper in Denver

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