The 7 Best Lines From Michelle Obama's Barnstorming DNC Speech

I wrote a book about speech-making. The former First Lady knocked it out of the park in Chicago on Tuesday night.

I often think Obama is the finest orator of our generation. Not Barack.

Michelle.

I wrote a book about the art of rhetoric and have been a fan of the former First Lady’s eloquence and elocution since her now-famous speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention (“when they go low, we go high”), which she followed up with another brilliant piece of oratory at the (virtual) 2020 convention (“we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it”).

But Tuesday night’s primetime address in her home city of Chicago was electrifying and energizing like nothing I’ve seen for decades. The crowd in the United Center went wild, roaring with approval as she arrived onstage to deliver a tour de force of political rhetoric.

It wasn’t just me. CNN’s Anderson Cooper called her address “probably the most effective, powerful speech I’ve ever heard.”

Here, in my view, are Michelle Obama’s seven best lines:

1. “[Kamala Harris] understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.”

2. "For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated successful people who happened to be Black.”

3. “Who’s gonna tell [Donald Trump] the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?”

4. “America, hope is making a comeback.”

5. “We cannot be our own worst enemies. The minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, folks, we cannot start wringing our hands. We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is ‘just right.’ We cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala, instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.”

6. “The last time I was here was to memorialize my mother, the woman who showed me the meaning of hard work and humility and decency; the woman who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice. I still feel her loss so profoundly. I wasn’t even sure if I would be steady enough to stand before you tonight, but my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty that I feel to honor her memory. And to remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future.”

7. “If we see a bad poll, and we will, we’ve got to put down that phone and do something.”

Yes, do something. It was, and I say this without any hyperbole, a rhetorical masterpiece from Michelle; the exact right mix of ethos, logos and pathos, peppered with supremely memorable one-liners, putdowns and zingers.

As Barack Obama said at the start of his own speech, which was supposed to have been the main event of the night, “I don't know about you, but I'm feeling fired up. I am feeling ready to go — even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.”

ZETEO TOWN HALL AFTER KAMALA HARRIS' DNC SPEECH

On Thursday, Mehdi and Zeteo political reporter Prem Thakker will host a live Town Hall Q&A for paid subscribers, debriefing Harris’ speech, highlighting the most important moments of the the convention, and answering your questions about what comes next. Be on the lookout for that registration on Thursday afternoon!