We have got to vote like we did in 2008 and 2012. Weve got to show up with the same level of passion and hope for joe biden. Weve got to vote early, in person if we can, weve got to request our mailin ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow up to make sure theyre received, and then make sure our friends and families do the same. We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast, too, because weve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to. Look, we have already sacrificed so much this year. So many of you are already going that extra mile. Even when youre exhausted, youre mustering up unimaginable courage to put on those scrubs and give our loved ones a fighting chance. Even when youre anxious, youre delivering those packages, stocking those shelves and doing all that essential work so that all of us can keep moving forward. Even when it all feels so overwhelming, working parents are somehow piecing it all together without child care, teachers are getting creative so that our kids can still learn and grow. Our young people are desperately fighting to pursue their dreams. And when the horrors of systemic racism shook our country and our consciences, millions of americans of every age, every background rose up to march for each other, crying out for justice and progress. This is who we still are. Compassionate, resilient, decent people whose fortunes are bound up with one another. And it is well past time for our leaders to once again reflect our truth. So it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history, echoing heroes like john lewis who said, when you see something that is not right, you must Say Something. You must do something. That is the truest form of empathy, not just feeling, but doing. Not just for ourselves or our kids but for everyone. For all our kids. And if we want to keep the possibility of progress alive in our time, if we want to be able to look our children in the eye after this election, we have got to reassert our place in american history. And we have got to do everything we can to elect my friend joe biden as the next president of the United States. Thank you, all. God bless. Truly extraordinary moment in american political history. The former first lady of the United States delivering a powerful speech not only, of course, supporting joe biden for president of the United States but directly launching a very, very powerful attack on the current president of the United States, saying hes the wrong president for our country, hes way in, she says, over his head. Jake, what do you think . First of all, before i get to any of the content, we should just acknowledge that the former first lady is one of the most effective speakers in american politics today. She was reading that from a teleprompter, and the way she speaks is, you know, Strong Enough to give any politician a run for his or her money. In fact, if i can be so bold, shes a more effective speaker than Vice President joe biden is when reading from a teleprompter. But beyond that, weve never heard this country, a former first lady or current first lady, speak this starkly about the candidate that she is not supporting. She painted, first of all, a very distopian picture of the United States, and i know there are people out there who probably recognize that dystopia right now. Its just not the kind of thing you hear first ladies talk about. She talked about White Supremacists bearing torches and children being stripped from their families and thrown in cages, tear gas and rubber bullets for a photo op, all stories we lived through and can remember, but its not the kind of picture that a first lady is known to make. The other thing i would say is her criticisms of President Trump were not about his policies. They were about his lack of character. She talked about chaos, she talked about division, she alluded to racism. She talked about his lack of empathy. She noted, the wrong president for our time. He was in over his head. He simply cannot be who we need him to be. Then she used trumps own words, you might remember in that axios interview, he said, it is what it is, referring to the now 170,000 dead americans we have due to coronavirus, and Michelle Obama used those words against him. It is what it is describing him. Really, its an historic speech in any regard, both in terms of the scene she painted of the United States right now, and also what she had to say about the current president of the United States. Yeah, she certainly did. Dana, go ahead. Absolutely, and on that note, what struck me was how much she went for the jugular on donald trump, not just in her sort of blanket assessment, poor assessment of him, but she knew where to hit him where it hurts, talking about the fact that he lost the National Popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. We know that that is something that bothers the president almost as much as anything. And also talking about the fact that he barely won the electoral college, that he won a margin that averaged just one or two votes per precinct. She didnt just go after him, but she went after him in a way that she really knew would bug him. The other thing that was really striking as a parent is the way she tried to reach out to parents, talking about the morality and character that people tried to teach their kids. And how she argued that completely flies in the face of what they see in the white house. That kids are thinking that parents are just not telling them the truth, theyre lying to them when they explain what is right and wrong. And that is certainly a way that shes trying to reach out to people. She stressed that she is not someone who likes politics at all. You could hear the frustration in her voice, you could see it in her face, and i think thats why that made this so powerful. One of the things that really struck me was hearing her Say Something that weve heard her say in her postpresidency life about the power of voting. She was speaking directly to democrats who she said maybe didnt think that their vote counted in 2016 and decided to stay home. Its a direct reference to these narrow margins in the battleground states that President Trump won by, but it was also really speaking to this moment that were in right now in which democrats are looking around at President Trumps comments on voting, and theyre worried that hes not going to accept the results of the election. She said pretty clearly tonight, which i think is really extraordinary, that it has to be a margin of victory for joe biden that cannot be ignored. I think that was really striking to hear her say that. Its a nod to this concern that is now becoming more widespread among democrats about whether or not President Trump is going to actually accept the results of the election if he were to lose. Truly extraordinary moment. Ive covered a lot of democratic and republican political conventions. Anderson, i have never, ever heard a first lady of the United States, a current first lady or a former first lady, speak about a sitting president of the United States the way Michelle Obama just did. Yeah. And david axelrod, as jake tapper was saying, it wasnt based on policy issues, though certainly they would disagree on those, it was a portrait of the president of his character, and his character failings, his lack of compassion, his lack of attention, his lack of caring and capabilities. Without question, and also setting up the contrast with joe biden, which is such an important part of this week for him. Listen, let me say that ive watched Michelle Obamas evolution as a public figure. She spoke a lot of truths in this speech. I think the truest of all is when she said she hates politics. She doesnt speak like a politician, she doesnt think like a politician, and thats one of the reasons why shes such a powerful communicator. This was not a speech in political terms. This was a moral speech, a speech from the standpoint of a mother, of a concerned citizen, and feit felt that way. Ive seen it many times before. She became a great closer within the obama campaigns because of that, because she speaks with a moral authority few in politics can summon. Anderson, have you heard a speech like this . Certainly as a first lady, i havent. No, and if you think about Michelle Obama, shes someone that really avoided politics. She said that in her speech and she really wanted to, i think, reserve her Political Capital in some ways for moments like this. Sometimes she would say she wanted to reserve it to make the best case for her husband, and here you see her tonight using all of her Political Capital. Shes also this kind of pop culture figure who also kind of comes across as your favorite nextdoor neighbor. So here she was, speaking very plainly, using colloquialisms throughout this speech, and really speaking from the heart in a way that will connect with so many different americans, urging folks who might not like joe biden, right . Hes not perfect, she said at one point, but hes someone who listens. She also wove in all the themes from the night about joe biden, being a good listener, being someone who is em pathetic, and speaking as someone who has seen the presidency up close, and she said donald trump has had time, and we know now that he is not up for this job. Four years ago Michelle Obama gave a very wellknown speech as well, there was a lot of applause. Does this make much of a difference . Its hard to say. Well see who is watching this convention, but the thing that was so affecting about her was not only that she was emotional and a mother and seemed to be a truth teller, but she had also been in the white house. When she started out by saying you simply cannot fake your way through this job, believe me, ive been there. I understand how complex and compelling the issues are. I understand how difficult these decisions are that this president that a president has to make, and this president has had enough time and he cant do it. And she moved from that to talking about character and about our children and what our children are seeing now every single day, and how families are suffering. And then she did a very, very potent get out the vote message. Put on your walking shoes right now. Vote early, because as she said, theyre sending out people to intimidate voters and theyre lying about the security of our ballots. And for a former first lady to say theyre lying about a current president of the United States is really quite something to behold, and you could see and hear the sadness in her voice in a way and the frustration that she has had over these last few years. John . I think the urgency of now was her message in the sense that you mentioned the speech four years ago. She gave a very good speech at Hillary Clintons convention, Hillary Clinton herself a former first lady probably wishes she had the urgency of Michelle Obama in rallying the cause. The point she made about many of us four years ago maybe didnt vote. Maybe we didnt have the turnout in 2008 or 2012, because maybe we thought it was over. Maybe we thought Hillary Clinton had an insurmountable lead. Do not make that mistake again. I think that was a critical part of the message. Michelle obama doesnt like politics, right . Donald trump will do what he did to Hillary Clinton to joe biden. Part of all the speakers tonight was to show joe biden the man. What Michelle Obama was saying, do not wait. If you plan to vote by mail, get it tonight. Do not delay. Think about who she is. If black women turn out in higher numbers that they did in 2016, if suburban mothers or moms stick with joe biden like they did with democrats in the house in 2018, joe biden is the next president of the United States. Michelle obama can be a great mess messenger here, and they would be an idiot if that wasnt on an ad in minutes. Van, your thoughts on what you saw. It was an extraordinary speech. Shes beautiful. It was so beautiful. You know, she wasnt just putting the president down, she was trying to pick the country up. She was speaking like a lot of moms across this country. You know, the heartbreak was there, the hope was there. You know, when she talks about joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair, i mean, that goes deep. She was bringing something forward in the country that just hasnt been here for a long time. She talks about what the young people are seeing on their phones, seeing all these shootings, seeing all this disrespect, and the young people are beginning to give up on the country. So youre seeing one of the most effective communicators in American Life putting it all on the table, and it wasnt just putting the president down. And the other theing is she talked about empathy. She wasnt just siding that to biden. She says, we all have empathy. Thats a feature of this country. I was just blown away by what she did, and she was building on the incredible performance of a lot of other people, but that was an extraordinary moment, i think, in American Life, what she just did for this country. And rhee an, have you seen a lot of first ladies give speeches . She comes across as a mother and a patriot who sees whats going on in the country. I thought Bernie Sanders speech was one of the most important pieces of tonight, because he seemed very sincere and excited about joe and kamala in a way that i did not feel in 2016. You know when you go to a wedding and someone gives a speech and you can always kind of tell whats going on . But bernies speech, i felt like bernie was about to get married. I did not feel that in 2016. I think thats part of the Democratic Partys success in the fall. Governor granholm . I want to pick up on Michelle Obamas message on empathy. She said the white house needs someone who knows someone elses experience has value, too, who understands that there are 330 million lives out there who have worth. That empathy component of what she described and felt and made us feel was woven through the entire convention. When you saw all of these montages of real people, just regular folks, the amtrak guy, the fellow at the barber shop who got a call from joe biden because of joe bidens empathy, the reflection of real people in joe bidens experience, it was all tied together in a beautiful bow by Michelle Obama, who finishes with the words that empathy is not just feeling but doing and initiating that call to action. I thought it created an inkr incredible story at this convention tonight, and she was the capper. Scott jennings, what did you think of her speech tonight . There were two audiences in this campaign. The turnout audience, which is huge, and the persuasion audience, which is very, very small, i think, in this campaign. Michelle obama went right for the turnout audience. Thats what they need to hear after democratic constituencies did not vote in 2016. I suspect her speech was compelling for that purpose. The problem with Michelle Obama or with her is that she will outshine joe bid binen by a mil foot candles or however you measure bright lights. There is no way he gets near her. She is a real talent, democrats like her, they care about her, and they are actually enthusiastic about her. The speech she gave tonight was like kasich. He said, i dont think joe biden will make it, and he used the word extremism, and i think youll hear republicans throw that back in the fall. And Bernie Sanders has to get people to vote for biden. There is no doubt that Michelle Obama has a lot of talent and did her job tonight. Your point about Bernie Sanders im sorry, the whole point about putting Bernie Sanders and the republicans together is to show the size of the tent, that there has been attention, of course, inside the progressive and the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, and now the republicans who are nevertrumpers or who will come over in the independents. But it is a huge tent, and everyone is welcome, no matter what your political persuasion or your color or your age or your size or who you love. And that is the beauty of democracy, its the beauty of the u. S. , and that is what was reflected in this convention tonight. Andrew, do you think the socialism label will stick . Its been used against democrats, obviously, for a long time. Does joe biden and Kamala Harris scream socialism to Many Americans . They really dont, and most americans realize we need the government to help dig us out of the hole that were in. I thought the series of meg whitman and christy todd, the other Republican Leaders who said they were supporting joe, i thought, was very effective. I think there was like a permission structure so that if you were a moderate republican who is trying to figure out if youre going to vote for trump or not, that you felt like the safe, comfortable thing to do was to head toward joe and kamala. Van, im sorry, i interrupted you. I think a couple things here. First of all, the way i saw Michelle Obama and what she was trying to accomplish, she has two challenges. One is youve got