CHICAGO — The Obamas dominated Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, underscoring an extraordinary reality: The party’s two best orators are married to each other.
The only point of division among Democrats on the night seemed to be which one of them is better.
Former President Obama sought the higher ground, invoking former President Lincoln’s call to summon the “better angels” or our nature, and yearning for a nation that might move beyond its present rancor and rage.
Michelle Obama, the former first lady, delivered a fierier address, taking several verbal swings at former President Trump while rarely naming him — and insisting Democrats had to “do something” to prevent the specter of his reelection.
The Obamas put everyone else in the shade and, to be fair, other speakers, including second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, did not really try to compete.
Here are the five biggest takeaways:
Barack Obama calls on ‘the ties that bind’
At a Democratic National Convention 20 years ago in Boston, a state senator was catapulted to national fame by a speech in which he contended the differences between “blue” and “red” America were exaggerated — especially by those who stood to gain from such division.
The state senator was Barack Obama, who would be elected to the U.S. Senate that November and to the White House — becoming the nation’s first Black president — just four years later.
Tuesday night’s address from Obama sounded similar themes — seasoned by more experience, bruised by more battles, and keenly aware that the divisions seem deeper than ever.
“We live in a time of such confusion and rancor,” Obama said, “with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last — money, fame, status, likes.”
But he contended that “away from all the noise, the ties that bind us together” still survived.
His political argument was that Democrats need to articulate a belief in those ties if they are to emerge victorious in November.
Of course, there were plenty of straightforwardly political points sounded, too. Obama embraced Harris’s campaign theme of “freedom,” saying the term encompassed everything from same-sex marriage to religious freedom to environmental rights.
He also took direct aim at Trump, including his “weird obsession with crowd size” and his “whining about his problems.”
Obama paid tribute to President Biden, calling him a president “who defended democracy at a time of great danger.”
Above all, though, this was a full display of the kind of soaring rhetoric that made Obama president in the first place.
It thrills his party now as much as it ever did.
Michelle Obama brings the fire
The former first lady delivered an even more impassioned address than her husband, lambasting Trump repeatedly while not mentioning his name until the latter stages of her speech.
She spoke about the advantages of the wealthy and privileged in a way that left no doubt she was targeting Trump.
“Most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” Obama insisted, and can not depend upon “an escalator waiting to take us to the top” — an obvious reference to the escalator Trump descended at Trump Tower in 2015 to declare his first presidential candidacy.
The crowd here at the United Center in her hometown roared with particular passion at the former first lady’s scathing reference to “the affirmative action of generational wealth” — a reminder both of Trump’s background as the son of a wealthy developer and of Republican attacks on programs intended to advance marginalized communities, particularly Black communities.
Obama drew repeated comparisons between herself and Harris, speaking of them as two women of color from modest backgrounds who had to fight for everything they had achieved — but whose struggles also gave them a larger measure of empathy.
“Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what’s in your bank account, we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life. All of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued,” Obama said.
She also warned Democrats to brace for the kind of attacks on Harris that had previously been leveled against her and her husband.
At the same time, Obama delivered a stern admonition that the stakes in the election were too high for voters to bring a “Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right.”
The big theme: Harris for the people, Trump for himself
A convention’s real political purpose is not only to fire up the faithful — it’s also to frame a campaign message.
The narrative Democrats intend to create around this year’s campaign is increasingly clear — that Harris is a forward-looking champion of the middle class, while Trump is only out for himself.
Republicans, of course, vigorously disagree, instead casting Democrats as too liberal for the average American.
But virtually every speech Tuesday hit some version of the main Harris theme.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), for example, said that when he worked with Harris in the upper chamber, he “saw a leader who was fearless, who stood up for middle-class families like the one she was raised in.”
Whether the electorate buys that argument will only be known in November. But the Democrats are at least singing from the same song sheet when it comes to their central narrative.
Emhoff paints the personal side of the story
The second gentleman seems perfectly well aware that the grand rhetorical range of Barack or Michelle Obama isn’t something he can emulate.
Instead, he painted an appropriately personal picture of his wife, including their early dates and him leaving a “rambling” message on her voicemail.
Emhoff’s self-deprecating style was best encapsulated when he noted wryly that “my mother is the only person in the whole world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying me.”
Emhoff presented himself as an everyman, still in touch with his high school buddies and not quite able to believe the position in which he now finds himself.
It was a speech unlikely to change many minds, one way or another, but it hit the mark required.
Biden fades fast
One of the most notable facets of the second day of the convention was how quickly the incumbent president has come to seem like an afterthought.
Obama paid tribute to the president, but his wife did not mention Biden. More generally, the relief of the party in rallying around Harris is tangible.
Biden has left Chicago for California. It’s perhaps a prudent move, but it’s also one that underscores his hasty marginalization.