Ladies and gentlemen, the first lady of the United States of america, nancy reagan. [applause] [applause] mrs. Reagan thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [music concludes] [cheers and applause] mrs. Reagan thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I have to tell you that there is no experience like watching yourself on film that you had done 30 years ago. [laughter] its an experience. But i know you have obviously heard a lot of political speeches. But i would like to shift gears with you for just a minute if i could, because it gives me the chance to Say Something to you i have wanted to say for a long time. Id like to thank you very much for all the support and the hard work, and the kindnesses that you have extended to us over it appeared of years over a period of years. I know you are not aware of it, but i drew on your strength many times, particularly the first year in the white house. [applause] i am very grateful to you for that. And it did help me a lot. And i know i will be drawing on it again and depending on you again in the months to come. So i will thank you in advance for that. Lets make it one more for the gipper. [applause] [applause] [cheers] during the Reagan White House years, barbara bush was second lady of the u. S. , married to thenVice President george h. W. Bush. She became first lady in 1989. Barbara bush and Abigail Adams are the only two women to be the wife of one u. S. President and the mother of another. Her son, george w. Bush, was the ,3rd president , and jeb bush the 43rd governor of florida. After one of her six children was diagnosed with dyslexia, she focused on literacy, calling it the most important issue we have. And later started the barbara bush literacy foundation. She spoke at the Republican Convention in 1992. [applause] [cheers and applause]. Mrs. Bush thank you very, very much. Thank you very, very much. Thank and thank you all for that warm welcome. Start, i just want to say how proud i am of my very good friend marilyn quayle. Thank you. [cheers and applause] i want to thank her very much for those really nice overly generous words and tell her what a great speech she gave. So thank you very much [cheers and applause] i also would like to say that whoever arranged for me to speak after those fabulous points of light is fired [laughter] [applause] they made me really proud to be an american. [cheers and applause] youre a really tough audience. [laughter] but what a thrilling welcome. You make me feel wonderful, but then i always feel wonderful when i get to talk about the strongest, the most decent, the most caring, the wisest, yes, and the healthiest man i know [cheers and applause] [chanting, four more years ] but, you know, theres something not quite right here. Speeches by president ronald reagan, president gerald ford, secretary jack kemp, senator senator phil gramm, and barbara bush . [cheers and applause] [chanting. Barbara ] mrs. Bush all right. All right. But im here not to give a speech but to have a conversation, and most of all to thank hundreds of communities across the country for one of the great privileges george and i have had in the last four years, the chance to meet so Many American families and be in your homes. We have learned from you, and we look forward to meeting so many more of you with four more years. [cheers and applause] we have met weve met thousands of wonderful families. When we speak of families, we include extended families. We mean the neighbors, even the community itself. Weve met heroic, single mothers and fathers who have told us how hard it is to raise children when youre doing it all alone. Weve talked to grandparents who thought their children child raising days were over but are now raising their grandchildren because their children cant. We visited literacy classes where courageous parents were learning to read and continuing their education so they could make a better life for their families, and weve held crack aids andd babies with comforted other victims. George and i have seen communities gather around parents with a gravely ill child , helping them take care of the other children, helping them make it through each day. There have been many times in our own lives when we too couldnt have made it without our friends and neighbors. We shared moments with the families where the father and indeed the mother were serving in the persian gulf and heard stories of how their neighbors saw to it that the family left at home was taken care of, whether it was babysitting, helping with emergencies, or even cutting the grass. Those Yellow Ribbon towns not only wrapped trees and posts, they also wrapped their arms around these young families. We have met so many different families, and, yet, they really arent so very different. As in our family, as in American Families everywhere, the parents weve met are determined to teach their children integrity, strength, responsibility, courage, sharing, love of god, and pride in being an american. [cheers and applause] however you define family, thats what we mean by family values. You know, we know that parents have to cope with so much more in todays world. More drugs, more violence, more promiscuity, than when our children were growing up. You know, when george and i headed west after world war ii, we already had our first child. George was a veteran, and he was a college graduate, and he had a job here in texas. And we eventually settled in midland, a small, Decent Community [applause] where neighbors helped each other, a wonderful place to bring up a family, and it still is. [applause] in many ways, these were the best years of our lives. Georges days in the fields were dusty with long hours and hard work, but no matter when he got home, he always had time to throw a ball or listen to the kids. I car pooled, was a den mother, and went to more Little League games than i can count. We went to church, we cheered at fourth of july picnics and fireworks, and we sang carols together at christmas. Thank heavens george didnt expect our kids to be perfect. They werent. [laughter] once, when one of the boys hit a baseball through the vanderhoffs secondstory window, i called george to see what dire punishment should be handed out, and all he said was, the vanderhoffs second story window . What a hit. [laughter] [applause] i dont believe that george ever had to punish the children. He had a quiet way of making them want to do right and give reverence to god, and it made such a difference having his wise hand guiding them. You know, to us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there. [applause] no family is perfect, and no family is without pain and suffering. We lost a daughter, we almost lost a son, and one child struggled for years with a learning disability. You know, once when i heard an interviewer ask george what accomplishment he was most proud of, i wondered what would he answer. Would he say his years as a navy pilot . A businessman . A Public Servant . Or would he speak about some of the changes that have happened since he has been president , the collapse of communism, the fact that our children no longer live in fear of nuclear holocaust, or would he say the enactment of the nations most comprehensive civil rights law to protect the rights of disabled americans . [cheers and applause] what would he answer . Well, its the same answer george bush always gives. That his children still come home. [cheers and applause] this week this week, we are here to talk about the future of our country and the world, but both george and i believe that while the white house is important, the countrys future is in your house, every house all over america. [cheers and applause] now, i would like to say a word to some special people. The rest of you may listen in. But i would really like to talk for a moment to parents who have sacrificed for their children. You may be exhausted from working a job, or two jobs, and taking care of your children. Or you may have put your career on hold. Either way, you may wonder, as i did, every now and then, am i really doing the right thing . Yes, you are. [cheers and applause] [chanting, Barbara Barbara ] for where would our country find leaders with integrity, courage, strength, all the family values, in 10, 20 , or 30 years . The answer is that you are teaching them, loving them, and raising them right now. [applause] so, yes, from the bottom of my heart, im here to tell you that you are doing the right thing and god bless you for it. [cheers and applause] more years ]ur i love you, too. [laughter] [cheers and applause] now, since i have met so many of your families, i would like you to meet ours, all 22 of them. [cheers and applause] [chanting, four more years ] you would never know it now, but what a handful they were. [laughter] we thought maybe youd like to hear from one of our family, george p. , our eldest grandson from miami, florida. George . [applause] george p. Bush thanks, granny. I would like to talk about a member of the family that is not here tonight. You know him as the president , but i know him as the greatest man i have ever known. [cheers and applause] despite the enormous pressures of his job, he always has time for his 12 grandkids. In a president ial campaign, its hard for people to get a sense of what makes the candidates tick. The family is what makes my grandfather tick. [applause] i would like to read excerpts from a letter that he wrote to me after my dad and i came back from a mission in a Relief Mission in armenia before he was inaugurated. I hope it gives you a better understanding of what my grandfather is all about. He wrote, dear george p. a few days ago, i met with the deputy mayor of yerevan in the soviet union. He was a stolid looking guy and he came in with some people from cambridge, massachusetts, because because yerevan and cambridge are sister cities. A few days he told about how things were going back there in the u. S. S. R. He told me that the outpouring of generosity and caring from america had really meant a lot to the people there, and then he said this. When your son wept, it was on every tv set in the soviet union, and those tears said more about the decency of the American People more than anything else. [cheers and applause] my grandfather went on to say, men are not supposed to cry says convention, but we do, and we should, and we should not worry when we do. [applause] i cry when im happy, and i cry when im sad, but when i saw you and your wonderful dad in that church in armenia on christmas day, i cried because i was both happy and sad. Dont ever forget what you saw there. Dont ever forget what you participated in. In less than two weeks, i will be president of the United States. I know i will not forget what that little trip of yours meant to people all over the world. Youre a good man, charlie brown, and i miss you a lot. Devotedly, gampy. [cheers and applause] this letter means a lot to me, because it shows the heart of this man that i love so much. I just wish people who see george bush on tv or read about him in the newspapers could know him as i do. A man of enormous integrity and love for his family, and for all of america, thank you. Y viva bush. [cheers and applause] mrs. Bush thanks, george. You know your grandfather is determined to preserve a nation of Strong Families and strong communities, where, as he has said, every child should have someone he can count on, someone who calls him by name. Tonight, you will nominate george bush to lead our nation into its future. [cheers and applause] with all my heart, i say, and i know him best, you have made a superb choice. Thank you, and god bless you. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] mr. Bush thank you. See you tomorrow. Thanks a lot. [cheers and applause] just a few months later, george h. W. Bush lost the 1992 president ial election to bill clinton, making Hillary Clinton first lady. Before moving into the white house, Hillary Clinton had a full career. She graduated from yale law school, worked on George Mcgoverns president ial campaign, and practiced law in little rock before becoming first lady of arkansas. President clinton appointed mrs. Clinton chair of the Health Care Reform task force, but, ultimately, her efforts advocating for new Health Care Policy failed. Later, after her years as first lady, she became secretary of state, a u. S. Senator, and the first woman president ial nominee of a major party. Heres Hillary Clinton at the Democratic Convention in 1996 , asking delegates to reelect her husband. Mrs. Clinton thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you, tipper. Thank you all so much. [cheers and applause] thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you all, and good evening. I am overwhelmed by your warm welcome. And i want to thank my friend, tipper gore. [cheers and applause] you know, we are gathered here together [cheers and applause] to have a really good time. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] i am overwhelmed and very grateful to all of you. [cheers and applause] you know [cheers and applause] after this reception, i think you all are ready for the rest of this convention, which has already been so positive and good. I know, and you know, that chicago is my kind of town. Applause]d and chicago is my kind of village. [cheers and applause] i have so many friends here. People who have been important to meet all my life, and it seems like every single one of them has given me advice on this speech. One friend suggested that i appear here tonight with the childsaving gorilla from the brookfield zoo. [laughter] you know as this friend , explained, that gorilla is a typical chicagoan, tough on the outside, but with a heart of gold underneath. [cheers and pplause] another friend advised me that i should cut my hair and color it orange and then change my name to hilary rodman clinton. [laughter] [applause] but after considering these and countless other suggestions, i decided to do tonight what i have been more than 25 years. I want to talk about what matters most in our lives and in our nation. Children and families. [cheers and applause] i wish i wish we could be sitting around a kitchen table, just us, talking about our hopes and fears about our childrens futures. For bill and me, family has been the center of our lives. But we also know that our families, like your families, are part of a Larger Community that can help or hurt our best efforts to raise our child. Right now, in our biggest cities and our smallest towns, there are boys and girls being tucked gently into bed. And there are boys and girls who have no one to call mom or dad and no place to call home. Right now, there are mothers and fathers just finishing a long days work. And there are mothers and fathers just going to work, some to their second or third jobs of the day. Right now, the our parents worrying, what if the babysitter is sick tomorrow, or how can we pay for college this fall . And right now, there are parents despairing about gang members and drug pushers on the corners in their neighborhood. Right now, there are parents questioning a Popular Culture that glamorizes sex and violence, smoking and drinking, and teaches children that the logos on their clothes are more valued than the generosity in [cheers and applause] but also right now, there are dedicated teachers preparing their lessons for the new school year. There are volunteers tutoring and coaching children. There are doctors and nurses caring for sick children. Police officers working to help kids stay out of trouble and off drugs. Of course, parents first and foremost are responsible for their children. But, we are all responsible for ensuring that children are raised in a nation that doesnt just talk about family values, but acts in ways that value families. [cheers and applause] just think, as Christopher Reeve so eloquently reminded us last night, we are all part of one family. The american family. And each one of us has value. Each child who comes into this world should feel special. Every boy and every girl. Our daughter, chelsea, will graduate from college in 2001, at the dawn of the next century. Thats not so far away. It is hard for any of us to know what the world will look like then, much less when chelsea is my age in the year 2028. But one thing we know for sure is that change is certain. Progress is not. Progress depends on the choices we make today for tomorrow. And on whether we meet our challenges and protect our values. We can start by doing more to support parents and the job they have to do. Issues affecting children and families are some of the hardest we face as parents, as citizens, as a nation. In october, bill and i will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. [cheers and applause] bill was with me when chelsea was born, in the delivery room, in my hospital room. When we brought our baby daughter home, not only did i have lots of help, i was able to stay in the hospital as long as my doctors thought i needed to be there. [applause] but today, too many new mothers are asked to get up and get out after 24 hours. That is just not enough time for many new mothers and babies. That is why the president is right to support a bill that would prohibit the practice of forcing mothers and babies to leave the hospital in less than 48 hours. [cheers and applause] thats also why more hospitals ought to install 24hour hotlines to answer questions once new mothers and fathers get home. Thats why home nurses can make such a difference to parents who may not have grandparents, or aunts and uncles around to help. We have to do whatever it takes to help parents meet their responsibilities at home and at work. The very first piece of legislation that my husband signed into law has been vetoed twice, the family and medical leave law. [applause] that law allows parents time off for the birth or adoption of a child or for family emergencies without fear of losing their jobs. Already, it has helped 12 million families and it hasnt hurt the economy one bit. [applause] you know, bill and i are fortunate that our jobs have allowed us to take breaks from work. Not only when chelsea was born, but to attend her School Events and take her to the doctor. But millions of other parents cant get time off. That is why my husband wants to expand the family and medical leave law so that parents can take time off for childrens doctors appointments and parentteacher conferences at school. [applause] we all know that raising kids is a fulltime job and since most parents work, they are, we are stretched thin. Just think about what many parents are responsible for on any given day. Packing lunches, dropping the kids at school, going to work, checking to make sure that the kids get home from school safely, shopping for groceries, making dinner, doing the laundry, helping with homework, paying the bills. I didnt even mention taking the dog to the vet. That is why my husband wants to pass a flextime law that would give parents the option to take overtime pay, either in extra income or in extra time off, depending upon which ever is best for your family. Our family has been lucky to have been blessed with a child with good health. Chelsea has spent only one night in the hospital after she had her tonsils out. But, bill and i could not sleep at all that night. Our experience was nothing like the emotional strain on parents when their children are seriously ill. They often worry about where they will get the money to pay the medical bills. That is why my husband has always felt that all American Families should have Affordable Health insurance. [cheers and applause] just last week, the president signed a bill sponsored by senators kennedy and kassebaum, a democrat and a republican, that will enable 25 million americans to keep their Health Insurance, even when they switch jobs or lose a job, or have a Family Member who has been sick. The bill contains some of the key provisions from the president s proposal for Health Care Reform. It was an important step, achieved only after both parties agreed to build, not block progress, on making Health Care Available to all americans. Now, the country must take the next step of helping unemployed americans and their children keep Health Insurance for six months after losing their jobs. [applause] if you lose your job, its bad enough. But your daughter shouldnt have to lose her doctor, too. And our nation still must find a way to offer Affordable Health Care Coverage to the working poor and the 10 million children who lack Health Insurance today. [cheers and applause] the president also hasnt forgotten that there are thousands of children languishing in foster care who cannot be returned home. That is why he signed legislation last week that provides for a 5000 tax credit for parents who adopt a child. It also abolishes the barriers to cross racial adoptions. [cheers and applause] never again will a racial barrier stand in the way of a familys love. My husband also understands that parents are their childs first teachers. Not only do we need to read to our children and talk to them in ways that encourage learning, we must support our teachers and our schools in deeds as well as words. The president announced today an Important Initiative called america reads. This initiative is aimed at making sure all children can read well by the third grade. It will require volunteers, but i know that there are thousands and thousands of americans who will volunteer to help every child read well. For bill and me, there has been no experience more challenging, more rewarding, and more humbling, then raising our daughter. And we have learned that to raise a happy, healthy, and hopeful child, it takes a family, it takes teachers. It takes clergy. It takes business people. It takes community leaders. It takes those who protect our health and safety. It takes all of us. [cheers and applause] yes, it takes a village. [cheers and applause] and it takes a president. It takes a president who believes not only in the potential of his own child, but of all children. Who believes not only in the strength of his own family, but of the american family. Who believes not only in the promise of each of us as individuals, but in our promise together as a nation. It takes a president who not only holds these beliefs, but acts on them. [cheers and applause] it takes bill clinton. [applause] [chanting] sometimes, late at night [cheers and applause] when i see chelsea doing her homework or watching tv, or talking to a friend on the phone i think to myself her life, and the lives of millions of boys and girls, will be better because of what all of us are doing together. They will face fewer obstacles and more possibilities. That is something we should all be proud of. And that is what this election is all about. Thank you very much. [cheers and applause] 12 years later, Hillary Clinton lost her bid for the democratic president ial nomination to barack obama. He became the 44th president and Michelle Obama became first lady. Prior to her role at the white house, she earned a law degree, was an associate dean at the university of chicago and Community Outreach worker. As first lady, misses obama for education, physical fitness and nutrition. Now she is an author and hosting a podcast. In 2012, Michelle Obama encouraged election goers to reelect her husband. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] mrs. Obama thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you so much. [cheers and applause] with your help, with your help [chanting] let me start, let me start by thanking elaine. Thank you so much. We are so grateful for your familys service and sacrifice and we will always have your back. Over the past few years as first lady, i have had the extraordinary privilege of traveling all across this country. Everywhere i have gone, the people i have met, the stories i have heard, i have seen the very best of the american spirit. I have seen it in the incredible kindness and warmth people have shown me and my family. Especially our girls. I have seen it in teachers in a near bankrupt School District who vowed to keep teaching without pay. I have seen it in people who become heroes at a moments notice, diving into the way of harm to save others, flying across the country to put out a fire. Driving for hours to bail out a flooded town. And i have seen it in the men and women in uniform and our proud military families. In Wounded Warriors who tell me that they are not just going to walk again, they are going to run and they are going to run marathons. In the young man blinded by a bomb in afghanistan who said simply i would give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what i have done and what i can still do. Every day, the people i meet inspire me. Every day, they make me proud. Every day, they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth. Serving as your first lady is an honor and privilege. When we first came together four years ago, i had concerns about the journey we have begun. While i believed deeply in my husbands vision for the country, and i was certain he would make an extraordinary president , like any mother, i was worried about what it would mean for the girls. How would we keep them grounded under the glare of a National Spotlight . How would they feel being uprooted from their school, their friends, and the only home we had ever known. Our life before moving to washington was filled with simple joys. Saturdays at soccer games, sundays at grandmas house. And a date night for barack and me with either dinner or a movie because as an exhausted mom, i couldnt stay awake for both. [laughter] the truth is, i loved the life we had built for our girls, and i deeply loved the man i had built that life with. And i didnt want that to change if he became president. I loved barack just the way he was. Even back then, when barack was a senator and a president ial candidate, to me he was still the guy who picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, i could actually see the pavement going by and a hole in the passengerside door. [laughter] he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he found in a dumpster. And whose only pair of decent shoes was a half size too small. See, when he started telling me about his family, thats when i knew i had found a kindred spirit. Someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine. You see, we were both raised by families who didnt have much in the way of money or material possessions, but who had given us something far more valuable their unconditional love. Their unflinching sacrifice. And the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves. My father was a pump operator at the city water plant. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when my brother and i were young. Even as a kid, i knew that there were plenty of days where he was in pain. I knew that there were plenty of mornings where it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed. But every morning, i watched my father wake up with a smile. You know, grab his walker, prop himself up against the bathroom sink and slowly shave and button his uniform. And when he returned home after a long day of work, my brother and i would stand at the top of the stairs of our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him, watching as he reached down to lift one leg and then the other to slowly climb his way into our arms. Despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work. He and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of. And when my brother and i finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from Student Loans and grants. But my dad still had to pay a tiny portion of the tuition himself. Every semester, he was determined to pay that bill right on time, taking out loans when he fell short. He was so proud to be sending his kids to college. We made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was late. You see, for my dad, thats what it meant to be a man. Like so many of us, that was the measure of his success in life. Being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family. As i got to know barack, even though he had grown up all the way across the country, he had been brought up just like me. He was raised by a single mom who struggled to pay the bills and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help. His grandmother started out as a secretary at a Community Bank and she moved quickly up the ranks. Like so many women, she hit a Glass Ceiling and for years, men no more qualified than she was, men she had trained, were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money while his family continued to scrape by. But day after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus, arriving at work before anyone else, giving her best without complaint or regret. She would often tell barack that so long as you kids do well, thats all that really matters. Like so Many American families, our families werent asking for much. They didnt begrudge anyone elses success or care that others had much more than they did. They admired it. They simply believed in the fundamental american promise that even if you dont start out with much, that if you work hard and do what you are supposed to do, you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and a better life for your kids and grandkids. Thats how they raised us. [cheers and applause] thats what we learned from their example. We learned about dignity and decency. That how hard you work matters more than what you make. That helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself. We learned about honesty and integrity. That the truth matters. That you dont take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules. [cheers and applause] success doesnt count unless you earn it fair and square. We learned about gratitude and humility. So many had a hand in our success. From the teachers that inspired us to the janitors that kept the school clean. We were taught to value all contributions and treat everyone with respect. Those are the values that barack and i and so many of you are trying to pass on to our own children. That is who we are. Standing before you four years ago, i knew that i didnt want any of that to change if barack became president. Well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways i never could have imagined, i have seen firsthand that being president doesnt change who you are. It reveals who you are. [cheers and applause] i have gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like, and i have seen how the issues that come across the president s desk are always the hard ones. The problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer. The judgment calls where the stakes are so high and there is no margin for error. As president , you will get all kinds of advice from all kinds of people. But at the end of the day when it comes time to make the decision as president , all you have to guide you are your values and your vision, and the Life Experiences that make you who you are. When it comes to rebuilding our economy, barack is thinking about folks like my dad and his grandmother. Thinking about the pride that comes from a hard days work. Thats why he signed the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act to help women get equal pay for equal work. [cheers and applause] thats why he cut taxes for working families and Small Businesses and fought to get the Auto Industry back on its feet. That is how he brought our economy from the brink of collapse to creating jobs again. Jobs you can raise a family on. Good jobs right here in the United States of america. When it comes to the health of our families, barack refused to listen to to all the folks who told him to leave Health Reform to another day, another president. He didnt care if it was the easy thing to do politically. Thats not how he was raised. He cared that it was the right thing to do. He did it because he believed that here in america, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine. Our kids should be able to see a doctor when they are sick and that no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or illness. And he believes that women are more than capable of making our own choices about our bodies and our health care. Thats what my husband stands for. [cheers and applause] when it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, barack knows that like me and like so many of you, he never could have attended College Without Financial Aid and, believe it or not, when we were first married our combined monthly student loan bill was higher than our mortgage. We were so young, so in love, and so in debt. [laughter] that is why he has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep Interest Rates down. He wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend College Without a mountain of debt. So, in the end for him, these issues arent political. Their personal. Because barack knows what it means when a family struggles. What it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids. He knows the American Dream because he has lived it. He wants everyone in this country, everyone to have the same opportunity no matter who we are or where we are from or what we look like or who we love. He believes that when you work hard and do well and you walk through that door way of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. [cheers and applause] no, you reach back if you give other folks the same chances that help to you succeed. [cheers and applause] so, when people ask me whether being in the white house has changed my husband, i can honestly say that when it comes to his character and his convictions and his heart, barack obama is still the same man i fell in love with all those years ago. Hes the same man who started his career by turning down highpaying jobs and instead working in struggling neighborhoods, where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work. For barack, success isnt about how much money you make. Its about the difference you make in peoples lives. [cheers and applause] hes the same man, hes the same man when our girls were first born, would anxiously check their ribs every few minutes to make sure that they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew. You see, thats the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering questions about issues in the news, strategizing about middle school friendships. [laughter] thats the man i see in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk, pouring over the letters people have sent him. The letter from the father struggling to pay his bills. From the woman dying of cancer Whose Insurance Company wont cover her care. From the young people with so much promise but so few opportunities. We love you. I see the concern in his eyes and i hear the determination in his voice as he tells me you wont believe what these folks are going through. Its not right. Weve got to keep working to fix this. We have got so much more to do. [cheers and applause] [chanting four more years] i see how those stories, our collection of struggles, hopes and dreams, i see how thats what drives barack obama every single day. I didnt think it was possible, but let me tell you, today i love him even more than i did four years ago. Even more than i did 24 years ago when we first met. Let me tell you why. I love that he has never forgotten how he started. I love that we can trust him to do what he says hes going to do even when its hard. Especially when its hard. I love that for barack, there is no such thing as us and them. He doesnt care if you are a democrat, republican, or none of the above. He knows that we all love our country and he is always ready to listen to a good idea. Always looking for the very best in everyone he meets. And i love that even in the toughest moments, when we are all sweating it, when we are worried the bill wont pass and it seems like all is lost, barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. Just like his grandmother, he keeps getting up and moving forward. With patience, wisdom, courage, and grace. [cheers and applause] and he reminds me, he reminds me that we are playing a long game here. And that change is hard. And that change is slow and it never happens all at once, but eventually we get there. We always do. We get there because of folks like my dad. Folks like baracks grandmother, men and women who said to themselves i may not have a chance to fulfill my dreams, but maybe my children will. Maybe my grandchildren will. For so many of us, we stand here tonight because of their sacrifice, their longing and their steadfast love. Because time and again they swallowed their fears and doubts and did what was hard. So, today, but the challenges that we face start to seem overwhelming or even impossible, let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation. It is who we are as americans. It is how the country was built. And if our parents and grandparents could toil and struggle for us, you know, if they could raise beams of steel to the sky, send a man to the moon, connected the world with the touch of a button, then surely we can keep on sacrificing and building for our own kids and grandkids, right . [cheers and applause] and if so many brave men and women could wear the countrys uniform and sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights, surely we can do our part as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights. Surely we can get to the polls on election day and make our voices heard. [cheers and applause] if farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire, if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores, if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote, if a generation could defeat a depression and define greatness for all time, if a young preacher could lift us to the mountaintop with his righteous dream, and if proud americans can be who they are and boldly stand at the altar with who they love, then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great American Dream. [cheers and applause] because in the end, in the end more than anything else, that is the story of this country. The story of unwavering hope grounded in unyielding struggle. That is what has made my story, baracks story, and so many other stories possible. I say this tonight not just as a first lady, not just as a wife. At the end of the day, my most important title is still mom in chief. [applause] my daughters are still the heart of my heart and the center of my world. But let me tell you, today, i have none of those worries from four years ago, no, about whether barack and i were doing what was best for our girls, because today, i know from experience that if i truly want to leave a better world for my daughters and for all of our sons and daughters, if we want to give all of our children a foundation for their dreams, and opportunities worthy of their promise, if we want to give them a sense of the limitless possibility, the belief that here in america there is always Something Better out there if you are willing to work for it, then we must work like never before, and we must come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this great country forward, my husband, our president , barack obama. Thank you and god bless you. God bless america. [cheers and applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] cspan has covered every minute of every Political Convention since 1984. Our Video Library has many more hours of convention coverage. As the Democratic National convention is underway watch , more Historical Convention speeches at cspan. Org dnc. Thisshington journal week getting your reaction to the Democratic National convention and news of the day. This morning, we will talk about the second night of the Democratic National convention with axios political reporter hans nichols. Then black voters and issues most important in campaign 2020. Washington journal live at 7 00 eastern this morning. Be sure to watch the Democratic Convention live. Livestream or watch ondemand, also on the web, and sign up for our newsletter offering a synopsis of the days key events. Kamala evening, senator harris gives her acceptance speech is the Vice President ial nominee for the democratic party. Watch speeches from other women Vice President nominees, Geraldine Ferraro and sarah palin, passed Convention Speeches today at 6 00 p. M. Eastern only on cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Our live coverage of the Democratic National Convention Continues tonight with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, democratic Vice President ial nominee kamala harris, and former president barack obama. Watch live coverage tonight at 9 00 eastern on cspan, liv
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