Michelle Obama shows her husband's personal side

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press

DENVER - Michelle Obama declared "I love this country" Monday as she sought to reassure the nation that she and her husband Barack share their bedrock values and belief in the American dream.
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In the first major address at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama said she and Barack Obama feel an obligation to "fight for the world as it should be" to ensure a better future for their daughters and all children.

The Obamas two daughters, Sasha and Malia, joined their mother on stage after the speech as Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" blared from in the convention hall.

Obama's mission was to humanize her husband and tell skeptical voters that he's not so differnt, despite his unusual name and exotic background.

"Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation," she said. Her address was the first big step in a weeklong effort to reassure dubious voters that the party's presidential nominee understands their problems and beliefs.

They know the public Barack Obama, the guy on magazine covers and nightly newscasts. His wife hoped to convince voters that he's a lot like they are, despite all the attention given to his African father, his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and the incendiary remarks of his former minister.

Obama has repeatedly faced questions about whether he's a "real" American.

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He's a real American. He's also a real politician. He isn't an outsider of either one. People should stop harping on the former and realize the latter so that it takes some of the fake luster off of his candidacy.

Any serious look into the way he worked his way up through Chicago politics should disabuse anyone of the notion that he is a different sort of politician. I find it amazing so many people fall for plain old rhetoric.