Start here: Barack and Michelle Obama are the two best public speakers currently in the Democratic party. They just happen to be married to each other.
There is NO question that the back-to-back speeches by the Obamas at the second night of the Democratic National Convention will get the lion’s share of the attention today in the media coverage. And rightly so! They were both masterful.
But, for me, the most important speech — in terms of Vice President Kamala Harris winning over the undecided voters (and, hence, the election) — was not delivered by the Obamas. It was given by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
The key to the convention is humanizing Harris. Making sure people know something more about her than that she was Joe Biden’s VP and that she’s from San Francisco. (Neither of those facts will recommend her to swing voters.)
Emhoff did that masterfully. He played up the whole “dorky dad” vibe, which, um, I can appreciate. He talked about his awkward first call to Harris — at 8:30 am! He told stories of their blended family. He talked about her as a girlfriend. As a wife. And as a mom.
I thought it was an absolutely terrific speech that showed a different side of Harris than most people have seen. You could see and hear that he loves her. That he thinks she is fun and funny. And that was very winning.
If you didn’t watch his speech, you should. It’s here:
I broke it all down in today’s edition of The Morning.
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The Morning: The most important speech at the DNC