Cross-posted at HuffingtonPost.
Tuesday, George Bush and Michelle Obama each traversed McCain's home state of Arizona to raise money for the presidential election. Bush headlined fundraisers for John McCain in Phoenix, and Michelle Obama headlined fundraisers for her husband in Tuscon and Phoenix.
Even in Arizona, the heart of McCain country, President Bush and Senator McCain were unable to draw enough supporters to fill the reception/banquet room they had rented at the downtown convention center. The two part Bush-McCain event was combined into a single event in a more intimate setting in a private home. Local news reported that the McCain campaign was worried that the hoards of protesters picketing his fundraiser would outnumber his guests. Wednesday, Bush and McCain held a similar fundraiser in Utah that was also moved to a smaller location due to lack of interest.
More after the jump...
While the president and Arizona's sitting senator had dismal showings at the McCain fundraisers, Michelle Obama filled a large banquet room just around the corner from McCain's originally planned location in Phoenix, Arizona (McCain's home town).
Many of the Obama donors drove by the Bush-McCain protesters in Phoenix on their way to the Obama fundraiser. According to local news, hundreds more also gathered in the suburb of Mesa to protest a campaign stop made by Bush and McCain at a local business. I had heard that the Phoenix protesters would have a bed with McCain and Bush dolls, but I was unable to see it as I drove by. My husband says they showed it during the local news.
When I arrived at the Obama fundraiser, it was clear that this was not the typical swanky crowd seen at high dollar fundraisers. Michelle Obama drew an unusually diverse crowd for a political fundraiser -- every race, class, age, gender, and ethnicity was present. It was no surprise that more women than men attended. Michelle Obama is well liked and admired by Democratic women. Some friends who have been unsure of Barack have a fondness for Michelle. When I told a long time Republican friend that I would be attending a fundraiser headlined by Michelle Obama, she said, "Tell her my vote for Barack in November is really for her."
Michelle began by talking about the beginning of Obama's political career. She has told this story many times. In the beginning of his political career, she was an unwilling participant. She draws a picture of herself a typical cynical American. She was unsure that she wanted to make the personal sacrifices that candidates' spouses must make. She indicates that she was, at first, unable to believe in the possibility of political change.
Most of all, she was unsure that she wanted her children to bear the burden of political parentage. She held up her index finger and declared, "I am a mother first and foremost," her point punctuated by loud, enthusiastic applause.
This story has been a constant in a stump speech that she has honed and changed for months. She explains that whenever she thought of her vision for a better America, she thought of her husband's dedication, intelligence, and ability. She seems introspective, remembering the moment of her own realization. With a wide smile, she says,
I realized, he is the man I'd been waiting for.
The audience laughs. Then she pivots, gently shaking a finger, reminding the audience,
Never let anyone tell you that your vision for America can't happen.
She explained that she did not believe that people would stand outside in the bitter cold to hear a man named Barack Obama announce his candidacy for president, but 16,000 people did show up on that bitterly cold day in Springfield, Illinois. She reminded us that 16,000 people stood outside in the freezing cold because they believed in Barack Obama's vision for America, a vision of hope and change, a vision of a better America.
She reminded the audience, as she often does, that she is not supposed to be here. She was raised on the South Side of Chicago in a working class family. She was not supposed to go to Princeton. She was certainly not supposed to go to Prince and Harvard. It is beyond a statistical oddity, she says, that she could be the First Lady.
She talked about her family -- her parents, her children, the vision for America shared by the Obama campaign, the crowd interrupting throughout, punctuating each point with enthusiastic applause. After a rousing ovation, she took questions from the audience.
The first person Michelle Obama called on said that she had a comment not a question. She wanted Michelle to know that many of the campaign volunteers will also become active participants in the American democracy after Obama is in office. They will continue to campaign for change long after the presidential campaign has ended. Michelle Obama took this opportunity to thank the supporters who have volunteered. She talked for a moment about what it means to give back to the country, how important it is that America has a participatory democracy.
Another questioner started off by saying that she had been disappointed in Barack. Michelle smiled at the audience and said, "Uh oh," as nervous laughter rolled through the audience, everyone wondering what the question would be. Then, Michelle Obama focused on the questioner, looking her in the eye and listening, letting her know that her concerns matter. The questioner explained that she is the wife of a prominent member of the community. She asked if we could count on Michelle "to rein Barack back in" whenever necessary.
Michelle said,
You have just explained the complexities of being the wife of a political figure.
She added,
My husband is not perfect. I say this all the time.
She reminded the audience that when we expect perfection in our leaders, we will always be disappointed. She talked about Obama's role as a father and husband -- taking out the garbage, doing household chores, how important it is that he set a good example for their children. She said,
This campaign has shown American that Barack Obama may not be perfect, but this campaign has also shown America that Barack Obama will always take the high road. Consistently. Over and over and over. He will always take the high road.
She went on to talk about how she also does not like being the news. She does not like seeing herself in a headline. She said she was on a candidates' spouses panel last October with Elizabeth Edwards who said,
If I said something that ended up on the front page of Drudge, I didn't do it right.
Emphatically, Michelle Obama remarked,
I hate clips. I do not like clips.
She smiled knowingly, and grim laughter filled the room.
She called on another supporter, whose voice quivered and broke with barely contained emotion as she explained how important it is to her, personally, that Barack Obama be elected. How important it is to her, personally, that our country change its course.
She was on the verge of tears as she explained that she just returned from Oregon where she campaigned for Obama and attended the 75,000-person rally by the river. She had noticed, she said, that the Secret Service had increased security dramatically for Barack Obama's rallies since the Phoenix rally in January.
The room collectively gasped and murmured, some aghast that these fears were being spoken aloud directly to Barack Obama's beloved wife. Some nodded, concern and fear clear on their faces. Others shifted on their feet, displaying a range of emotions -- concern, discomfort with the topic, indignation -- it is not often that such topics are broached in polite company.
Pulling herself together, the supporter asked,
What can you tell us...
and then her voice caught and broke as a sob rose up from her chest. She paused for a moment to quell her emotion, to find her voice again.
I'm afraid of what might happen. What can you tell us, after last week's comments
...another sob broke up her words...
after last week's comments, to make us feel more at ease.
She cried unabashedly after finally getting out her words.
The room that had been electrified with positive energy throughout the evening suddenly became still and quiet, all eyes focused on Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama's eyes, though, were focused on that concerned supporter. She paused, allowing the clearly distraught supporter to pull herself together. It seemed like several minutes went by, as we all waited, wondering how she would answer this highly personal and evocative question. Probably only 30 seconds went by, but it seemed like several minutes. Finally, she said simply, firmly,
I'm ok.
Really. I am ok.
And if I'm ok, you should be ok.
She paused, then talked for a moment about what this means, personally, to her.
You know, we talked about this as a family.
She held the microphone with one hand, the other curved inward over her heart as she talked. Her tenor and body language was clear. Michelle Obama was talking as a mother. She was introspective and intimate, looking the questioner in the eyes as if they are the only two in the room.
We talked about this as a family.
The room remained still and quiet. Imagine having that talk with your children. Then, she paused, gathering herself, pulling herself up, seeming to grow even taller, Michelle, the campaigning wife returns. She says,
I've talked about this before. Barack is probably safer now than he was before. Kids are dying in the street in our community. They get shot walking to class, sitting in school, taking the bus home. They are dying in the street.
Her eyes roved the audience, and she implored,
Send us good vibes. Pray for us. Think positive thoughts. But most of all, be vigilant. Be vigilant about stopping this kind of talk.
It's not funny.
You don't have to like Barack to dislike that kind of talk. Be vigilant about stopping that kind of talk.
In that moment, Michelle Obama's voice displayed a mixture of emotions. She was talking as a mother of two young girls who need their father. She was talking as a wife, whose love for her husband is plain to see in her eyes. She was talking as a compassionate human being who believes that kind of talk is inappropriate and unacceptable about any political candidate, not just about her husband, not just about the father of her children -- about any politician.
What Michelle Obama says next was powerful. It would have brought the crowd to its feet if the crowd weren't already standing. She reminded us what we are fighting for, and why it is important to forge ahead with no fear,
Fear is the reason this country is where it is today. Fear is a useless emotion.
Don't ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn't.
Don't ever make decisions based on fear.
Update: I just would like to clear up something that has come up with a few people in the comments. I want to clarify that Michelle Obama very much understands the difference between irrational fear and healthy fear, and that point was very clear when she answered this impromptu question. As we left the event, everyone who I spoke with had a clear understanding of this. So if this is not clear in my article, then it is because of my own inability to convey what she said, not because of her inability to convey what she meant.
Disclaimer: I did not record this event. The quotes in this article are my own remembrance. Any mistakes or gaffes are solely my own.