The contagious power, the exhilaration of Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama reportedly hates politics, but you could have fooled the world this week as she delivered one of the most memorable political speeches we’ve heard in a while.

Barack and Michelle Obama at the Democrat convention. Picture: AFP

Michelle Obama reportedly hates politics, but you could have fooled the world this week as she delivered one of the most memorable political speeches we’ve heard in a while.

The former first lady may not want to be president and certainly wasn’t unhappy about leaving the White House, but she sure as hell understands that every now and then the game is worth playing. Something else, too: she knows she can do it, in fact that she’s really, really good at it.

Her address to the Democratic National Convention in her hometown, Chicago, felt like one of those transitional moments that come along now and then and show us just how much the world has changed for women – and for men.

Sure, we noticed her hair was braided; we noticed her strong, bare arms and her stylish shirt and pants – perfect, one assumes, for a hot Chicago night – and worn with the confidence of someone who owns her body. We noticed, in short, that she was a woman, and then we forgot, because Obama’s skill as an orator simply removed gender from the equation.

Her words and her delivery raised the bar for every other speaker at the convention – including her husband who, surprisingly, incredibly, was over­shadowed by this talented woman.

Yes, she won this one, hands down; when Barack took to the stage following his wife, he looked a little startled, knocked for six as so many were, by her performance. And it took him just a little while to get into his stride, his timing just a tad off at the start.

The former president has long been lauded for his oratorical prowess, seen as beyond peer when it comes to holding – and turning – an audience. Until Michelle arrived on stage at the convention, he was being billed as the party’s best hope of convincing Americans tuning in to watch on television that they should vote for Kamala Harris.

That’s why, presumably, he was scheduled to follow his wife on the night. He was to be the big ticket; she was to be, not exactly the warm-up – everyone knows Michelle is her own person and no Melania or even a Jill – but certainly she was not supposed to overshadow her husband quite so effectively.

Michelle Obama’s words and her delivery raised the bar for every other speaker at the convention. Picture: AFP

But there she was, utterly in control of herself and the audience, not a single word or movement out of place, never for a moment betraying any doubt or uncertainty.

Watching it live, as a woman, was thrilling because we simply are not used to seeing women behaving like this. Female politicians and leaders can be good at the task but we rarely, if ever, talk about their skill as orators. Indeed, we tend not to think of any women as orators.

All the big addresses delivered over centuries and captured in those volumes of the world’s best speeches are virtually all from men. Oratory – and the capacity for it to change hearts and minds and lead men into battle – is a very male concept and we are wary of judging women on that basis.

Instead, we’ve been inclined to overlook their lack of eloquence or confidence, reminding ourselves just how hard it has been for powerful women to reveal their power in our culture.

Because it has been so tough for women to stand and deliver without being criticised for the pitch of their voice, we forgive the ones who just can’t get it right, who are too supine or too shouty or just aren’t good at the game.

After all, it’s not their fault, is it? They’ve been so conditioned by a patriarchal society that sees men as the rightful leaders that they find it hard to speak out with the same confidence.

Let’s not fall into the trap of judging them against the men when we know it’s not a level playing field, OK?

Michelle Obama’s speech this week shows those excuses for ordinary performances by women don’t wash any more. Not every female judge (or male, for that matter) can match Michelle’s eloquence, but that’s not really the point. The lesson in Chicago is that the former first lady, the non-politician, had the courage and confidence to claim her space. No apologies, no gratitude for being allowed to speak, just a cool assumption of her value to her party and – at least in the eyes of Democrat supporters – to America.

And another somewhat messy takeout from the back-to-back Obamas.

As Barack spoke, it was hard not to secretly pray that he wouldn’t be completely overshadowed by his wife. We were delighted for Michelle and for the message sent to women, but it seems the old gender conditioning is hard to beat. An odd feeling, barracking for Barack, even as he showed that on this occasion at least he was, as they say, good but just not good enough.

Never mind, he has doubtless learnt a lesson. Next time, he can go first.