Michelle Obama electrifies crowd
First lady says Clinton is only candidate who can be good role model for kids
PHILADELPHIA — First lady Michelle Obama stepped into the presidential election Monday with a forceful, impassioned defense of Hillary Clinton, casting her as the only candidate who can be trusted as a role model for the nation’s children. She took numerous swipes at Republican Donald Trump, all without mentioning his name.
“This election and every election is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives,” Mrs. Obama said on the opening night of the Democratic convention. “There is only one person I trust with that responsibility, only one person I believe is truly qualified to be president of the United States, and that is Hillary Clinton.”
The first lady was among a high-wattage lineup of speakers taking the stage, all but wiping away earlier tumult that had exposed deep tensions between Clinton supporters and those loyal to her primary opponent Bernie Sanders.
Although Mrs. Obama has often avoided overt politics during her nearly eight years in the White House, her frustration with Mr. Trump’s rise was evident. She warned that the White House couldn’t be in the hands of someone with “a thin skin or a tendency to lash out” or someone who tells voters the country can be great again.
“This right now, is the greatest country on earth,” she said.
Mr. Sanders took the stage later in the night. He and his team spent much of Monday trying to keep backers from protesting on the convention floor. He sent urgent messages to his backers urging them to avoid protests on the convention floor. The Clinton campaign opened up speaking spots for his supporters.
An array of officeholders and celebrities hammered home the call for unity, with singer Paul Simon singing his “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as delegates linked arms and swayed to the music.
Former President Bill Clinton smiled and clapped from the audience.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a favorite of liberals and one of the party’s toughest critics of Mr. Trump, took the stage and, in tune with the proceedings, exclaimed, “Thank you, Bernie.”
“Trump thinks he can win votes by fanning the flames of fear and hatred,” Ms. Warren said. “By turning neighbor against neighbor. By persuading you that the real problem in America is your fellow Americans — people who don’t look like you, or don’t talk like you, or don’t worship like you.”
Comedian-turned-Sen. Al Franken, a Clinton supporter, and actress Sarah Silverman, a Sanders supporter, made a joint appearance to promote party unity.
“I am proud to be part of Bernie’s movement,” Ms. Silverman said as the crowd roared. “And a vital part of that movement is making absolutely sure Hillary Clinton is our next president of the United States.”
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, had planned to be among those taking the stage, despite the email hacking controversy. But she stepped aside, bowing to pressure from Democrats who feared the mere sight of her onstage would prompt strong opposition from Mr. Sanders’ backers.
The outgoing chairwoman did watch the gathering from a private suite at the arena.
Ms. Clinton’s team hoped Ms. Wasserman Schultz’s resignation — along with an apology from the DNC to Mr. Sanders and his supporters — would keep the convention floor calm.
Discussions between the two camps prompted Mr. Sanders to send emails and text messages to supporters asking them not to protest.
“Our credibility as a movement will be damaged by booing, turning of backs, walking out or other similar displays,” Mr. Sanders wrote.
The party infighting had echoes of last week’s Republican convention, where some major GOP leaders voiced their displeasure with Mr. Trump and others didn’t even show up. Ms. Clinton promised a stark contrast to the GOP gathering, saying she planned to highlight “success stories” and flesh out details of her proposed policies.
Mr. Sanders was a relatively unknown Vermont senator when he decided to challenge for the Democratic nomination.
He stunned the Clinton campaign with his broad support among young people and liberals, as well as his online fundraising prowess. But he struggled to appeal to black voters and couldn’t match the former secretary of state’s ties to the Democratic establishment.
The controversy over some 19,000 leaked DNC emails, however, threatened to complicate those plans. The correspondence, posted by WikiLeaks over the weekend, showed top officials at the supposedly neutral DNC favoring Ms. Clinton over Mr. Sanders in the presidential primaries.
Clinton campaign officials blamed the hack, which is now being investigated by the FBI, on Russian military intelligence agencies.
The campaign also accused the Moscow government of trying to meddle in the U.S. election and help Mr. Trump.