FLOTUS Michelle Obama threw more 'shots' at the 2024 DNC than LMFAO
Highlights from the Democratic National Convention, including Gov. Pritzker, Angela Alsobrooks, Doug and Cole Emhoff
Day 2 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention started off painfully slow for me — a mix of Republicans and former MAGA acting surprised that Donald Trump was as racist and counterproductive as he’s proven to be since his Central Park 5 ad. I’m not sorry when I say I will not clap or cheer on people who took eight years to figure out that maybe the “very fine people on both sides” guy was a horrendous presidential choice.
Outside of this group, I still respected the diversity of the speakers (and the audience) even when a couple were screaming into the microphone like they didn’t know we could hear them already. But I was growing kinda bored until a few things happened.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who I consistently vote for, reminded Trump how an actual billionaire feels about his Chicago insults — and how he “took that personally” like Michael Jordan.
Side note: Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, reminded me why I vote for her every time too.
Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democratic Senate candidate, reminded listeners how effective Back on Track is at reducing recidivism.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff proved what made VP Kamala Harris love him. (I had no opinion on him the past four years, but he’s been hiding a sense of humor and charm this whole time. His son Cole Emhoff sounds fun too.)
And then came FLOTUS Michelle Obama
First confession: Her first book “Becoming” made me not like her as much. (Don’t let your imagination run wild. When I say this, I mean I went from a 10 out of 10 to an eight out of 10, so it was still fairly high.)
Before I read that book, I had pom-poms glued to my hands for all things Michelle Obama. But there were a number of points in the book that started making me go, “Wait, what is happening? What happened to the FLOTUS BFF that I’ve had in my head for eight years?”
I won’t repeat all of my gripes here, but you can see my “Becoming” book review on Amazon if you look at the three-star reviews. A couple years ago, I tried reading the book again. I just cannot get past that chapter on Springfield, Illinois, about not wanting her husband to leave Malia (who had a common cold) to sign a crime bill.
Still, I have a lot of respect for her patience and grace within those eight years in the White House. When people started talking about VP Kamala Harris would have competition on her hands if Michelle decided to run, with Barack Obama already letting us know who she was as a mother and humanitarian, I kept going back to that Springfield chapter.
I just couldn’t see her ever going into politics. So when I saw her as a speaker for the night, I was neutral. A strong part of me still had her as my FLOTUS BFF, but I wondered why she bothered to even step onstage when it came to politics. Any “Becoming” reader knew exactly how she felt about the political world, which Barack has reminded us of multiple times when someone asks him about her running for office.
But then I heard her speak.
And everything pre-”Becoming” came rushing back to me. (In all fairness, her Audible podcast episode with her brother Craig Robinson and her late mother Marian Robinson also was a reminder.) What I was realizing was I’d put Michelle on such a pedestal that I was the one having trouble looking at her as an everyday woman — with everyday worries that I would never relate to.
Even without the 2024 Democratic National Convention speech that she nailed, listening to Michelle talk about discharge and hot flashes on her podcast is sorta like looking at Phylicia Rashad talk about one of the Temptations “getting a sniff of this” on “Diarra from Detroit.” They didn’t ask to be put in permanent thrones with crowns; I put them there. And I had to make room to just let them be “natural women,” as Aretha Franklin would say.
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But back to the 2024 DNC speech. I listened to Michelle speak and did a whole lot of loud “ooooh” and “whoa” and “YES!” Wide-eyed, smiling, tsk-tsk-tsking and enjoying this elegant but pulls-no-punches black woman, I see why people would’ve wanted her to run. (As of the date of this publication, I would still choose Harris though.)
There were moments during Michelle’s speech that I wondered, “Did she listen to LMFAO’s ‘Shots’ before she got onstage?” because she was throwing not-so-subtle shots at a whole lot of things that were on her mind — including well-known complainers who were grumpy that Barack wouldn’t kiss their rings and ask for their permission to run. (I already spoke about how I feel about one of those “nutty” gripes.)
Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots! Shots! Everybody! (From my living room, I was absolutely instigating FLOTUS Michelle Obama’s verbal ammunition.)
I kid. I kid.
However, seeing Michelle onstage again in a political light was a sense of relief. It took me back to the days when I was cheering on everything she did do, tried to do, wished to do and got done. She’d become my “Goldilocks/Just Right” FLOTUS, who I later realized I may not agree with on everything.
I don’t have the big fluffy pom-poms glued to my hands anymore. I replaced them with jazz hands and confetti, so I could sprinkle ‘em around when I see fit. I may never like “Becoming,” but seeing her speak and hearing what’s on her mind is always welcome.
Second confession: Barack was right. He’s still a 10 out of 10 for me, but Michelle’s speech was better than his. I watched her speech five times. He should have gone before her. Sorry, Barack!
Good! Good! Good! Good! Good! Everybody!
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