When Barack and Michelle Obama were greeted with deafening cheers, Democrats could have been forgiven for thinking they had been transported back 16 years in time.
But in 2024, the former US president and his first lady dedicated their mass-pleasing skills to bringing another trailblazer to the White House: Kamala Harris.
“I have the same feeling I had in 2008. I’m just excited and energized and just ready,” said Sherry McClain, a delegate from Alabama who watched the couple wow the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“Obama just did it and I believe she will do it, becoming the first black woman. And we know we’re going to win on November 5th.”
While outgoing President Joe Biden received long and emotional ovations from the crowd in his farewell speech on Monday, the reactions to the Obamas bordered on uproar.
The two, who still wield enormous influence in the Democratic Party, were celebrated like returning heroes and had the partisan masses in their hands.
Perhaps the loudest applause of the two went to Michelle Obama, 60, when she took the stage in Chicago, her husband’s hometown, and a deafening roar broke out.
After all, it was not long ago that some members of the Democratic Party had called on her to run as a candidate, as the 81-year-old Biden was getting on in years and losing ground to Donald Trump in the polls.
And there was nostalgia everywhere.
“America, hope is making a comeback,” she said, alluding to the famous slogan from her husband’s 2008 election campaign, which again sparked great cheers.
Her speech was short but powerful and contained numerous warnings about the danger of a second Trump presidency. She appealed to Democrats not to take anything for granted.
– “Brought the house down” –
When Obama, 63, spoke himself, chants of “Yes we can” rang out – a reference to another famous slogan that helped make him the first black president in US history.
But Obama deliberately eased his tone by encouraging the crowd to chant “Yes she can” – thus directing the energy toward Harris and her bid to become South Asia’s first female commander in chief.
After years of Donald Trump’s polarizing boasting and the consequential slip-ups of the Biden era, Obama’s often pompous rhetoric was a reminder of times that many Democrats look back on with fondness.
“The Obamas brought the house down tonight,” said Richard Brown, 61, a state representative from Missouri, carrying three of the blue “VOTE” signs waved by thousands of delegates.
“Michelle Obama said it well, and she said it right. Hope lives again.”
Laurie Osher, 64, a Democratic supporter from Maine, said as she left the hall that the Obamas had been “fabulous” – especially the former first lady.
“He had a good marriage,” she joked.
“She really laid out all the reasons why we can’t have Trump and why Kamala Harris is the right person.”
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