1、Transcript of first lady Michelle Obamas speech at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery:First lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on TuesdayThank you so much, Elaine.we are so grateful for your familys service and sacrifice.and
2、 we will always have your back.Over the past few years as First Lady, I have had the extraordinary privilege of traveling all across this country.And everywhere Ive gone, in the people Ive met, and the stories Ive heard, I have seen the very best of the American spirit.I have seen it in the incredib
3、le kindness and warmth that people have shown me and my family, especially our girls.Ive seen it in teachers in a near-bankrupt school district who vowed to keep teaching without pay.Ive seen it in people who become heroes at a moments notice, diving into harms way to save others.flying across the c
4、ountry to put out a fire.driving for hours to bail out a flooded town.And Ive seen it in our men and women in uniform and our proud military families.in wounded warriors who tell me theyre not just going to walk again, theyre going to run, and theyre going to run marathons.in the young man blinded b
5、y a bomb in Afghanistan who said, simply, “.Id give my eyes 100 times again to have the chance to do what I have done and what I can still do.“Every day, the people I meet inspire me.every day, they make me proud.every day they remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth.Ser
6、ving as your First Lady is an honor and a privilege.but back when we first came together four years ago, I still had some concerns about this journey wed begun.While I believed deeply in my husbands vision for this country.and I was certain he would make an extraordinary President.like any mother, I
7、 was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance.How would we keep them grounded under the glare of the national spotlight?PBS NewsHour/YouTube First lady Michelle Obama addresses the DNC after being introduced by military mom Elaine Brye, from PBS NewsHour.How would they fe
8、el being uprooted from their school, their friends, and the only home theyd ever known?Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys.Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandmas house.and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I
9、 couldnt stay awake for both.And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls.I deeply loved the man I had built that life with.and I didnt want that to change if he became President.I loved Barack just the way he was.You see, even though back then Barack was a Senator and a presidentia
10、l candidate.to me, he was still the guy whod picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door.he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table hed found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of de
11、cent shoes was half a size too small.But when Barack started telling me about his family thats when I knew I had found a kindred spirit, someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine.You see, Barack and I were both raised by families who didnt have much in the way of money or material p
12、ossessions but who had given us something far more valuable their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves.My father was a pump operator at the city water plant, and he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when my brother an
13、d I were young.And even as a kid, I knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain.I knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed.But every morning, I watched my father wake up with a smile, grab his walker, prop himself up against the bathroom sink,
14、 and slowly shave and button his uniform.And when he returned home after a long days work, my brother and I would stand at the top of the stairs to our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him.watching as he reached down to lift one leg, and then the other, to slowly climb his way into our a
15、rms.But despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work.he and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind of education they could only dream of.And when my brother and I finally made it to college, nearly all of our tuition came from student loans and grants.But my d
16、ad still had to pay a tiny portion of that tuition himself.And every semester, he was determined to pay that bill right on time, even taking out loans when he fell short.He was so proud to be sending his kids to college.and he made sure we never missed a registration deadline because his check was l
17、ate.You see, for my dad, thats what it meant to be a man.Like so many of us, that was the measure of his success in life being able to earn a decent living that allowed him to support his family.And as I got to know Barack, I realized that even though hed grown up all the way across the country, hed
18、 been brought up just like me.Barack was raised by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help.Baracks grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank.and she moved quickly up the ranks.but like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling.
