Last night I attended the opening night of the Democratic National Convention and heard Michelle Obama speak. And I caught myself feeling as though I was listening to someone’s sister or mother, or even my own.

Although Mrs. Obama’s speech was written to garner political support for her husband’s presidential candidacy, I believe her speech last night was devised for a greater goal. Michelle Obama’s words were part of the campaign’s strategy to soften and re-make her image and the importance of family.

The criticism of Mrs. Obama seemed to begin after her comments at a Milwaukee, Wisconsin campaign stop in February, in which she said:

“For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction.”

Although Mrs. Obama contends that her words were taking out of context, and that she has always been proud of her country, her critics call her unpatriotic. Mrs. Obama has also been caricaturized as the “Angry Black Woman” and rumors have circulated that she calls people “whiteys.”

A New York Times article quoted Michelle Obama as saying that her calling anyone “whitey” couldn’t be further from the truth.

“You are amazed sometimes at how deep the lies can be,” she says in an interview. Referring to a character in a 1970s sitcom, she adds: “I mean, ‘whitey’? That’s something that George Jefferson would say. Anyone who says that doesn’t know me. They don’t know the life I’ve lived. They don’t know anything about me.”

So, it wasn’t surprising to me that Mrs. Obama’s speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention would seek to discredit these rumors and alleged misunderstandings of her. Mrs. Obama wants the world to understand the real Michelle Obama: a mother, a wife, and a daughter. She wants us to feel as though she is one of us, and that family is most important.

In her speech, Michelle Obama says: “I come here tonight as a sister blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and lifelong friend. I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary husband. I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center.”

To further drive the importance of family home, Mrs. Obama was introduced by her brother, Craig, and began her speech with several mentions to her relationship with her father, who she can feel looking down on her.

In addition to trying to soften her image, Mrs. Obama sought to paint a picture of herself and Obama as two kids from working class families, who have overcome obstacles to achieve the American dream. Mrs. Obama firmly believes that through hard work and faith, anything is possible.

Michelle Obama speech was used to tell the American people that the Obama family is just like yours. We have “common values and a common purpose” – a new theme now used by the Obama campaign. Their values include “your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.”

And I believe Mrs. Obama’s DNC speech sought to dispel the July 21, 2008 cover of The New Yorker magazine, which depicted Mrs. Obama as an angry, militant black woman, and Obama as a Muslim terrorist.

I think Mrs. Obama hoped that Americans watching and listening to her speech could maybe, just maybe, close their eyes and simply hear the words of a mother, a sister or wife of someone they knew.

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