On Tuesday, all eyes will be on First Lady Michelle Obama.
Much like at last week's RNC, when Mitt Romney's wife Ann Romney kicked off the Convention with a moving address about her husband, Night 1 of the Democratic National Convention will be all about women, and Michelle Obama will steal the spotlight.
The first lady will deliver her speech sometime after 10:30 p.m. before a national prime-time television audience. President Obama will be watching from afar; he's staying in Washington with daughters Sasha and Malia, who begin school this week. "I hope they watch [my speech] at home. But if there's homework, I'm not going to get too upset about that," Michelle told Entertainment Tonight.
"We have always structured our lives where our kids come first and their involvement in politics is at their own discretion. They're living normal teenage lives and that's exactly how Barack and I would want it," she said.
As for what to expect from the First Lady's remarks, Politico reports that Michelle won't be taking on the GOP in her speech. "[W]hen Mrs. Obama addresses the convention tonight, her message will not be notably different from Mrs. Romney's in Tampa, where the GOP met last week. She will try to illuminate her husband as president, explaining why he made certain decisions as president, what drives him and how he sees the next four years evolving."
Michelle is likely to focus on President Obama's personal side, including Barack's childhood and his grandmother's struggles in a male-dominated career. In a bid to appeal to young people and present the Obamas as distinctly more "average" than the Romneys, she is also likely to discuss how the couple's college loans combined were more than their mortgage.
Michelle has emerged as the centerpiece of President Obama's reelection campaign, particularly as Obama tries to hold onto women voters, a group he held back in 2008. During her first term in the White House, Michelle has taken up childhood obesity and supporting military families as her primary causes, but she's weighed in on a number of other core issues to the campaign. Since May 2011, she's appeared at 77 fundraisers, an average of five per month, and her events draw thousands in the audience.
For full coverage of Michelle Obama's speech, including real-time analysis and updates, see here.
