Michelle Obama, vilified by the fringe right, accused of horrible racial slurs and tarred with the same brush as her kooky pastor, wowed the Democratic convention last night with her dignity, grace and the heart of a lion. Speaking of lions, Ted Kennedy, the spiritual leader of the party, tied a bow around what would have been a boring procedural opening night with a stirring appearance, unexpected call to arms and “promising to be there in January to help President Barack Obama bring healthcare to everyone!”

It was high political theatre and there was not a dry eye in the house as most wondered if he would be able to live up to that promise and pundits wondered aloud if they had seen his last appearance at a Democratic convention.

The Vadimus Post reported early yesterday morning that Senator Kennedy was in Denver and planning to speak. What we did not know at the time is how poorly he felt during the trip over to Denver. His wife Vicki and doctors said it was too much and no one, except the Senator, was certain he would speak until he did.

When he arrived at the Pepsi Centre he was placed in a golf cart and said not a word to a single soul until the video ended. He then stood and walked to the entrance of the stage as the announcer intoned his intro. The Hall exploded in admiration as the Senate Chamber did when he rose from his sick bed to cast a key vote to save Medicare last month. The roughly four minutes he spoke was vintage Kennedy, fist clenched, stool kicked off to the side and full of support and admiration for Barack Obama and intoning the party he also leads as scion of the greatest family not named Clinton, to get in line behind him.

Michelle walked a fine line in her speech. Too much sell, too much picking oneself up by her bootstraps struggle and she would be portrayed as arrogant victim. Too little grace, too little dignity and she would be portrayed as arrogant “feminista” and be the target of Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly and other rabid right wing pundits.

As she turned to leave the stage, her daughters came out for the wonderful family tableau and Barack beamed from Kansas City, working the campaign trail right up until Thursday night. He said, “now you can see why I asked her out so many times.” His other great line of the day when asked why he wanted to be President, “secret service protection.” He then went on to enormous laughter to say can you imagine how important it will be as my daughters enter their teen years to impress upon any young suitor that to get to them they have to first talk to him (pointing to 6’ 6” guy in a suit, sunglasses and no smile).

Many called it her Jackie Kennedy moment. It was much stronger. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann pronounced it “case closed.” She showed what family values are really about as her life is dedicated to her kids and family. She has been portrayed as “uppity” and out of touch. Well she showed how so much was expected of her and her brother growing up: to study hard, get good grades, go to college and then come back to and serve in the community. This is the core of both of their community service, giving back.

Today they could both be top partners in very large firms earning 7-figure incomes each because in the early 90’s when they finished law school, the market was clamouring for talented lawyers of colour to add to their gender and racially unbalanced top ranks. It was not only a glass ceiling, it was painted lily white and most firms were facing EEOC complaint actions for not being more ethnically balanced. Any firm in the nation would have fast tracked them both on sheer talent alone.

A remarkable start to what will be a great convention. CNN was whingeing that it was a slow first night, but when the network cameras rolled at 10 pm, replays of Ted and Michelle’s speeches dominated. The Obamas are lightening up and enjoying the campaign pursuit again.

Beware John McCain. It’s game on in Denver!