The Obamas and Awkward Dating Stories: Takeaways From the Democratic Convention

On Day 2, Barack and Michelle Obama electrified the crowd, while Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, shared stories of their early romance.

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“The vast majority of us don’t want to live in a country that is bitter and divided,” former President Barack Obama said in his speech on Tuesday at the Democratic convention.

Democrats turned to their most charismatic leaders and shifted toward the future on Tuesday, as former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, the former first lady, made the case that their party’s ticket represented the best of American values.

While Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, appeared at a rally in Milwaukee, convention goers completed a raucous roll call of the states as they crowded the floor of the United Center in Chicago. With President Biden off the stage and vacationing in California, an upbeat energy seemed to take over the events.

Here are some of the highlights from the convention’s second night:

ImageMichelle Obama introduced her husband after a speech of her own that captivated the convention crowd.Credit…Todd Heisler/The New York Times

The Obamas showed they still have singular star power.

The Democrats have their stars, new and old — Gretchen Whitmer and Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Andy Beshear, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

But on Tuesday, the Obamas proved once again that they can ignite the party like no one else. The crowd gathered in Chicago has shown renewed excitement since the convention began, but nothing brought the fire that their back-to-back speeches did.

Of course, the history-making path that Mr. Obama made to the White House some 16 years ago had special resonance at a celebration for the first Black woman to clinch a major-party nomination in American history.

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