'An extraordinary man, a future president'

Michelle Obama gave the most important speech of her life as she attempted to persuade America to elect her husband.

In an emotion-filled speech to the Democratic Party convention last night, she said Barack Obama would make "an extraordinary president".

As the wife of possibly the first black man to lead the US, it was also her opportunity to show voters that she has what it takes to be First Lady.

Standing before almost 20,000 people, with every word cheered, Mrs Obama spoke about her life with her husband and said he was the change that America needed.

She spoke of her husband's values as a husband and father and highlighted her working class roots during her speech at the Pepsi Centre in Denver, Colorado, saying: "I come here as a daughter, raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me.

"My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters."

Mrs Obama, 44, a former corporate lawyer, told the audience that her husband was the man to lead them to victory in the November election against John McCain. "I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president," she said.

She used her 15-minute speech to push home the theme of unity and emphasised her love for America.

Mrs Obama has been heavily criticised for comments she made on the campaign trail that raised doubts about her patriotism. But she made sure those at the convention and a nationwide audience knowwhere her loyalties lie.

"All of us are driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do, that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

"That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope. And you see, that is why I love this country."

Mrs Obama told the convention her husband represented traditional American values - a comment aimed at dispelling charges that he is elitist and out of touch with ordinary working class Americans.

She said: "What struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, and even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine.

"He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did."

As her two daughters Sasha, seven, and 10-year-old Malia joined her on stage, Mrs Obama said: "I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the centre of my world. They're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night."

She also thanked Hillary Clinton, her husband's rival for the nomination. "I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history knowing that my piece of the American Dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me," she said.

" People like Hillary Clinton, who put those cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters, and sons, can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher."

Mrs Obama ended her speech by saying that despite all the campaigning and the prospect of becoming President, her husband had not changed. "In the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago," she said.

"He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital 10 years ago, inching along at a snail's pace, peering at us in the rear view mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

As her speech ended to a standing ovation, the Stevie Wonder hit Isn't She Lovely played in the stadium. Her husband, who watched on a video link from Kansas City, briefly appeared on a giant screen. He will not appear in person at the convention until his candidate acceptance speech on Thursday.

As he thanked his wife, Sasha almost stole the show, peppering her father with questions, such as "what city are you in, daddy?" before she shouted: "I love you daddy."