Liza Mundy at Slate has a good rundown of the points Michelle Obama needs to hit in her speech tonight. This is the only night with just one major speaker, her, so obviously the Obama people are placing a lot of importance on this.
Well, it clearly is important. A black president is one mental hurdle for many white people, but a black first family is, to use a handy American colloquialism, a whole-nother hurdle. People watching MO tonight will be picturing her in their minds presiding over state dinners and giving those televised tours of the White House Christmas decorations. This is one of those intangible factors that will be bouncing around white voters' brain pans to who-knows-what effect.
And yet, MO has regularly outpolled Cindy McCain on the likeability front, which is somewhat astonishing when you stop and think about it. Cindy McCain is blond, conventionally pretty and was a cheerleader for God's sakes at the University of Spoiled Children.
So it says something good about America that more people find Michelle appealing, and the people on cable television may well be carrying outdated archetypes in their minds. Wouldn't be the first time.
