We knew they would bring it. We just didn’t know they’d bring that.
Night 2 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention ended on an emotional high with speeches from former Pres. Barack and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Their remarks took slightly different tones: hers aiming to rouse the party into focusing on the task ahead, his casting a vision for the kind of America we could be. Both paid tribute to Mrs. Obama’s late mother, Marian Robinson. And both punched hard at former Pres. Donald Trump. The crowd was in hysterics, many of whom stood the entire time.
Within an hour of Pres. Obama’s speech ending (Michelle spoke first), critiques were already rolling in. POLITICO opined that Mrs. Obama’s address “abandons” her trademark line from the 2016 convention: “When they go low, we go high.” She said it back then to highlight something the First Family was teaching their daughters, Malia and Sasha, preparing them to grow up in a uniquely intense spotlight. The idea is, we don’t stoop to the depths that bullies and jerks do. We have to do things differently.
But let’s be real: that axiom started to feel unrealistic almost as soon as Donald Trump took office. People who opposed his presidency started their fight the very day after his inauguration, with the Women’s March in Washington, DC. Democrats quickly abandoned the Obamas’ lofty ideal. By 2018 former Attorney General Eric Holder told a crowd in Georgia, “When they go low, we kick them.”
Frankly, I found the pushback was short-sighted. This year’s address to the DNC wasn’t a betrayal of that ideal. In fact, if we don’t show a little more maturity with how we “go high”, I’m not sure we can ever get our politics back on track. The Obamas never admonished us not to fight back against bullies. We were never told not to give as well as we got. Or as I was once told, never throw the first punch, but always throw the last one.
The fact of the matter is, Donald Trump is a bully who deals in puerile, basic insults. The Obamas didn’t give what they got: they gave even better. Trump throws insults, but Barack & Michelle threw shade. They cast clever, caustic one-liners that revealed their intellect, wit and cool. Shakespeare would be proud.
As would the queens on RuPaul’s Drag Race: many of whom excel at “reading” each other with playfully pointed jabs. It’s a contest of cleverness, and it’s all in good fun. Still, in a world where your very existence can be under constant threat, a sharp mind can be your best weapon to cut through the hatefulness around you.
I’m not sure we can recover our politics from misinformation and cruelty without the power to put bullies in their place. Otherwise bad behavior never gets punished, and fair play is never the default. I’d rather we avoid cutting people down, but I refuse to let a bully beat me up without at least bloodying his nose. Whether the shade thrown by this political power couple will gain Kamala Harris & Tim Walz any votes remains to be seen. Still, it might gain the Democratic Party some respect at a crucial time.
After all, it’s hard to respect someone who never stands up for themselves.
Did Michelle & Barack go low at the DNC?