see you tomorrow. >> america is the future that each generation must enlarge. but his true constituency is a future. america is a future that each generation must enlarge. because this election is about confidence. >> i still believe in a place called hope. and i stand here tonight as my own man. and i want you to know me for who i truly am. >> i am john kerry and i'm

reporting for duty. >> america, we can't turn back, not with so much work to be done. this is cnn. a big night here in charlotte, north carolina, the start of the democratic national convention. the main point of the convention, of course nominating president obama for a second term, but tonight we heard from the star of the show, first lady, michelle obama. we'll show you the first lady, and the speeches, take a look. >> serving as your first lady is an honor and a privilege. but back when we first came together four years ago, i still had some concerns about this journey we had started. while i believed deeply in my husband's vision for this country, and i was certain he would make an extraordinary president, like any mother, i was worried about what it would mean for our girls if he got that chance. how will we keep them grounded under the glare of the national

spotlight? how would they feel being unrooted from their school, their friends and the only home they had ever known? see, our life before moving to washington was filled with simple joys. saturdays at soccer games. sundays at grandmother's house. and a date night for barack obama and me was either date, dinner or a movie, because i couldn't stay awake for both. and the truth is, i loved the life we had built for our girls. and i deeply loved the man i had built that life with. and i didn't want that to change as he became president. i loved barak just the way he was. you see, even back then when barak was a senator and a presidential candidate, to me, he was still the guy who picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, i could

actually see the pavement going by in a hole in the passenger's side door. he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he had found in a dumpster. and whose only pair of decent shoes was a half size too small. but see, when barak started telling me about his family, see, now that is when i knew i had found a kindred spirit, somebody whose values and upbringing were so much like mine. you see, barak and i were both raised by families who didn't have much in the way of material possessions, but who had given us something far more valuable. their unconditional love. their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves. my father was a pump operator at the city water plant.

and he was decided with ms when my brother and i were young. and even as a kid, i knew there were plenty of days when he was in pain. and i knew there were plenty of mornings when it was a struggle for him to simply get out of bed. but every morning, i watched my father wake up with a smile. now, grab his walker, prop his walker, slowly shave and button his uniform. and when he returned home after a long day's work, my brother and i would stand at the top of the stairs in our little apartment, patiently waiting to greet him. watching as he bent down to lift one leg and the oer to slowly climb his way into our arms. but despite these challenges, my dad hardly ever missed a day of work. he and my mom were determined to give me and my brother the kind

of education they could only dream of. as i got to know barak, i realized that even though he had grown up all the way across the country, he had been brought up just like me. barak was raised by a single mom who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help. barak's grandmother started out as a secretary at a community bank. and she moved quickly up the ranks, but like so many women, she hit a glass ceiling. and for years, men no more qualified than she was, men she had actually trained were promoted up the ladder ahead of her, earning more and more money while barak's family continued to scrape by. but day after day, she kept on waking up at dawn to catch the bus, arriving at work before anyone else, giving her best without complaint or regret. and she would often tell barak, so long as you kids do well,

bear, that is all that really matters. like so many american families, our families were not asking for much. they didn't begrudge anyone else's success, okay that anyone else -- or they didn't care that anybody else had much more, they simply believed in the fundamental american promise, that even if you don't start out with much, if you work hard and do what you're supposed to do you should be able to build a decent life for yourself and an even better life for your kids and grandkids. that is how they raised us. those are the values that barak and i, and so many of you are trying to pass on to our own children. that is who we are. and standing before you, four years ago, i knew that i didn't want any of that to change if barak became president.

well, today, after so many struggles and triumphs and moments that have tested my husband in ways i never would have imagined, i have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. no, it reveals who you are are. you see, i have gotten to see up close and personal what being president really looks like. and i have seen how the issues that come across a president's desk are always the hard ones. you know, the problems where no amount of data or numbers will get you to the right answer. the judgment calls where the stakes are so high, and there is no margin for error. and as president you will get all kinds of advice from all

kinds of people. but at the end of the day when it comes time to make that decision as president, all you have to guide you are your values and vision and the life experiences that make you who you are. so when it comes to re-building our economy, barak is thinking about folks like my dad and his grandmother. he is thinking about the pride that comes from a hard day's work. that is why he signed the lilly ledbetter pay act to help women get fair work. that is why he cut taxes for working families and small businesses and fought to get the auto industry back on its feet. that is how he brought our economy from the edge of collapse to creating jobs again, jobs you can raise a family on. good jobs, right here in the

united states of america. when it comes to the health of our families, barak refused to listen to all of those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day. another president. he didn't care whether it was theasy thing to do politically, no, that is not how he was raised. he cared that it was the right thing to do. he did it because he believes that here in america, our grandparents should be able to afford their medicine, our kids should be able to see a doctor when they're sick. and nobody in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or an illness. and, he believes that women are more than capable of making our

own choices about our bodies and our health care. that is what my husband stands for. when it comes to giving our kids the education they deserve, barak knows that like me and like so many of you he never could have attended college without financial aid. and believe it or not, when we were first married our combined monthly student loan bill was actually higher than our mortgage. yeah, we were so young, so in love, and so in debt. and that is why barak has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down. because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.

>> we'll be right back with more of first lady michelle obama's speech. a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? i i had pain in my abdomen...g. it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer.

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she istill the kind little sister she always was. now she is just sticking up for those who stand up for us. and i'm proud of her work to give our children a health ee e healthier start in life. and let's face it, i could use the recruits. >> barak and michelle have always been there for us, and we can be there for them. with the commitment to all of our people for the next four years. >> craig robinson, first lady michelle obama's brother. here is more of the first lady's

speech tonight. >> so when people ask me -- whether being in the white house has changed my husband, i can honestly say that when it comes to his character, and his convictions and his heart, barack obama is still the same man i fell in love with all of those years ago. yeah -- he is the same man who started his career by turning down high paying jobs, and instead working in struggling neighborhoods, where a steel plant had shut down, fighting to rebuild those communities and get folks back to work. because for barak, success is not about how much money you make, it is about the difference you make in people's lives.

he is the same man, he is the same man when our girls were first born would anxiously check their cribs every few minutes to insure that they were still breathing, proudly showing them off to everyone we knew. you see, that is the man who sits down with me and our girls for dinner nearly every night, patiently answering questions about issues in the news. using strategy about middle school friendships, that is the man i see -- in those quiet moments late at night. hunched over his desk, pouring over the letters people have sent him. the letter from the father struggling to pay his bills. from the woman dying of cancer, whose insurance company won't cover her care. from the young people with so much promise, but so few

opportunities. and i see the concern in his eyes. and i hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, you wouldn't believe what these folks are going through, michelle, it is not right. we have got to keep working to fix this. we have got so much more to do. i see, i see how those stori stories -- i see how those stories, our collection of struggles and hopes and dreams, i see how that is what drives barack obama every single day.

so today, when the challenges we face start to seem overwhelming or even impossible, let us never forget that doing the impossible is the history of this nation. it is who we are as americans. it is how this country was built. and if our parents and grandparents could toil and struggle for us, you know, if they could raise beams of steel to the sky, send a man to the moon, connect the world with a touch of a button, then surely we can keep on sacrificing, and building for our own kids and grandkids, right? and if so many brave men and

women could wear our country's uniform, and sacrifice their lives for our most fundamental rights, then surely we can do our part as citizens of this great democracy to exercise those rights. surely, we can get to the polls on election day and make our voices heard. if farmers and black smiths could win independence from an empire, if immigrants could leave behind everything they knew for a better life on our shores, if women could be dragged to jail for seeking the vote, if a generation could defeat a depression and define greatness for all time. if a young preacher could lift us to the mountain top with his

dream, and the proud americans can be who they are, and boldly stand at the altar with who they love, then surely, surely we can give everyone in this country a fair chance at that great american dream. . and let me tell you something, i say all of this tonight, not just as first lady, no, not just as wife, you see -- at the end of the day, my most important title is still mom-in-chief. my daughters are are still the heart of my heart, and the

center of my world. but let me tell you today, i have none of those worries from four years ago. no, not about whether barak and i were doing what was best for our girls. because today, i know from experience that if i truly want to leave a better world for my daughters, and for all of our sons and daughters, if we want to give all of our children a foundation for their dreams, and opportunities worthy of their promise, if we want to give them that sense of limitless possibility, their belief that here in america there is always something better out there, if you're willing to work for it. then we must work like never before. and we must once again come together, and stand together for the man we can trust to keep

moving this great country forward. my husband, our president, barack obama. thank you. god bless you, god bless america. [ cheers and applause ] great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco.

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well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account. a texas state representative, running for a seat in the house, and whose twin brother, julian castro, gave the speech tonight. he is the mayor of san antonio, the first latino mayor to give the speech. >> my brother and i grew up with my mother and grandmother. my grandmother was an orphan. as a young girl she had to leave her home in mexico and move to san antonio, where some relatives had agreed to take her in. she never made it past the fourth grade. she had to drop out and start

working to help her family. my grandmother spent her whole life working as a maid, a cook and babysitter, barely scraping by, but still, working hard to give my mother, her only child, a chance in life so that my mother could give my brother and me an even better one. my family's story is not special. what is special is the america that makes our story possible. ours is a nation like no other. a place where great journeys can be made in a single generation, no matter who you are or where you come from, the path is always forward. mitt romney, quite simply, doesn't get it. a few months ago, he visited a university in ohio, and gave students their a little

entreprene entrepreneurial advice. start a business, he said, but how? borrow money if you have to, from your parents, he told them. gee, why didn't i think of that. some people are lucky enough to borrow money from their parents. but that shouldn't determine whether you can pursue your dre dreams. not in america, not here, not in the 21st century. i don't think governor romney meant any harm. i think he is a good guy. he just has no idea how good he has had it. the romney-ryan budget doesn't just cut public education, medicare and transportation and job training. it doesn't just pummel the middle class, it dismantles it,

insuring that everybody can stay in the middle class. when it comes to getting the middle class back to work, mitt romney says no. when it comes to respecting women's rights, mitt romney says no. when it comes to letting people love who they love and marry who they want to marry, mitt romney says no. when it comes to expanding access to good health care, mitt romney. >> says no. >> actually, actually -- actual actually, actually, mitt romney said yes, and now he says no. governor romney has undergone an extreme makeover. and it ain't pretty. so here is what we're going to

say to mitt romney in november. we're going to say no. mitt romney just doesn't get it. but barack obama gets it. he understands that when we invest in people, we're investing in our shared prosperity. and when we neglect that responsibility, we risk our promise as a nation. just a few years ago, families that had never asked for anything found themselves at risk of losing everything. and the dream my grandmother held that work would be rewarded, that the middle class would be there, if not for her, then for her children, that dream was being crushed. but then, president obama took office and he took action. when detroit was in trouble, president obama saved the auto

industry, and saved a million jobs. seven presidents before him, republicans and democrats, tried to expand health care to all americans. president obama got it done. he made a historic investment to lift our nation's public schools and expanded pel grants so that more young people could afford college. and because he knows that we don't have an ounce of talent to waste, the president took action to lift the shadow of deportation from a generation of young, law-behindi inin inin ii students called dreamers. and now we need to make a choice, a choice that maybes it where millionaires can pay less,

or a country where everybody pays their fair share, so that we can reduce the deficit and create the jobs of the future. it is a choice between a nation that slashes funding for our schools and guts pel grants, or a nation that invests more in education. and it is a choice between a politician who rewards companies that ship american jobs overseas, or a leader who brings jobs back home. this is the choice before us. and to me, to my generation, and for all the generations to come, our choice is clear. our choice is a man who has always chosen us, a man who already is our president, barack obama.

in the end, the american dream, the american dream is not a sprint. or even a marathon. but a relay. our families don't always cross the finish line in the span of one generation, but each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor. my grandmother never owned a house. she cleaned other people's houses so she could afford to rent her own, but she saw her daughter become the first in the family to graduate from college. and my mother fought hard for civil rights, so that instead of a mop, i could hold this microphone.

and while she may -- while she may be proud of me tonight, i got to tell you, mom, i am even more proud of you. thank you. today, my beautiful wife are the proud parents of a three-year-old little girl. victoria, named after my grandmother. a couple of mondays ago, a couple of mondays ago was her first day of pre-k, and as we dropped her off we walked out of

the classroom. and i found myself whispering to her as was once whispered to me. may god bless you. she is still young, and her dreams are far off yet. but i hope she will reach them. as a dad, i am going to do my part. and i know she will do hers. but our responsibility as a nation is to come together and do our part, as one community, one united states of america, to insure opportunity for all of our children. it begins with re-electing barack obama, it begins with you, may god bless you, and may god bless the united states of america. thank you. thank you, thank you. >> well, coming up, the speech

from massachusetts governor deval patrick, we'll be right back. ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. join zyrtec® rewards. save up to $7 on zyrtec® products. join zyrtec® rewards.

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. you should be able to afford health care for your family, you should be able to retire with dignity and respect. and you should be able to give your children the kind of education that allows them to dream even bigger, to go even farther, and accomplish more than you could ever imagine. >> mayor cory booker of newark,

new jersey, also the governor of massachusetts, deval patrick, the state's first african-american governor. >> in massachusetts, we know mitt romney. by the time he left office, massachusetts was 47th in the nation in job creation, during better economic times, and household income in our state was declining. he cut education deeper than anywhere else in america. roads and bridges were crumbling, business taxes were up, and business confidence was down. our clean energy potential was stalled, and we had a structural budget deficit. mitt romney talks about a lot of the things he fixed, i can tell u massachusetts was not one of them. he is a fine fellow, and a great sailsman.

but as governor, he was a lot more interested in having the job than doing the job. so today, with the help of the obama administration we are re-building our roads and bridges and expanding broad band access. today, we're out of the deficit hole mr. romney left and we have achieved the highest bond rating in our history. today, today with labor at the table, we have made the reforms in our pension and benefit systems. our schools, our transportation system and more than mr. romney only talked about. and today, in massachusetts, you can marry whomever you love. we still have much more to do. much, much more to do. but we are on a better track because we placed our faith, not

in trickle down fantasies and divisive rhetoric, but in our values and in our common sense. the same choice faces the nation today. all that republicans are saying is that if we just shrink government, cut taxes, crush unions and wait, all will be well. never mind that those are the very policies that got us into recession to begin with. never mind that not one of the governors who preached that gospel in tampa last week has the results to show for it. but we democrats, we owe america more than a strong argument for what we are against. we need to be just as strong about what it is we are for. and if we want to win elections in novemr and keep our country

moving forward, if we want to earn the privilege to lead, my message is this. it is time for democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe. quit waiting. quit waiting for -- quit waiting for pundits or polls or super pacs to tell us who the next president is going to be. we're americans, we shape our future. and let's all start by standing up for president barack obama. this is the president.

this is the president who delivered the security of affordable health care to every single american in every corner of this country, after 90 years of trying. this is the president who brought osama bin laden to justice, who ended the war in iraq, and is ending the war in afghanistan. this is the president who ended don't ask, don't tell, so that love of country, not one another, made it equal pay of the law of the land. this is the president who saved the american auto industry from going under, the american financial industry from self destruction. the american economy from full-blown depression, who added 4.5 million private sector jobs in the last two and a half years. more than in george bush's eight years in office.

my friends, the list of accomplishments is long, impressive and barely told. and even more impressive when you consider that congressional republicans have made obstruction itself the centerpiece of their governing strategy. with a record like that, and a vision that hopeful and powerful, i for one will not stand by and let him be bullied out of office. and neither should you. i want you to be clear. what is at stake is real. it is real. the orchard gardens elementary school in boston was in trouble. its record was poor.

its spirit was broken, and its reputation was a wreck. no matter how bad things were in other urban things in the city, people would say well, at least we're not orchard gardens. today, thanks to a host of new tools, many enacted with the help of the obama mention, orchard gardens is turning itself around. teaching standards and accountability is higher, the school is filled with music and excellence. the first graders are on their own, on their own to deal with their poverty, with ill-prepared young parents maybe who speak english as a second language. with an under-funded school with neighborhood crime and blight, and no access to good food, with a parent with no access to cash a paycheck, with no way to pay for college, but those orchard

gardens kids should not be left on their own. those children are america's children, too, yours and mine. and among them, among them are the future scientists, and entrepreneurs, teachers, artists, engineers, laborers and civic leaders we desperately need for this country to rise, they must rise. and they, and their cause must have a champion in the white house. that champion is barack obama. that cause is the american dream. let's fight for that. let's canvas, and phone bank and get out the vote for that. let's go tell everyone we meet that when the american dream is on the line, we want barack obama in charge. thank you so much. god bless you. and god bless the united states. thank you. >> coming up, chicago mayor rahm emanuel takes the stage. we'll be right back. -[ taste buds ] donuts, donuts! -who are these guys?

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also on the program tonight in charlotte, chicago mayor rahm emanuel, who was of course white house chief of staff for president obama. watch. >> when president obama entered the white house, the economy was in a freefall, the auto industry on its back. the banks, frozen up. more than 4 million americans had already lost their jobs. and america's bravest, our men and women in uniform were fighting for what soon would be the longest war in our history. you remember the uncertainty? and the fear that seized our country. on that first day, i said, mr. president, which crisis do you want to tackle first. he looked me in the eye, with that look he usually reserved

just for his chief of staff, rahm, we were sent here to tackle all of them, not choose between them. there was no blueprint, or how-to manual for fixing a global financial meltdown, an auto crisis, and two wars and a recession all at the same time. believe me, if it existed, i would have found it. each crisis was so deep, and so dangerous any one of them would have defined another presidency. we faced a once in a generation moment in american history. and fortunately for all of us, we have a once in a generation president. and in those uncharted waters, i saw when the president finds his north star. every night, president obama reads ten letters from everyday

americans. when i met with the president at the end of each day, he made sure he had their letters to read at his residence. letters from people just hoping for someone in power to understand their struggles. i can't tell you how many times, whether we were discussing the economy, health care, or energy crisis, the president walked to his desk, take out one of the letters, and read them to us and say this is who we are fighting for. parents working hard to save for their ild's education. middle class americans, fighting tooth and nail to hold on to their jobs, their homes or their life savings. it is their voices that president obama brings to the oval office. it is their values i saw him fight for every day. in the first month in office, he fought for the american recovery act, to cut taxes for the middle class. to put people to work, building

america's roads, rails and runways. and today, our economy has gone from losing 800,000 jobs a month to adding four and a half million private sector jobs in the last 29 months. thinki bankings -- banks are lending again, in case we forget that was a change we believed in, a change we fought for. that was the change president obama delivered. president obama took office knowing full well that for the last century presidents had tried to reform our health care system. today, because of president obama's courage, kids can stay on their parents's plan until they're 26. insurers can't kick you off your policy because you have a

pre- -- because you have hit the pre-existing limit. they wouldn't be able to deny you because you have a pre-existing condition. because of president obama's leadership, every american will have access to affordable quality health care. that was the change we believed in. that was the change we fought for. that was the change president obama delivered. i saw the president make the tough calls in the situation ro room. and today, our troops in iraq have finally come home, so america can do some nation-building here at home. that was a change we believed in. and a change we fought for. that was a change president obama delivered. i remember when the president received the report that the auto industry had a few weeks before its collapse. we met in the roosevelt room late into the night. some of the president's advisers said that in order to save general motors you had to let

chrysler go under. others said, it is like throwing good money after bad. among all the experts, there were only guesses and nobody put it at better than a one in four shot. only the president suggested going all in to save the industry and the jobs. now, the one thing i know with absolute certainty, having served two great presidents, is that in the next four years, an unforeseen crisis, challenge or conflict is going to show up and seize this country. whose leadership, whose judgment, whose values do you want in the white house when that crisis lands like a thud on the oval office desk? that is right, the person who said in four years, let detroit go bankrupt, or a president who

had another four words, not on my watch. a person who believes in giving tax cuts to the most fortunate, or a president who believes in making college affordable for all americans. a person who wanted to keep "don't ask, don't tell "or a president who believes that keeping you from loving the person you love should not happen. when the fall of uncertainty surrounds a crisis, storms into the white house, and all the advisers, chiefs of staffs, only have guesses to help the president. it will be the president's leadership that determines how we, as a nation, face the challenges that meet the middle class. it is the president's values that shape the future in which the middle class has hope. the person who takes the oval office in the next four months

will shape not only the next four years, but the next 40 years in this great nation. in this next four years, we need proven leadership and proven judgment and values. america needs four more years of barack obama. thank you and god bless you. ♪ tartar builds and that feeling fades. with new listerine® ultraclean™, you can keep it dentist clean. it's the only mouthwash with proven tartar control and new everfresh™ technology for a powerful dentist clean feeling up to 3x longer. ahhhhhhhh. [ male announcer ] keep your mouth dentist clean with new listerine® ultraclean™. power to your mouth™. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free.

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