Obama gives thumbs-up to wife's speech

DENVER _ It was Michelle Obama's speech, but her husband said it highlighted one of his attributes -- one he says voters should want in a president.

"Now you know why I asked her out so many times, even though she said no," Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting, told delegates by satellite Monday night after she delivered the first major speech of the Democratic convention.

"You want a persistent president," he said.

In her speech, Michelle Obama told cheering delegates jammed into the Pepsi Center and a nation watching on television that she and the possible future president have shared their hopes and dreams, and their struggles, too.

Afterward, their daughters -- Sasha and Malia -- joined her on stage and Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" blared from the convention hall. Microphone in hand, the girls began smiling and waving at their father after his familiar face popped up on a large screen erected on stage.

"How about that Michelle Obama?" Barack Obama said. He told her: "You were unbelievable."

"You also look very cute," he said.

Anyone who travels as much as Obama does can get confused about where they are on any given night, and Obama is no exception. He mistakenly said he had watched the speech at the home of a St. Louis family -- despite the cue card affixed to the camera as a reminder that he was actually 230 miles away in Kansas City, Mo., where had scheduled a campaign appearance Tuesday.

Sensing the flub, 7-year-old Sasha apparently was prompted to ask: "Daddy, what city are you in?"

"I'm in Kansas City, sweetie."

Obama asked their opinion of their mother's performance and it was unanimous. Both thought she "did good."

After several "I love yous" and Sasha -- the hammier sister -- blew her dad a kiss, he signed off for the night.

"Listen, I want you guys to look after the girls, look after mommy before I get there and I'll see you guys on Thursday, all right," he said. "Love you guys."

In Kansas City, reporters asked Obama how it felt to watch his wife. During the speech, and a biographical video shown before she spoke, Obama occasionally wiped his eyes.

"You notice my younger daughter is the ham," he said.

"She was unbelievable. But I'm not surprised. When she does something, she does it well," he said of Michelle. "She told her story. It's a story that a lot of families can relate to. Her dad struggled, worked hard. And here, his daughter, is addressing the nation."

Barack Obama closes the convention Thursday night with his acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High.