Michelle Obama shows her husband's personal side

DENVER _ Michelle Obama declared "I love this country" Monday as she sought to reassure the country that she and her husband Barack share their basic values and belief in the American dream.

In the first major address at the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama said she and Barack Obama feel an obligation to "fight for the world as it should be" to ensure a better future for their daughters and all children.

The Obamas two daughters, Sasha and Malia, joined their mother on stage after the speech as Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" blared in the convention hall.

Obama's mission was to humanize her husband and tell skeptical voters that he is not so different, despite his unusual name and exotic background.

"Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation," she said. Her address was the first big step in a weeklong effort to reassure dubious voters that the party's presidential nominee understands their problems and beliefs.

They know the public Barack Obama, the man on magazine covers and nightly newscasts. His wife hoped to convince voters that he is a lot like they are, despite all the attention given to his African father, his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and the incendiary remarks of his former minister.

Obama, who is bidding to be the first black U.S. president, has repeatedly faced questions about whether he's a "real" American.

E-mails and videos circulating on the Internet attacked him for attending a church that promoted black culture, for not wearing a flag pin on his lapel, for not putting his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. They suggested -- falsely -- that he was secretly Muslim.

And in an age when candidates' spouses face scrutiny, too, Michelle Obama also hoped to send the message that she is a true believer in American values.

Critics have questioned her patriotism since early this year, when she said the response to her husband's campaign had made her proud of America for the first time in her adult life. She later said she meant pride in the political process, not in the country in general.

Michelle Obama's job was to show voters they have nothing to fear.

She spoke repeatedly about her two daughters and linked them to Barack Obama's desire to be president.

"We want our children -- and all children in this nation -- to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them," she said.

Since Barack Obama launched his campaign in February 2007, his wife has helped humanize him.

She has reminded voters that he can be sloppy. She scolds him for leaving a clogged toilet for her to handle. The couple frequently tell people that her words of inspiration before his big 2004 convention speech were, "Just don't screw it up, buddy."

She also talked about Barack Obama being raised by a single mother who sometimes struggled to make ends meet and she described their own challenges of juggling the demands of work and children.

She was introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson, the head basketball coach at Oregon State University.

And before her appearance, the audience viewed "South Side Girl," a biographical film narrated by her mother about her modest upbringing on Chicago's South Side.

After the speech, Barack Obama appeared via satellite.

Michelle Obama grew up in Chicago, where her father, Fraser Robinson, was a Democratic precinct captain who worked swing shifts at the water plant despite suffering from multiple sclerosis. His wife Marian raised the kids in a one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of her aunt's house, where Michelle and Craig slept in the living room, converted into two tiny bedrooms and a study area.

Despite the hardships, they managed to send both children to prestigious Ivy League colleges.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=230129">Text of Michelle Obama's speech<span class="date"> [8/25/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=230155">Obama gives wife's speech a thumbs up<span class="date"> [8/25/08]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/news/politics/convention/dem/">Complete convention coverage</a></li> </ul> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://video.ap.org/vws/search/aspx/ap.aspx?t=s1179980883147&p=ENAPus_ENAPus&g=0825dv_michelle_obama&f=ilarl">Michelle Obama opens Democratic Convention</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>