On October 13, Michelle delivered one of the best speeches given by a Clinton surrogate thus far. Obama’s speech was arguably better than the one she gave at the DNC because of the immediacy of her words. Obama spent most of her time discussing the Trump tape that disparaged women and glamorized sexual assault. Her speech was a gold standard when it came to what a surrogate should accomplish for a campaign—It was incisive, topical, and deeply moving in a way that Hillary Clinton has never been.
One of the reasons that Michelle Obama is such an effective surrogate is because out of all of Clinton’s high-profile surrogates she is the lone Washington outsider. Michelle Obama can earnestly take the politics away from an issue and talk about it from the perspective of a mother, wife, and concerned activist. At one point she said, “I know it’s a campaign, but this isn’t about politics.” She went on to bolster her argument by speaking authoritatively about her initiative, Let Girls Learn; A program that the First Lady herself has played a huge role in creating and advocating. A program that boosts Obama’s credibility as a champion for women’s rights, and makes Obama’s scathing speech all the more debasing for Trump.
For the past eight years, Michelle Obama’s favorability ratings have been fantastic. Because of this she has become the ultimate weapon is this campaign. It is not coincidence that the Clinton camp sent her to New Hampshire, a state that along with two others (Pennsylvania & Virgina) will cement a Clinton victory. All three are states that will be decided by the middle-class, college-educated women who deeply admire the first lady.
Ultimately, Michelle Obama has distinguished herself from the rest of the Clinton surrogate pack. Last Thursday she reiterated the overarching narrative that the Clinton campaign is creating ‘Donald Trump is wildly unfit to be President of the United States’. She is a weapon that the Trump campaign has absolutely no, (not even Melania Trump), answer to and just might cost them this election.
I completely agree that Michelle Obama is a prime surrogate and Trump will never find a supporting equivalent. She is relatable and respectable on so many levels which is why her decision to support Clinton has influenced many other voters. Her target population is mothers, wives, and activists, but there is still a big gap of people that I think Michelle and Clinton are neglecting to address. Also, like you mentioned, she spent most of her time bashing Trump because of the degrading comments form the video scandal. I think she should have spent more time promoting Clinton’s presidency objectives.