Tuesday marked the first official day of the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. The highlight of the day’s events included a speech given by First Lady Michelle Obama, whose time slot mirrors that given to Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a week earlier.
The First Lady's speech was more about the personal side of her husband and less about his politics. She shared stories of their life before moving to the White House and said, "Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it…and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we're from, or what we look like, or who we love."
The day began with a number of caucus sessions, including sessions about issues pertaining to women, the LGBT community and small business, three topics at the forefront of many political debates today.
Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julian Castro also spoke today. Castro’s speech signaled the first time a Latino delivered main remarks at such an important political event, according to the Los Angeles Times. According to CNN, the Democratic National Convention released excerpts from Castro’s prepared speech. The report said that his speech would focus on “achieving the American Dream” through the course of many generations.
“Texas may be the one place where people actually still have bootstraps and we expect folks to pull themselves up by them," Castro said. "But we also recognize there are some things we can't do alone."
Other speakers of the day included:
-Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-FL), Representative and Chair of the Democratic National Committee -Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Chair of the 2012 Democratic National Convention Committee and the Mayor of Los Angeles -Bev Perdue, Governor of North Carolina -Anthony R. Foxx, Mayor of Charlotte, N.C. -Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago and former White House Chief of Staff