First Lady's Speech Brings Tears To Delegates

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Michelle Obama was the overwhelming star of Tuesday night's Democratic National Convention, delivering a powerful personal narrative about her husband still being the same deeply principled man she fell in love with 23 years ago when they were both broke and watching their families struggle.

Obama's speech contrasted with barnburners from the rest of the night, which attacked GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney on everything from his Swiss bank accounts to flip-flopping on abortion. But the first lady's remarks also touched on the message that others, including the keynote speaker, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, made earlier: Struggle and success aren't just Republican ideals, and there's nothing un-American about getting help.

Obama's speech, like Ann Romney's at the Republican National Convention last week, focused on her relationship with a candidate that she knows as a husband and a father. But while Romney's talk of saving money by eating tuna and pasta fell flat, Obama's stories of student loan debt and family hardships made for a more convincing case that they can relate to middle-class struggles.

During her remarks, the first lady said she knew Barack would make an "extraordinary" president when he first ran in 2008, but in her quieter moments, she worried about the toll the spotlight would take on their daughters. She said she feared losing "the simple joys" she shared with her family.

"Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma's house," Obama said. "And a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn't stay awake for both."

Obama said she loved the life they had, and she didn't want to lose it because "I loved Barack just the way he was."

She described first dating Barack and painted a side to him that most people would find hard to imagine.

He was a 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 side door," Obama said to laughs. "He was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he'd found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half-size too small."

Still, she said knew she'd found "a kindred spirit" in Barack when they talked about their families. She grew up with a father with multiple sclerosis who would "prop himself up against the bathroom sink, and slowly shave and button his uniform," and a brother who, like her, relied on student loans to go to college.

Her story, said Obama, was just like Barack's story.

"I realized that even though he'd grown up all the way across the country, he'd been brought up just like me. Barack was raised by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills, and by grandparents who stepped in when she needed help," she said.

Now, four years later, after watching her husband go through "so many struggles and triumphs," Obama said she learned firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are.

"It reveals who you are," she said. "As president, all you have to guide you are your values and your vision and the life experiences that make you who you are."

The first lady kept a measured tone through the speech until the end. She choked up as she talked about her most important title still being "mom-in-chief," and as she said, repeatedly, that she loves her husband more now than when he first became president, and even more than she did when they first met 23 years ago.

"Today, I have none of the worries from four years ago about whether Barack and I were doing what's best for our girls," she said. "We must once again come together and stand together for the man we can trust to keep moving this country forward. My husband, our president, President Barack Obama."

Obama got a standing ovation from the crowd, and as the camera panned around the room, several people visibly wept.

Castro also provoked a strong response from the crowd, which drowned out his speech at some points with cheering.

His message was similar to Obama's, speaking about his family and how he got where he is. He took a softer tone than previous speakers took toward Romney, but his speech was critical nonetheless and stuck to the theme of the night's attacks: Romney can't be trusted.

As Castro discussed his grandmother and his mother, a civil rights activist, he mocked Romney for telling a college student to start a business by borrowing money from his parents. "Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Castro said. "I don't think Governor Romney meant any harm. I think he's a good guy. He just has no idea how good he's had it."

Castro didn't address Latinos specifically, other than praising the president's recent directive on immigration, but he and the Obama campaign have acknowledged the significance of his appearance. Castro has a narrative similar to Obama's: both born to single mothers, both Harvard Law grads, both early entrants into politics. His speech may give him the boost Obama received when he addressed Democrats in 2004. Obama campaign manager Jim Messina promised on Monday that Castro's speech would be memorable, telling members of the Convention Hispanic Caucus, "You are in for one of those moments that, 10 years from now, you are going to say, 'I was there to hear when he gave that speech.'"

Castro took some of the same rhetorical turns as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) did last week in his address to the Republican National Convention, but to very different conclusions. Both men spoke about their immigrant grandparents -- Castro's grandmother was born in Mexico, while Rubio's grandfather was from Cuba -- and their parents' blue-collar work.

On his father, who worked at a bar, Rubio said, "He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room."

Castro's praise of his mother, a civil rights activist, used a similar line. "My mother fought for civil rights so that instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone," he said.

He said he got there not just through the hard work of himself and his family, but with help from society, through scholarships that allowed him to attend Stanford University and Harvard Law. He said Republicans don't support those kinds of opportunities for people like him.

"What we don't accept is the idea that some folks won't even get a chance," Castro said of Democrats. "And the thing is, Mitt Romney and the Republican Party are perfectly comfortable with that America. In fact, that's exactly what they're promising us."

• First Lady Michelle Obama waves to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Michelle Obama

  First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• First Lady Michelle Obama waves to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

• Barack Obama1

  First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• First Lady Michelle Obama waves to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• First Lady Michelle Obama hugs Elaine Brye before speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, left, and his brother Joaquin Castro, wave at delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Julian Castro, Joaquin Castro

  San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and his brother Joaquin Castro, right, wave to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Joaquin Castro

  Joaquin Castro, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's brother introduces him to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Julian Castro

  San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro walks on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Dick Durbin, Tammy Duckworth

  U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin talks to Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Martin O'Malley

  Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Martin O'Malley

  Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley

• Deval Patrick

  Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Deval Patrick

  Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Rahm Emanuel

  Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Rahm Emanuel

  Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Rahm Emanuel

  Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Craig Robinson, Maya Soetoro-ng,

  Craig Robinson, First Lady Michelle Obama's brother, and Maya Soetoro-ng, President Barack Obama's sister, address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Lilly Ledbetter

• Lilly Ledbetter

• Kal Penn

  Actor Kal Penn addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Lincoln Chafee

  Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Vice President Joe Biden speaks Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Vice President Joe Biden, left, speaks to Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth stand at the podium as she speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth stand at the podium as she speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Jim Clyburn

  Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina points across the convention floor at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

• Stacey Lihn

  Stacey Lihn addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 as (L-R) her daughter Zoe, husband Caleb and daughter Emerson listen. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Tammy Duckworth

  Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth waves to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy holds his son Owen during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Nancy Keenan

  President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Nancy Keenan addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Maria Ciano speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado waves after speaking to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Jared Polis

  Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado addresess the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Rev. Jesse Jackson is interviewed on the convention floor at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• R.T. Rybak

  Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden watch proceedings at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Robert Wexler

  Robert Wexler, President of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace and former Representative from Florida, addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Ledisi

  Singer Ledisi preforms during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Joe Kennedy III, candidate for the House of Representatives from Massachusetts, waves to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Joe Kennedy

  Joe Kennedy III, candidate for the House of Representatives from Massachusetts, addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi applauds with women from the House of Representatives wave after speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Nancy Pelosi

  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic women of the House of Reppresentives wave to the delegates atthe Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Candidate for the House of Representatives Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii with the women from the House of Representatives at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Harry Reid

  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Harry Reid

  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Anthony Foxx

  Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Tim Kaine

  Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine waves to the delegates from Virginia before addressing the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Pat Quinn

  Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Doug Stern

  Ohio firefighter Doug Stern addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Charles Gonzalez, Nydia Velázquez

  Rep. Charles Gonzalez of Texas and Rep. Nydia Velázquez of New York address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Bev Perdue

  North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue speaks to delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Mary Kay Henry

  Mary Kay Henry, International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Rep. Charles Gonzalez of Texas points to delegates as he walks on stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Cory Booker

  Newark Mayor Cory Booker addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Cory Booker

  Newark Mayor Cory Booker addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Alice Germond

  Alice Germond, Secretary of the Democratic National Committee, addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Barbara Lee

  Rep. Barbara Lee of California addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Newark Mayor Cory Booker speaks to delegates during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Priscilla Chavez, Carla Chavez

  New Mexico delegates Priscilla and Carla Chavez cheer during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Antonio Villaraigosa

  Los Angeles Mayor and Democratic Convention Chairman Antonio Villaraigosa blows a kiss to he delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland gives the thumbs up to delegates during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Andrew Tobias

  Andrew Tobias, Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee, addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Los Angeles Mayor and Democratic Convention Chairman Antonio Villaraigosa hugs Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida, before speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley along with Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, center, from Florida, speak to delegates during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Debbie Wasserman

  Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida, gavels the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Steny Hoyer

  Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida, gavels the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012.(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• The 3rd grade class of W.R. O'Dell Elementary School, from Concord, N.C., recites the Pledge of Allegiance at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida, waves to delegates at the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Metropolitan Nicholas

  Metropolitan Nicholas, Bishop of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Detroit, delivers the invocation at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Joe Biden, Jill Biden

  Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden arrive in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, to attend the Democratic National Convention. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

• Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, from Florida, speaks to an aide during a sound check before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Julian Castro

  San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julian Castro talks to reporters at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. The mayor will give the keynote speech at the DNC. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Nancy Pelosi, Rosa DeLauro

  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California task with Rep. Rosa Delauro of Connecticut, right, during a sound check at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Nancy Pelosi, Joyce Beatty, Tulsi Gabbard

  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, center, looks over the stage with Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives, Joyce Beatty of Ohio, left and Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, right, during a sound check at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Karl Rove

  Karl Rove, former Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush, is seen on the floor after a television interview at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Nancy Pelosi

  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California looks over the convention floor during a sound check at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Nancy Pelosi

  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California walks across the stage under a large television picture of former President Jimmy Carter during a sound check at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Michelle Obama

  First Lady Michelle Obama waves as she appears on the stage for filming a campaign video at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Michelle Obama, Kal Penn

  First Lady Michelle Obama appears on the stage with actor Kal Penn for filming a campaign video at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Michelle Obama, Kal Penn

  First Lady Michelle Obama appears on the stage with actor Kal Penn for filming a campaign video at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Michelle Obama

  First Lady Michelle Obama waves as she appears at the podium for a camera test on the stage at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Michelle Obama

  First Lady Michelle Obama gestures as she appears at the podium for a camera test on the stage at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Michelle Obama, David Cove

  First Lady Michelle Obama listens to head stage manager David Cove at the podium for a camera test on the stage at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Michelle Obama

  First Lady Michelle Obama waves from the podium during a sound check at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

• Michelle Obama

  First Lady Michelle Obama waves as she appears at the podium for a camera test on the stage at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• First Lady Michelle Obama listens to a production manager during a sound check for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• Production crew makes final preparation on the stage for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

• Kelly Jacobs, from Hernando, Miss., wears button laden campaign hat while touring the convention hall ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• A delegate shows off her President Barack Obama button in the convention hall before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Julian Castro, Joaquin Castro

  San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, left, who will be the convention keynote speaker, and his twin brother, State Representative Joaquin Castro, who is running for U.S. Congress, are interviewed at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

• Antonio Villaraigosa

  Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talks to a reporter as he tours the floor at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Debbie Wasserman Schultz,

  Democratic National Committee Chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., fourth from left,, poses for a picture with Goergia delegates on the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Production crew work on final adjustments at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 02: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (C) is seen during preparations for the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 2, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will start on September 4 and run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 02: San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro (L) stands on stage with his brother Joaquín Castro during preparations for the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 2, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will start on September 4 and run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 02: Workers stand on stage during preparations for the Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena on September 2, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The DNC that will start on September 4 and run through September 7, will nominate U.S. President Barack Obama as the Democratic presidential candidate. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

• US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

  Banners announce the upcoming 2012 Democratic National Convention on September 1, 2012 outside the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. Preparations for the Democratic National Convention have begun around Charlotte where the the party is expected to nominate US President Barack Obama to run for a second term. AFP PHOTO / ROBYN BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/GettyImages)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (R) tours the stage as preparations continue at the Time Warner Cable Arena for the Democratic National Convention on September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (C) tours the stage as preparations continue at the Time Warner Cable Arena for the Democratic National Convention on September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Passersby stop to watch as artists create a sand sculpture of President Barack Obama before the start of the Democratic National Convention September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Shoppers search for souvenirs before the start of the Democratic National Convention September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

• Charlotte Prepares For Democratic National Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Mounted police patrol the Uptown area before the start of the Democratic National Convention September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

• Chase Howard

  5-year-old Chase Howard runs across the stage at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

• CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Artist O O sells his art work outside the Time Warner Cable Arena on September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

• CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: Artist O O (R) sets up a booth to sell his politically inspired art near the Time Warner Cable Arena where the Democratic Party will be hosting their national convention September 1, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to run from September 4th - 6th. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

• Inside Time Warner Cable Arena is seen facilitated for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Brevard police officers gather for a meeting at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• Production crew prepare on the floor at the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

• Production crew are seen from the upper level hall way as they prepare for the Democratic National Convention inside Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

• A volunteer waits to receive credentials for President Barak Obama's acceptance speech during Charlotte's Democratic Convention at a campaign field office in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

• Parker Mothershead

  Parker Mothershead of Charlotte, N.C. walks into the stands in the Tampa Bay Times Forum at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

• The main floor of Time Warner Cable Arena is shown during the public unveiling of Democratic National Convention's facilities in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• Steve Kerrigan

  DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan, center, talks with guests near the main stage during the public unveiling of Democratic National Convention's facilities at Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• Visitors take photos of the main stage during the public unveiling of Democratic National Convention's facilities at Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• Workers install banners in preparation of Democratic National Convention's facilities at Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• Steve Kerrigan

  DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan, center, speaks to the media near the main stage during the public unveiling of Democratic National Convention's facilities Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• Visitors walk past delegate seats during the public unveiling of Democratic National Convention's facilities Time Warner Arena in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• A worker crosses the main stage at Time Warner Cable Arena during the public unveiling of Democratic National Convention's facilities in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena Transformed For Democratic Nat'l Convention

  CHARLOTTE, NC - AUGUST 22: Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Steve Kerrigan speaks (R) as COO Theo LeCompte looks on near where workers construct modifications to the Time Warner Cable Arena in preparation for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on August 22, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte-area residents have been invited to attend a public open house and podium unveiling at the arena on August 31 for the convention that starts on September 3. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

• US-VOTE-2012-DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

  US First Lady Michelle Obama (R) is interviewed by actor and former Obama administration aide Kal Penn (L) after a rehearsal for her speech in the Time Warner Cable Arena September 3, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina as preparations for the 2012 Democratic National Convention continue. AFP PHOTO Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages)

• Frames From The 2012 Political Conventions: RNC And DNC

  CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 03: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This image was shot with an iPhone) Workers make preperations on the stage before the start of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at Time Warner Cable Arena September 3, 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to start on Tuesday and run through September 6th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

• Obama campaign logo is seen under the scoreboard hanging from the ceiling inside of Time Warner Cable Arena at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

The Margins: San Francisco's Poorest Exiled To The Suburbs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Close your eyes and think about poverty in America. What does it look like? What space does it occupy? The picture is probably something like this: racial minorities living in crowded inner city slums.

That vision may have once been largely accurate. But now, in a post-recession world buffeted by persistently high unemployment and a housing market yet to regain its footing, poverty has taken a profoundly a different shape. In places like the San Francisco Bay Area, it's been moving from areas surrounding the high-rises of city centers into the formerly empty spaces on their outskirts.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF HOMELESSNESS

A recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco found that, over the past decade, poverty in the Bay Area has shifted out of the cities and into the suburbs. From 2005 to 2009, the percentage of people living in poverty in the suburbs grew by 16 percent, compared with a 7 percent increase in urban areas.

This migration of many of society's neediest has been an issue for years. Yet a new trend -- an upward spike in real estate prices in the area between San Francisco's tech-fueled economic success story and the economically depressed towns of the California's San Joaquin Valley -- threatens to push the phenomenon into overdrive.

"We're seeing a different kind of homelessness," said Capt. Michael Paugh, who has run the Salvation Army in the central California city of Modesto for about a year. "There's fewer chronic homeless and more people just lost their jobs and couldn't keep up on their home payments."

The Salvation Army has been in Modesto since 1890, providing hot meals, emergency shelter, job training and free child care for people in need. Rarely have those services been in higher demand, said Paugh.

"During the summer, there are whole entire families coming in for a meal. With school out, these are the only hot meals these kids are getting," Paugh explained. "It's been an eye-opener to me. When you think of the homeless, you think of people that--for whatever reason--can't or don't want to work. But homelessness here is seniors, veterans, people living on a small amount per month and have to chose between food and shelter. It's good people who just lost their jobs."

Modesto is unquestionably full of good people who have lost their jobs. The unemployment rate in the region is 15.7 percent, down from a mind-boggling 17.4 percent earlier this year. That's not counting the chronic underemployment of people who do have jobs, and therefore aren't counted in the statistics, but aren't able to book enough hours to make ends meet.

In a recent Forbes list of the most "miserable" cities in America, Modesto ranked fourth. Neighboring Merced and Stockton were third and first, respectively.

"There are certain subdivisions in Modesto where one out of every two or three houses are in foreclosure," said Ruben Villalobos, an attorney and Modesto school board member.

THE BUBBLE AND THE WAVE

Many of the area's problems can be traced to the collapse of the housing bubble. During much of the 2000s, scores of Bay Area residents took advantage of cheap, sub-prime financing and bought homes in the San Joaquin Valley. Housing prices shot through the roof and the construction industry boomed.

When the bubble popped, home values plummeted and new home construction, a driving force of the region's economy, slowed to a crawl. A sea of wealth quickly evaporated.

It wasn't just the lure of big houses for low prices that drew many to the outer rings of the Bay Area. Some people could no longer afford the growing cost of living.

"In [East Bay cities like] Oakland and Richmond, the most recent census saw the African American population there decreasing by about 25 percent due to people in those communities being priced out of the market," said Gloria Bruce, deputy director of East Bay Housing Organizations. "Minority groups like African Americans are often the most vulnerable to being pushed out of their homes when prices rise."

If the housing bubble, and its subsequent collapse, left many of the most vulnerable on the geographic edges of the Bay Area, the shape of the local recovery will likely have the same effect.

"Think of the housing bubble like a wave," said Eli Davidson of the real estate firm Marcus & Millichap. "Depressing home prices in Stockton and Modesto, then coming through the East Bay and the finally making its way into San Francisco. As it recedes, it's going to see increases in San Francisco first and then the East Bay and finally make its way back into the Central Valley."

While that wave has yet to wash all the way back to the San Joaquin Valley, the resurgence of the housing market in the Bay Area's urban core is already well at hand.

San Francisco has arguably the strongest housing market in the country. Rents are the priciest of any major city. The home sale prices aren't just the highest in the nation; they're increasing faster than anywhere else. Funding cuts to the city's affordable housing programs have increasingly made San Francisco unaffordable to people on the lower rungs of the economic ladder.

The city's high cost of living has long pushed residents, especially families, into East Bay cities like Berkeley and Oakland. However, over the past six months, home prices in some portions of the East Bay have also soared. Demand continues to rise sharply as employees of the surging, social media-fueled economies of San Francisco and Silicon Valley search for affordable housing.

The supply of new East Bay housing units, on the other hand, is still being constrained by the recession. Since it can take up to a decade to get from Point A ("Let's build some houses!") to Point B ("Here are the keys!"), there aren't a lot of new residential properties opening.

This mismatch between between supply and demand has the potential to further exacerbate the new trend of poverty moving to the outskirts while people with money remain in urban cores. And its effects aren't difficult to predict.

"I can see people being forced further and further out from the immediate Bay Area and moving into the Central Valley," said Maeve Elise Brown, executive director of Housing and Economic Rights Advocates.

LIFE ON THE MARGINS

Far-flung suburbs lack the services regularly utilized by the working poor. There aren't as many housing shelters, soup kitchens or job training centers as in cities. Public transportation infrastructure isn't as developed: Modesto has a solid bus system that hooks into the Bay Area's larger public transportation grid, but access can be spotty and, in some areas, nonexistent.

Paugh explained that emergency shelters in Modesto offer space for less than a dozen families, woefully inadequate for a region where some 20,000 individuals have undergone foreclosures.

The lack of strong city governments hurts the situation further. A recent article by California Watch found that areas like Modesto are spotted with unincorporated zones that have little access to government services.

"It's like people are living in colonies of the United States," Miguel Donoso, a longtime Latino community advocate in Stanislaus County, told California Watch. "Living in a Third World country, that's close to what you see here today."

Moreover, the collapse of the housing bubble and the drop in the tax base has made maintaining governmental services more difficult.

Nearby Stockton, which recently became the largest American city to ever file for bankruptcy, was forced to lay off 40 percent of its government workforce.

Resources at the state level has also decreased precipitously. "We're only receiving 60 cents on the dollar from what we're supposed to getting from the state," Villalobos said, noting that school dropout rates have increased not only in his community but across the board. "Without that funding, students are more likely to slip through the cracks."

Villalobos was also quick to point out that while much as the effects of poverty's suburbanization are economic, there's also a devastating social aspect. Housing instability has made it more difficult for individuals to cultivate roots.

"Modesto is a different place now," he explained. "Ten years ago, if you went to the grocery store, you'd run into people you know. That's not as true anymore. We seem to be a far more transient community."

HuffPost Live will be taking a comprehensive look at the persistence of poverty in America Sept. 5 from 12-4 p.m. EDT and 6-10 p.m. EDT. Click here to check it out -- and join the conversation.

Check out these aerial photos of California's Central Valley region:

• Looking south over the Delta from the South Fork of the Mokulmne River

• Looking north up the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel

• Hog Slough in the California Delta

• Farm patterns on Prospect Island in the California Delta

• Oxbow Marina on Georgianna Slough near the town of Isleton in the California Delta

• Delta Coves on Bethel Island in the California Delta is waterfront community development that was halted in 2008 when owner, Lehman Brothers, went bankrupt.

• A private water feature near Stockton, Calif., in the California Delta.

• "Grindstone Joe's" island marina on Little Potato Slough in the California Delta.

• The pumping station near Tracy, Calif., that delivers water from the California Delta into Bethany Reservoir and down to Southern California via the California Aqueduct.

• At center, the California Aqueduct runs adjacent to Interstate 5, with the Delta-Mendota Canal at left, through farmland, and the barren foothills at right, near Patterson, CA.

WATCH: Michelle Obama Wows Crowd With Democratic Convention Speech

"Barack knows the American Dream because he's lived it," the first lady told the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday in an address intended to reassure voters that her husband share their values ' hard work, perseverance and optimism ' while also drawing a contrast between him and Mitt Romney.

Mrs. Obama never mentioned the president's Republican challenger, who grew up in a world of privilege and wealth.

But the point was clear as she weaved a tapestry of their early years together, when money was tight and times were tough, when they were "so in love, and so in debt." She reminisced about the man who now occupies the Oval Office pulling his favorite coffee table out of the trash and wearing dress shoes that were a size too small. And she told stories about a president who still takes time to eat dinner with his daughters nearly every night, answering their questions about the news and strategizing about middle-school friendships.

LIVE UPDATES: Democratic National Convention Kicks Off In Charlotte

The Obama campaign released a new video on Monday featuring the president imploring actor Kal Penn to take his job seriously when he hosts coverage of the Democratic National Convention this week -- and Penn appearing to be too stoned to care.

The video shows President Barack Obama making a phone call to someone to remind him of the stakes of his hosting duties on Thursday night, when Obama is scheduled to deliver his speech at the convention.

"Hey, this is Barack," the president says. "Listen, I need to know if you're on board. Okay, good. Because I'm counting on you. Everybody is. We have to get this right. So there's a lot at stake here. Just remember that I'm trusting you on this and I'll see you then."

Obama hangs up and the video pans to a shot of Penn slumped in a couch watching cartoons, stuffing his face with munchies, and slowly hanging up the phone. Slouched in the sofa next to him is John Cho, the actor who played his stoner companion, Harold, in the "Harold And Kumar" movies.

"Dude, who was that? That sounded intense," says Cho as he shovels cheesepuffs into his mouth.

"The president," Penn says with a blank stare and no enthusiasm.

"Sweet," says Cho. Moments later, both devolve into laughter at the cartoons they're watching.

The video is promoting "Live From Charlotte," a web-only convention special that Penn will host on Thursday at 8 p.m. Programming will include interviews with celebrities including Marc Anthony, Elizabeth Banks, Aisha Tyler, Olivia Wilde, Fran Drescher, Zach Braff and Alexis Bledel.

The video is part of a larger effort by Democrats to cast the 2012 convention as the most open and accessible in history. All of the online coverage -- including Penn's segment -- is being livestreamed at DemConvention.com/live.

-- Jen Bendery

Richard (RJ) Eskow: Will the Democrats Speak For the People?

Last week the Republicans gathered under the hurricane skies of approaching autumn, their convocation punctuated by thunder and underlined by rain. But there are storm clouds over Charlotte, too: clouds of cynicism and despair, clouds of joblessness and fear, clouds charged with the ionized smell of burning hope and dying dreams.

The GOP's leaders aren't 'robots,' despite their artificiality, because Asimov's First Law of Robotics says "a robot may not harm humans." So they must be something else: living drones, perhaps, deployed by unseen Corporate Persons.

Will the Democrats speak for the people? Will they fill Clint Eastwood's empty chair with human beings of passion and dedication? Or will they pursue a false "centrism," cheating the country of the debate it so desperately needs?

The Republican Convention was a shadow show lit by lightning, its faceless protagonists only silhouettes on a screen. Will the Democrats fill the dark spaces with light?

Peas and Ice Cream

Corey Robin says that Dems have recast themselves as the "Austerity Party." Make that the "Eat Your Peas" Party, with an order of "shared sacrifice" on the side. Meanwhile the Party of Millionaires gorges itself on steak and ice cream. And they falsely promise that if you work hard enough and long enough, someday you may be able to gorge yourself too.

The President still positions himself as someone who can work with elected Republicans, despite their open hostility to everything that might help him, his party, or the vast majority of Americans. He's distancing himself from other Democratic candidates and frustrated he doesn't get more credit for his willingness to cut Social Security and Medicare. If he strikes that pose again in Charlotte, who'll speak for the rest of us?

Who'll speak for more than twenty million Americans still looking for work, four years after bankers ruined the economy -- and were rescued to continue their pillaging?

Who'll speak for the college grads burdened with debt in a jobless world?

Who'll speak for the dying middle class, the growing ranks of the poor, the vast majority of Americans who will someday depend Social Security and Medicare?

Of the People, By the People, For the People

And who'll speak for government? Government isn't an "other," after all. It's us:

Government is the teachers, cops, and firefighters who are losing their jobs because of Washington, D.C.'s fanatical "bipartisan" obsession with austerity budgets.

It's the workers who could rebuild our schools, roads, and bridges.

It's the students who study in those schools, and the people who travel those roads and bridges every day.

Will the Democrats speak for them? Will they speak for the kind of economy we had in the 1950s and 1960s, when government helped create private sector growth and middle class prosperity?

Austerity, Democratic Style

During a time of economic agony brought on by joblessness and wage stagnation, the President followed the Wall Street agenda by creating a "deficit commission" instead of a Jobs and Middle-Class Growth Commission. And he appointed two anti-Social Security and anti-government activists, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, to lead it. Now he and some fellow Democrats are promoting a personal proposal written by those two gentlemen -- one which offers draconian austerity for the many and even more tax breaks for the wealthy few.

No wonder Simpson and Bowles keep praising Paul Ryan to the skies: Simpson/Bowles and Romney/Ryan differ only in emphasis. That's why it was so disturbing to hear House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi say, "I felt fully ready to vote for (the Simpson Bowles proposal) myself, thought it was not even a controversial thing ..."

Government spending as a percentage of the economy is the lowest it's been in modern history. The problem isn't spending. It's lost government revenue -- from the undertaxed wealthy, and from the underpaid and underemployed middle class. It's the growing social cost of poverty, too.

And in the long run government debt is driven by the runaway cost of greed in a for-profit healthcare system. Will we hear about that in Charlotte? Will we hear a word about the abandoned "public option" which would have been a step in the right direction?

A false Washington consensus is pushing the same austerity that's making Great Britain fall behind even our damaged economy. (Paul Krugman offers an illustration.)

Will anyone in Charlotte espouse Krugman's views, or those of fellow Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz?

Vox Populi

And will we hear from the party's strongest voices? Joe Biden spoke forcefully for preserving Social Security, but so far nobody in the White House has backed him up. (And no reporters even bothered asking the President about it.)

Will we hear from the Congressional Progressive Caucus, marginalized as "extreme" for a budget which expresses the majority's economic wishes?

How about Sen. Tom Harkin, with his bold new ideas for Social Security? Or Sen. Sherrod Brown, whose bipartisan proposal with Sen. David Vitter would help alleviate the "too big to fail" bank problem? Will Rep. Keith Ellison make the case for the SAFE Banking Act he co-sponsored with Sen. Brown, which would break them up altogether?

Will we hear a word for the Employee Free Choice Act or for raising the minimum wage? Or for fair trade instead of the "free trade" that has cost us so much?

Here's a slogan I'd like to see on a banner in Charlotte: Free trade ain't free. We can't afford it.

Will the Democrats speak for the majority? For the 75 percent of Republicans -- and 76 percent of Tea Party members --- who told pollsters they're against the Simpson Bowles plan for cutting Social Security to balance the budget? Or for the majorities in both parties who want millionaires to pay more taxes and want to rebuild our decaying infrastructure?

Fixed-Market Capitalism

Will they rebut Mitt Romney, who slyly conflated the dreams of middle-class households and small business entrepreneurs with the agenda of ultra-wealthy financial speculators like himself?

Nobody's opposed to all wealth, as Republicans like to imply. But some wealth was acquired by cheating, lying, and gaming the system. Will the Democrats tell the public that Bain-like financial speculation eats up American profits without creating jobs or lifting wages, and that rich individuals like Romney are unfairly seizing more and more of our wealth through tax loopholes and financial predation?

The Romney Bunch aren't capitalists, they're cronies. Their system's not the "free market," it's the fixed market. And they didn't build "that" -- they didn't build anything.

Five Points of Darkness

Will the Democrats explain the "five-point plan" In Romney's speech? Here it is, translated into plain English:

Let corporations like the Koch Brothers' despoil the environment for what little oil and gas is left in our soil and oceans -- and then let them sell it to other countries while our gas prices keep going up.

"Fix" education by promoting "choice" which directs public money to even the most extreme private institutions -- while firing teachers and letting school buildings fall apart.

Negotiate new trade agreements, which will mean more lost jobs.

Lower the government's deficit while cutting taxes for once again for the ultra-wealthy -- through cuts which will devastate middle-class and lower-income Americans.

Romney also said he would champion small businesses -- after his running mate and his party imposed savage cuts on the Small Business Administration. And then, for good measure, Romney threw in a "joke" about the threat of climate change and rising oceans. That was, in the words of an old Elvis Costello song, "a punch line you can feel."

Bet nobody's laughing in a few years.

Rank and File

Will the Democrats speak candidly to disappointed voters, explaining that their vote is only the first step in the political process? Will they echo FDR's (probably apocryphal) words: "I agree with you, now make me do it"? Or will they insist on overselling milquetoast financial reforms and what has proven so far to be a hollow foreclosure settlement deal that once again gave everything to the banks -- and nothing to the people?

And what about Democratic voters? Will they demand that their leaders fight for traditionally Democratic policies and principles? When Bill Clinton appears, will the party's activists ask him about his shameless shilling for the hurtful and elitist austerity policies of Simpson Bowles? When Hillary Clinton makes a surprise appearance (as she almost certainly will) will they challenge her on the cost-effectiveness of our militarist stance in Iran and Afghanistan? Will the party's rank and file insist that President Obama stand behind Biden's promise to defend Social Security?

Or will too many of them embrace the Politics of Celebrity, outsourcing too many of their moral choices to any politician with an appealing public persona?

Closing Arguments

We know that Charlotte's Occupy protesters will speak for the people. We're hopeful that Elizabeth Warren will, too. But will the Convention itself become a voice for the American majority? Will the party stand up for its own principles? Or will it choose the misguided path of what seems like expediency -- but is actually a lemming-like course over the austerity cliff?

Economic catastrophe eventually leads to social chaos, and the failure of democracy leads to the democratization of rage.

The hour grows near. Will the Democrats speak for the people? And whatever they say this week, will they do the right thing after the election? The answer to the second question depends in large part on our willingness to demand that they do -- or, if they don't, to replace them with leaders who will.

Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow

Obama's War On Weed Devastates Community Of Sick People

SAN FRANCISCO -- Five-year-old Jayden David suffers from a rare form of epilepsy. In his short life, he's taken two dozen different kinds of medication and has been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance 45 times.

The young boy's life, however, slowly began to improve when he started using medical cannabis to ease his chronic pain and seizures.

"He sings and smiles like a normal child now," Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Center, the dispensary that provides David with his medicine, told The Huffington Post. According to DeAngelo, the child has seen an 80 percent reduction in his symptoms and can now spend twice as much time at school. Harborside helped develop a specialized cannabis tincture for David that doesn't have the same "high" side effects marijuana is commonly known for.

DeAngelo founded Harborside six years ago, and his business has since ballooned into the largest medical cannabis dispensary in America. "We have developed the gold standard for the industry," he explained.

Harborside boasts nearly 108,000 patients between its main facility in Oakland and its sister operation in San Jose. In addition to what DeAngelo described as "the largest selection of cannabis medicines that can be found under one roof," the organization offers a holistic health care clinic, a library of books on the subject and a volunteer program in which customers can trade activism work in exchange for medicine. The nonprofit generates upwards of $22 million a year, which DeAngelo noted goes directly back into the community.

But the cannabis emporium is now in danger of shutting down for good. This July, the Department of Justice began asset forfeiture proceedings against the business on the grounds that it violates federal law.

California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes when voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. A recent study revealed that medical cannabis sales generate upwards of $100 million in annual tax revenues for the state.

Despite these figures, the drug remains illegal on a federal level. The government is using that fact to its advantage in an aggressive crackdown on California's medical marijuana industry, which began last fall. In the past year, U.S. attorneys throughout the state have forced hundreds of dispensaries to close, leaving thousands of employees without work and even more patients without safe access to their medicine.

DeAngelo refuses to let his business become the crackdown's latest casualty and vows to fight all federal action against Harborside in court. "We have no intention of closing our doors," he said.

And he insists that his organization has always been in strict compliance with California law. "We have a pristine record," he said. "We have been operating for years under the assumption that the Obama administration was going to respect medical cannabis laws."

On the campaign trail and during his early days in office, President Obama and other high-level members of his administration repeatedly stated that they would not target marijuana dispensaries in states that had legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes. The reasons behind the government's recent about-face largely remain unclear.

Obama broke his relative silence on the issue in an interview with Rolling Stone in April. "What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana," the president said. "I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana."

DeAngelo argues that going after dispensaries also harms patients, especially individuals who wouldn't readily have access to purchasing marijuana on the street. "Vulnerable patients will be hurt the most if Harborside is closed," he said. "Our elderly patients, disabled patients will suffer the hardest. We've made a conscious effort to reach out to senior citizens and underserved populations."

Harborside recently released a video showcasing a variety of patients of all ages, genders and races who worry they won't have access to their medicine should their facility close.

"I'm 61," one subject says. "I have multiple sclerosis. If Harborside is forced to close, where will I get my medicine?"

DeAngelo pledges to continue to help his customers should his business shutter, but notes that it will be markedly more difficult. "We'll keep our delivery service going and to bring the medicine to our patients if it's no longer possible to bring them to us," he said. "We won't abandon our patients."

He added that fighting the federal crackdown extends beyond keeping Harborside's own doors open. "The real answer for us is making sure the Obama administration lives up to the promises it made to our community," he said.

HuffPost Live will be taking a comprehensive look at America's failed war on drugs August 28th and September 4th from 12-4 pm ET and 6-10 pm ET. Click here to check it out -- and join the conversation.

Take a look at some of the other local dispensaries forced by the federal government to shut down:

• The Vapor Room

  607A Haight Street

• HopeNet

  <a href="http://hopenetcompassion.org/home/" target="_hplink">223 9th Street</a>

• Medithrive

  1933 Mission St.

• Oaksterdam University

  1600 Broadway

• Marin Medical Alliance

• Berkeley Patients Group

• Mr. Nice Guy

  174 Valencia St.

• Divinity Tree Wellness Co-op

  958 Geary St.

• Market Street Collective

  1884 Market St.

• Sanctuary

  669 O'Farrell St.

Related on HuffPost:

Protesters March Through Charlotte Before Democratic Convention

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On Sunday afternoon, the Coalition to March on Wall Street South demonstrated amid Charlotte's mega-banks, chants bouncing off the towering steel and glass. The coalition's messages of income inequality, big-bank ruthlessness and money ruling politics may have been old, but for the city, the raucous sight was not.

The historic march stretched at least two city blocks and attracted large crowds along the route. Organizers said it at least equaled the mass protest during Bank of America's shareholders meeting this past spring. Ben Carroll, one of the organizers, estimated that protesters may have numbered between 2,000 and 3,000. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe suggested to The Huffington Post that it was more like 800 protesters. Either way, the visuals were impressive.

Some in the crowd complained they couldn't join the demonstration. There was one reported arrest.

"I'm still amazed that this is going on right now," said organizer Michael Zytkow at the end of the day. He added that the four-hour march met all the coalition's expectations. "Everybody is here as if this was a family reunion of sorts. In many ways it is. We're all going through similar experiences. We're all fighting the same battle. So this is a great moment to be around peers, colleagues, friends, family. We're all here united, taking a stand, you know, showing the political convention that for the people is really on the streets ... It's just a fantastic moment."

The moment is a rather new one for Charlotte, which is not known for a deep activist culture. But the Great Recession has helped foster the protesting spirit. Bank of America is headquartered here, as is a big Wells Fargo branch -- both members of the recession's axis of financial evil. Now, this week's Democratic National Convention has made Charlotte a destination.

By early Saturday morning, Occupy Wall Street activists had set up camp in the city's Marshall Park. Within 12 hours, the encampment sprawled with 20 tents, portable toilets and even a pizza delivery.

Zytkow was worrying about parking for the march: Where were all those people going to leave their cars?

Once the march finally began moving at 1 p.m. Sunday, however, the layer cake of protesters was ready. First the unemployed, then the student movement folks, then the immigrant rights advocates and so on. It had to be just so. At one point, when things weren't coming together quickly enough, a woman yelled into a microphone like some over-anxious Julia Child who thought she had mistaken salt for flour: "Young people, we're lining up your contingent!"

Down the long city blocks, onlookers snapped pictures from the balconies of bland new condo buildings. On sidewalks, residents and the just-flown-in, wearing Democratic convention lanyards, stood on tiptoes and peaked between rows of immovable police officers in dark blue. Many locals said they had never seen anything like it before, in the city known for its entrenched financial district, it's "Wall Street of the South" rep.

"I think it's a parade," said one girl in hushed tones, her mouth agape.

"This is awesome," said Ashley Dittrich, 18, looking on from the other side of the street. She had a big smile on her face and a phone in her hand to record it all. "It's amazing to see so many against the banks." She added that she works in the Hearst Tower at a coffee shop, serving drinks to bankers all day. Suddenly, now, that seemed like the worst thing in the world.

Dittrich said her father had been laid off from Bank of America after he checked himself into rehab. "We took out a lawsuit," she said.

Now her mother is the only one with a job. No one, she said, has health insurance. It's a familiar horror story of the Great Recession. "Our house has almost been foreclosed," she added. "We can barely keep it together."

Charlotte is a bank town, and loyalties die hard -- even for those with lawsuits. Dittrich admitted she still does her banking with Bank of America. Still, today, she could appreciate the bravery in others. "It's just amazing," she said. "There's all the police officers, and they're not intimidated."

The labor rights groups mingled with the Code Pinkers. The Occupiers blended in with the undocumented. The African-American community band, who complained about the lack of grant money, drummed along with the burned-out hippies, who complained about the war(s), in the sweltering heat.

They came in wheelchairs, carpools and bus caravans. They supported ex-convicts trying to find work in Mississippi and immigrants trying to keep work in Georgia. "Mic checks!" started up while others in the crowd danced to funky cumbias. A man in a wheelchair screamed, "Illuminati, sick of you!"

Every progressive denomination flew a banner. Some wore cardboard butterflies on their back. Others dialed in frequencies they hadn't heard since the '60s.

Before the march began, Lila Little, 56, sat in the shade in Frazier Park where organizers had planned a pre-march rally. She puffed on a Marlboro and told her story. It was one that couldn't fit on a piece of cardboard or be painted on a bed sheet. You didn't want to bang a drum to it either.

She had been a post-op surgical nurse in North Carolina. The job didn't provide health insurance. So when she became sick in 2009, she took extended leave. She ended up getting fired and saddled with $30,000 in medical debt. The company went on to deny her unemployment claim. It argued that she had been fired for cause. Her savings disappeared. She borrowed from family and friends, but she still ended up losing her home.

Friends who owned a small laundromat gave her job making $100 a week and allowed her to sleep on an air mattress in a back room. For a year, she bathed in the laundromat's sink. "I'm in the process now of moving in with my daughter," Little said. "That's a step up."

Sheri Wright, 54, sat in the rally's metal bleachers with her own list of causes. She lost her home and is fighting Bank of America to keep her land. She has two sons in the military. One is set to deploy to Afghanistan in October. She pulled out a homemade t-shirt on which she had drawn up a list of concerns in bright bubble paint. "Really I don't have enough shirt to write all my issues on it," she joked.

Wright said one son knew two soldiers who had committed suicide. This morning, she talked to a mother online whose son also committed suicide last month. "She found him," Wright explained. "What do I say to her?" All Wright can do is be here, she said, and march.

As the procession passed the CNN Grill and C-Span's perch in the late afternoon, Abel Tekle, 26, watched from the sidelines in his neon-green parking attendant uniform. He had immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia seven years ago. He stood, sometimes smiling, as he filmed the protest with his HTC phone.

"When I say, 'Immigrant!', you say, 'Power!'" an activist began a call and response from inside the march.

"I like it," Tekle said. "They have freedom of speech."

An activist walked down the length of the march and shoved a flier in Tekle's hand -- a brochure to purchase the "Constitution for The New Socialist Republic In North America." All you had to do was send an $8 money order to a P.O. box in Chicago.

Tekle said he had never seen such a demonstration in his life. "It feels good," he explained. "If I believe in something, I would like to do this kind of thing."

The march made stops at Bank of America's headquarters, Duke Energy's headquarters and finally Bank of America Stadium, where President Barack Obama will be speaking on Thursday night. Eva De Vos, 23, had caught up with the march an hour earlier and had followed it on her purple bike. She couldn't pedal away.

"It made me really sad watching it," De Vos explained. "Sad that this is necessary."

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