CBS: Michelle Obama Speech Surpassed A ‘High Bar’

Tuesday’s CBS Early Show praised Michelle Obama for meeting and surpassing high expectations with her Monday night speech at the Democratic convention, as co-host Julie Chen asked co-host Harry Smith: “...do you get the feeling that Michelle Obama accomplished what she set out to do? Because I definitely -- I definitely do, after watching from television -- you know, on television last night.” Smith replied: “Yeah, I think the bar was set pretty high and I think she went over that bar and probably then some.”

At the top of the show, Chen and co-host Maggie Rodriguez fawned over the speech, using the terms “compelling,” “impressive,” and “inspiring.” After Smith established that Obama had exceeded a “high bar,” Rodriguez mentioned Ted Kennedy’s speech as well and concluded that overall, “It was a special night for them. I think the Democrats should be very happy.”

Later, Smith discussed Obama’s speech with political analyst Jeff Greenfield and asked: “Talk about a bar set high for her to get over in terms of reintroducing herself to the American public.” Greenfield gave a glowing review of the speech: “So all of those stories -- this was a speech, that, if it were a painting, Norman Rockwell would have painted it. This is the American dream. This is what the American spirit is all about.”

Smith also talked to former Hillary Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe and former Bill Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers. He teased the segment by declaring: “America was reintroduced to Barack Obama's wife Michelle last night at the Democratic convention. Her speech brought the delegates to their feet.” Smith later began the segment by again commenting on how Obama’s speech exceeded expectations: “We talked a little earlier with Jeff Greenfield about a bar set so high, it seems, I think, there's pretty much a consensus that she got over it.” After both Myers and McAuliffe completely agreed, Smith concluded: “Alright, so all of this yummy gummy good feeling, Kumbaya last night.”

Finally, Smith invited back liberal political analyst Laura Schwartz, who on Monday’s show looked at Michelle Obama’s fashion sense and observed: “So we are seeing that she is setting a trend, not just in politics, but really in everybody's everyday lives.” On Tuesday, Smith observed: “She set a high bar oratorically, am I saying that right? In terms of the speech that she gave. What about fashion-wise, style-wise, did she exceed?” Schwartz replied: “I think she succeeded. I think that's exactly what she's going for because today we're talking about the message more than just the overall bling.”