Lawrence O'Donnell: Michelle Obama Is 'The Best Speechmaker in the History of the First Ladyship'

It was a metaphysical certitude the folks on MSNBC were going to gush and fawn over Michelle Obama after her speech to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte Tuesday, but Lawrence O'Donnell really took the cake.

“There is now no question who the best speechmaker in the history of the first ladyship is, and that is Michelle Obama” (video follows with transcript and commentary):

After the speech ended, and some comments by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow asked O’Donnell if it sounded as great in the hall as it played on the television screens she and her on-air guests were watching in the studio.

“The camera doesn’t lie, Rachel,” O’Donnell said. “That was what was really happening here. It was really a striking speech in so many ways.”

“There is now no question who the best speechmaker in the history of the first ladyship is, and that is Michelle Obama,” gushed O’Donnell. “We have to remember that most first ladies up until the television age never gave a speech, but still, among those who have, there has never been a speaker who could deliver what we just saw.”