Michelle Obama '85's (not) House Party

The Michelle Obama ’85 House Party we attended today was actually held in the Plymouth “Obama for America” field office. Its slightly misleading name arose because as people RSVPed for the event, it became obvious that there would not be enough room to house all the attendees, so instead the office was cleaned out and chairs were set before a podium. We arrived only 10 minutes before the projected 4:30 p.m. start time because Hillary Clinton’s rally ran an hour late and was halfway across the state.

The audience’s composition was in stark contrast to the Obama rally we attended on Jan. 4. That day most of the audience was under over the age of 50, but at today's event the most common constituency of the audience was people over 55, especially women. They were joined by small pockets of young people under 25. There were between 150 and 200 people seated and standing.

While the audience waited for Michelle Obama to arrive — she was also an hour late — they milled about and ate baked goods. Unlike all the other rallies and town hall meetings, there was enough room left to move around.

Michelle Obama entered to a standing ovation from the audience before moving into a about an hour long prepared speech. She used her time to address the common concern levied against her husband, primarily that he is too unqualified by laying out all the experience he’s had through his community organizing and state senate service. She echoed the campaign’s common themes of hope and change achieved through some level of sacrifice by telling of her own family’s experience of a father who worked a blue collar job, her stay at home mom and how they put two kids through Princeton. “A man like my father, of simple means, could send two kids to Princeton.”

She didn’t take questions, though she spoke with many people as they moved toward her to shake her hand and pose for pictures. When we made it to her we mentioned we were here from the Daily Princetonian, and her response was “Yeah Tigers!” accompanied by a high five.