There was something missing from the Obama-Harris love-in

The former First Couple’s joint appearance at the Democratic National Conference was remarkable if only for the magnificence of Michelle’s wit… and for what Barack couldn’t quite bring himself to say about Kamala Harris, says David Lister

Barack and Michelle Obama on stage together at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Reuters)

It’s a perplexing time for the Democratic National Convention. Having already heard from the man they are relieved will not be the next president, last night it heard from the man they wished was still president, and the woman much of the world would love to be president.

The last is not Kamala Harris but Michelle Obama. She addressed the convention, saying “Hope is making a comeback”, and displayed all her natural elegance, intellect and wit, qualities which automatically rule her out of the current presidential contest.

She was followed at the podium by her husband, self-deprecatingly describing himself as “the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama”. His hair is grey now, but little else seems to have changed, with an articulacy, passion and ability to hold a crowd that the two presidential candidates can only dream of.

Barack Obama had, it will be remembered, taken his time to endorse Kamala Harris, favouring, it was said, a contest for the nomination rather than a coronation. And there was a sense of uneasy anticipation for his speech. Was he now completely on board?

Last night, he certainly knew how to praise… Joe Biden. Appointing him his vice-president was “my first big decision” and was “one of my best. I am proud to call him my president and prouder to call him my friend.”

Then there was genuine affection for… Kamala’s running-mate Tim Walz. “Let me tell you something – I love this guy.”

One didn’t sense quite the personal love and affection for the actual candidate that he showered on Biden and Walz. Nevertheless, he did give her a ringing endorsement, praising her policies on housing, health and much else, her record as a prosecutor, her championing of the less well-off. And he generously lent her his own campaign slogan from years ago, telling the convention: “Yes she can!”

He also, in typical style, managed to demolish Trump with effortlessly memorable phrases – “We do not need four more years of bluster, bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before.”

Despite all that, though, Obama implied more than once that he knew this contest wasn’t a done deal. When his audience booed the mention of Trump, he quickly reprimanded them, “Don’t boo. Vote!”, and he made a point of saying later: “If we need to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidate, we need to listen to their concerns.”

What Barack Obama also brought was something that has been conspicuously absent in this presidential contest – philosophy. “We live in a time of confusion and rancour,” he said. He spoke of “a culture that puts a premium on ... money, fame, status, likes. We chase the approval of strangers on our phones.”

The Convention will have been as relieved at Obama’s praise of Harris as it would have been privately regretful that the speaker, bringing so much that is absent from the contest, is no longer eligible for office.

One speaker did, though, heap undiluted love and affection on the candidate… the candidate’s husband. I suppose the DNC can take comfort from the fact that no such speech is likely from the wife of the Republican candidate.

Doug Emhoff, Mr Kamala Harris, paid an emotional tribute to his wife’s courage, humour, her embrace of being a stepmother, and all importantly her contentious laugh. Trump has nicknamed her “Cacklin’ Kamala”, but Emhoff said: “I love that laugh.” He also reminisced about the blind date that brought them together more than a decade ago.

Sadly – as can sometimes happen when a husband gives a public show of devotion to his wife – Kamala wasn’t actually there to hear it. She was out campaigning.