Michelle Obama: ‘When they go low, we go high’

Michelle Obama cast the presidential race as one between a positive role model for children – in Hillary Clinton – and a damaging one – in Donald Trump – in the marquee speech on the Democratic National Convention’s opening night.

The first lady never mentioned Trump by name, but leveraging her popularity, she made a rare, if not unprecedented, foray into partisan politics to knock the Republican nominee.

Obama condemned “the hateful language that we hear from public figures on TV,” saying that “our motto is, when they go low, we go high.”

And in a shot at Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan, Obama discussed raising her children in a White House that was built by slaves.

Memorable lines from the DNC’s opening night

“Don’t let anyone tell you that this country isn’t great. This right now is the greatest country on earth,” the first lady said.

Obama electrified the crowd at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, taking the stage just after 10 p.m. ET and – in a departure from the political attacks on display all day – making the case that, because of her character and temperament, Clinton is the role model she’d like her daughters to see in the Oval Office.

Even Trump, who Obama was implicitly criticizing, praised her remarks.

“I thought her delivery was excellent,” Trump told The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought she did a very good job. I liked her speech.”

It was a remarkable embrace of the prime-time stage for Obama, who was reluctant about the spotlight that came when her husband, then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, launched his presidential campaign against Clinton in 2007.

“To understand the journey she’s taken as a reluctant conscript on the public scene, to come here and command that stage the way she did tonight was extraordinary – and I think did for Hillary Clinton what no one else has done to this point,” said David Axelrod, a top Obama strategist on the 2008 campaign and now a CNN political commentator.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, takes the stage before giving a speech Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Clinton walks on stage with her running mate, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine.

Balloons fall from the ceiling of the Wells Fargo Center after Clinton's speech.

Clinton arrives for her speech.

During her speech, Clinton ripped into Republican nominee Donald Trump for his convention pitch "I alone can fix it." She said: "He's forgetting every last one of us. Americans don't say: 'I alone can fix it.' We say: 'We'll fix it together.' "

Clinton acknowledges the crowd before her speech.

Clinton's husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, applauds along with their daughter, Chelsea.

Clinton is the first woman in U.S. history to lead the presidential ticket of a major political party. "It's true," she said in her speech, "I sweat the details of policy -- whether we're talking about the exact level of lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan; the number of mental health facilities in Iowa; or the cost of your prescription drugs. ... Because it's not just a detail if it's your kid, if it's your family. It's a big deal. And it should be a big deal to your President."

Clinton gives a thumbs-up to the crowd.

Clinton embraces her daughter before speaking.

Bill Clinton becomes emotional Thursday as he listens to Chelsea introduce her mother.

Chelsea Clinton said her mother is a "listener and a doer, a woman driven by compassion, by faith, by kindness, a fierce sense of justice, and a heart full of love."

Singer Katy Perry performs "Rise" on Thursday.

Khizr Khan holds his personal copy of the U.S. Constitution as he speaks Thursday. His son, Humayun S. M. Khan, was one of the 14 American Muslims who have died serving their country since 9/11. In his remarks, Khan criticized the Republican nominee: "If it was up to Donald Trump, (my son) never would have been in America. ... Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the U.S. Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy."

Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talks at the convention on Thursday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks to the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.

Delegates cheer on Thursday.

LGBT rights activist Sarah McBride takes the stage.

Delegates hold up signs in support of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama wave to the crowd Wednesday after Obama gave a speech.

Obama and Clinton hug after Obama's speech.

Obama and Clinton acknowledge the crowd.

Clinton points to Obama as she walks on stage after his speech.

Delegates stand as Obama speaks.

"This year, in this election, I'm asking you to join me -- to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what's best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation," Obama said.

Obama told the crowd at the Wells Fargo Center that he is "more optimistic about the future of America than ever before." He contrasted it with the "pessimistic vision" of America he heard during the Republican convention last week. "There were no serious solutions to pressing problems -- just the fanning of resentment, and blame, and anger, and hate," he said.

Obama said Clinton is more ready than he was to become President. "For four years, I had a front-row seat to her intelligence, her judgment and her discipline," Obama said, referring to her stint as secretary of state.

The crowd welcomes Obama.

Clinton's running mate, Tim Kaine, waves to the crowd along with his wife, Anne Holton, after giving a speech on Wednesday.

During his speech, Kaine said: "Hillary Clinton and I are compañeros del alma. We share this belief: Do all the good you can. And serve one another. Pretty simple. That's what I'm about. That's what you're about. That's what Bernie Sanders is about. That's what Joe Biden is about. That's what Barack and Michelle Obama are about. And that's what Hillary Clinton is about."

Delegates hold posters during Kaine's speech.

Kaine comes out to the stage on Wednesday.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, right, cheers during the speech of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"I understand the appeal of a businessman President. But Trump's business plan is a disaster in the making," said Bloomberg, an independent. He said the Republican nominee is a "risky, reckless, and radical choice."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also went after Trump, saying "this guy doesn't have a clue about the middle class -- not a clue. Actually, he has no clue, period."

Biden walks to the podium before delivering his speech.

A delegate wears a Bernie Sanders mask on Wednesday. Sanders finished second to Clinton in the presidential primaries.

Broadway performers sing "What the World Needs Now Is Love" on Wednesday.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords waves to the audience before speaking on Wednesday.

People hold up prints that pay respect to those who were killed in the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting of June 2015. Two survivors of the shooting were speaking to the crowd.

A delegate wears stickers in support of Clinton.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is escorted to the podium by his wife, Landra, on Wednesday.

Clinton appears live on a video screen Tuesday night. Just a few hours earlier, she officially became the party's presidential nominee. She is the first woman to lead a major party's presidential ticket. "I can't believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling yet," she told the crowd.

Actress Meryl Streep addresses the crowd before Clinton's video message. Streep said Clinton will be the first female President of the United States, "but she won't be the last."

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton waves to the crowd before giving a speech on Tuesday.