August 26, 2008 Obama: Each of us has something to contribute Play video

(NECN: Denver, CO) - In her prime-time speech before the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama talked about the values that have driven her husband, Barack as a husband, father and public servant.

Part one of Michelle Obama speech

She described her own blue-collar upbringing in Chicago and the hard work her parents put into raising a family. She said Barack, though he was raised in a different part of the world, had a similar life and adopted the same beliefs. "Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

"But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey. I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend. I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world - they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future - and all our children's future - is my stake in this election."

She

shared a story about Barack Obama the father: "He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love."

She praised Hillary Clinton for "putting 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling", opening opportunities for her own daughters and women of America.

"Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children - and all children in this nation - to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

She also highlighted two anniversaries celebrated this week. Women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream speech.

Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.