Politics

If you missed the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., we live blogged it here.

We've also compiled five things that struck us about the night:

'Mom In Chief' Takes A Stand: There is no question that the first night of the convention belonged to first lady Michelle Obama, who delivered a sweeping, personal and dramatic endorsement of her husband, President Obama.

They billed the gathering in a Charlotte, N.C., Holiday Inn conference room Tuesday as the first national meeting of Mormon Democrats.

Don't laugh. Crystal Young-Otterstrom says she figures there are 1 million of them out there, and she's determined to find them.

"It's like a missionary effort," Young-Otterstrom said in a room packed with the curious, the media and a cadre of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints making the argument that the Democratic Party best represents their personal and religious values.

Speakers of interest at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

Over the past four years, the presidential narrative has shifted for African-Americans like Louisiana state Rep. Patricia Haynes Smith of Baton Rouge.

"I'm 66 years old," said Smith, at an event Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., for black state legislators here for the Democratic National Convention. "And before 2008, I didn't think I'd live to see a dream come true."

Good evening from Charlotte, N.C., where Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz gaveled the convention to order promptly at 5 p.m. ET. in Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena.

Schultz, who is also the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said that throughout the next three days, "we will demonstrate we need to keep President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden four more years."

Hispanics were a major focus of the program at the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Democrats, beginning their convention in Charlotte, N.C., are hoping to capitalize on their current advantage with Hispanic voters.

Robert Siegel and Melissa Block report that as the Democratic National Convention gets underway, the other running record of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is taking the spotlight. Debate over his reported marathon time has become a popular subject in the blogosphere. Ryan misstated his over four hour time as being under three hours.

On Wednesday, Elizabeth Warren will take the national stage when she speaks at the Democratic National Convention. Audie Cornish spoke with her about the origin of the now infamous "you didn't build that" phrase, the state of the economy and her close Senate race in Massachusetts.

It's been a momentous year for the LGBT community. At the Democratic National Convention, delegates are voting to approve a platform that includes a gay marriage plank. This follows President Obama's announcement in May that he supports gay marriage. These developments, on top of other support from the administration, have led gay and lesbian donors to step up their contributions to the president's re-election campaign this year. Audie Cornish talked with gay delegates and fundraisers about what this year has meant for them.

The Democratic National Convention began Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. Robert Siegel talks with Mara Liasson about the day's events.