Michelle Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Obama carefully chose her words and rehearsed every phrase — including the ones that Melania Trump’s speechwriter apologized Wednesday for borrowing — until she nearly knew them by heart. Working closely with her staff, Obama filled the speech with personal details designed to illuminate what she called her “improbable journey” while offering a vivid take on working-class Americans and her desire for a fairer, more tolerant society.

Political speechmaking is ultimately political theater, and the Obamas have always understood the power of personal narratives. Back in 2004, when Barack Obama was an Illinois state senator, he told Oprah Winfrey in an interview, “Policy has to be guided by facts, but to move people, you have to tell stories.”

After months of rough treatment that wounded her confidence and caused her to fear that she was damaging Barack Obama’s chances, the convention speech represented her resurrection. Her favorability numbers in the campaign’s tracking poll jumped 18 percent overnight and never came down.