KEY POINTS:
'Wendyl - I am so lucky to be married to the woman who delivered that speech last night. Michelle was electrifying, inspiring, and absolutely magnificent. I get a lot of credit for the speech I gave at the 2004 convention - but I think she may have me
beat."
Barack Obama shared these words with me last week on his daily email. He never misses a day telling me all the exciting details of his campaign to become President of the United States and not get killed by a shot fired from a grassy knoll. What I particularly like is that he addresses me by my name - that's really nice.
Why I signed up to become one of Barack's email confidants I have no idea; it just seemed like an interesting thing to do and I'm sure I'm not the only person on his database who will never vote for him.
Back here in New Zealand I doubt I'll ever get an email from Helen Clark's husband describing her in such emotive terms or indeed any words from Helen filling me in on her day. What I will get is a lovely new photo of her by celebrity photographer Monty Adams, and that's about it.
I might have got a pledge card through the letterbox but the Electoral Finance Bill has probably put paid to that. We're not big on promotion here in the colonies when it comes to general elections. Party conferences have more in common with large family reunions in the local hall than an American party convention.
But then Helen doesn't really need to do much work on her image. Not since she received the timely sprinkle of the Edmund Hillaries.
When Helen was caught in a snow storm ministering to her dead friend and mountain guide Gottlieb Braun-Elwert a few weeks ago I'm sure she had no idea the whole event was election gold.
When she braved the storm to travel perilously on a skidoo to be with her friend's widow I'm sure her only thought was staying on the thing, rather than the fact that her brand was about to get an injection of two essential elements.
Heroism and a cool head under fire. As she followed up the day's tragic events with media devoid of make-up, hair more tousled and skewiff than usual, and her energy unusually depleted you could almost make out the dim roar of agony from the National party spin doctors.
John Key may be many things, but heroic and cool under fire he ain't. He is a gambler who has made some good calls in the financial markets to the tune of an estimated $50 million personal fortune.
Had John found himself on a mountain it would be in a luxury chalet, and his exit would have been by helicopter at the first sign of danger - but only after the St Bernard had turned up with a flask of Courvoisier around its neck.
And not before the hapless Bill English and Maurice Williamson managed to send the helicopter in two different directions, having consulted the National party's secret agenda and misinterpreted the information found within. And Gerry Brownlee got sidetracked searching for the dry lakes he predicted in the electricity crisis we are clearly not in the midst of.
Helen Clark returned to Parliament having been chastened by broadcaster Paul Holmes for being on a mountain during the work week, and clocked up a rise in the popularity polls. In one neat mountain tragedy she had signalled to her country that she had the right stuff to lead us out of our own economic snow storm.
Plans are no doubt under way in secret National strategy meetings for there to be a marine emergency close to election day involving John Key who swims to shore and alerts the Westpac helicopter, thus saving the lives of three women, five children, one disabled war veteran and a Somalian refugee.
Because if there's one thing we like it's a hero. Just ask Willie Apiata VC who replaced Sir Edmund Hillary as the most trusted New Zealander this year, as rated by Readers' Digest.
Meanwhile I'll be picking up my daily missives from Barack.
