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Michelle Obama delivered an intimate portrait of her marriage to President Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, saying he was the right man for America and remained “the same man I fell in love with all those years ago.”

Headlining the convention’s first night, the first lady said, “Barack knows the American Dream because he’s lived it, and he wants everyone in this country to have that same opportunity, no matter who we are, or where we’re from, or what we look like, or who we love.”

She recalled watching her husband “in those quiet moments late at night, hunched over his desk,” reading letters from people who said they were unable to pay their bills, or whose cancer treatment wasn’t covered by their insurer, or whose opportunities didn’t match their abilities.

“I see the concern in his eyes, and I hear the determination in his voice as he tells me, ‘You won’t believe what these folks are going through, Michelle. It’s not right. We’ve got to keep working to fix this. We’ve got so much more to do.’”

She did not mention Mitt Romney by name in her speech, and didn’t delve much into political rhetoric. Instead, she told her audience in Charlotte — and millions of people watching on television — the story of her life with the man who was raised by a single mother and became president.

Her story was repeatedly interrupted by wild applause from delegates at the Time Warner Cable Arena, and with chants of “Four more years.”

Underlying her words was the message that Barack Obama – and the first lady herself – had endured the same kinds of struggles that ordinary Americans continue to face today: crippling student loans, a daunting mortgage, the anxiety of making a better life for their children.

Most important, she said, Obama had not lost the idealism or respect for hard work that was drilled into him by his mother and grandparents.