First lady Michelle Obama arrives to a cheering crowd during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Credit:AP Obama had already delivered perhaps the most talked about speech of the campaign so far when she addressed the Democratic National Convention back in July, telling the crowd that when faced with the likes of Trump, her family's motto had always been "when they go low, we go high". Addressing a rally in New Hampshire on Thursday, she was perhaps even more powerful, more cutting. Once again, she didn't mention Trump by name. She never does. But she addressed what he said on that Access Hollywood tape - about being able to do whatever he wants, to "grab [women] by the pussy", because he is a star. This was not just another "disturbing footnote in a sad election season", she said, nor was it "an isolated incident".

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Credit:AP "This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behaviour, and actually bragging..." Just as they did in August, her words were designed to cut through the political back-and-forth of the day, reaching through the screen to try and shake America out of the malaise engulfing it and bring some sense of normalcy and decency back to the fore. Young women listen to first lady Michelle Obama speak during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Credit:AP "Too many are treating this as just another day's headline ... this is not normal ... this is disgraceful, it is intolerable."

"We cannot endure this... not for another minute, not for another four years." First lady Michelle Obama making a point. Credit:AP Obama is a powerful surrogate for Hillary Clinton in moments like this because while Clinton excels at policy and detail, she still at times, like many so politicians, struggles to distil her ideas into simple messages that connect on an emotional level. That is Michelle Obama's forte. Obama once dubbed herself America's "Mom-in-Chief", a title that made many people cringe, given the roles (including Barack's professional mentor) that she once held. But the capital that she has garnered as a warm, trusted and authentic maternal figure in American public life shouldn't be underestimated. Accordingly, Obama is also Clinton's best character witness, able to convey Clinton's humanity with a deft mix of folksiness and sentimentality, but also a feminist-infused respect. In this speech she described Clinton as a tireless public servant, a "loyal wife", and a devoted daughter to her own mother.

"If any of us had raised a daughter like Hillary Clinton, we would be so proud," said Obama. As First Lady, and particularly as the first black woman in the role, Obama has faced intense scrutiny, judgement and open racism, sometimes portrayed as an "angry black woman" when she spoke her mind. She has long had to walk a careful line, supporting her husband's agenda and trying to stay true to her own ideals, while also not coming across as too strident or too political. But with just a few months left in the White House, and facing the possibility that Trump might ascend to the presidency and trash her's and her husband's legacy, she's becoming bolder, and spending some of that personal capital she has banked over the years. Television networks struggled with transmission issues throughout the speech on Thursday, with the image freezing on the screen on all cable networks repeatedly. But it was such compelling content rather than cut the broadcast, at times CNN and others kept the audio going, even with a pixelated, still image on screen. When it did return, it was punctuated by a silent, simultaneous broadcast in the lower part of the screen of former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump's most loyal surrogates, warming up the crowd for Trump's apocalyptic address at an event across the country. It was a stark visual reminder of how dangerously polarised America is right now.

But Obama not only has the ability to light up social media, tug at the heartstrings and deliver a barnstorming speech on her side. In appealing to people, and particularly women, increasingly disgusted with Trump, she and Clinton also have the numbers. The polls are widening against him, and the gender gap - of women siding with Clinton over Trump - appears to be increasingly insurmountable. "We as women have all the power we need to determine the outcome of this election ... we can come together and declare enough is enough," Obama said on Thursday. She's likely correct.