Democrats basking in post-DNC glow. How long will that last?

Many people said they were especially impressed with how well Michelle Obama portrayed the “human side” of the president.

“The first lady’s presentation was exceptionally penetrating, exciting, exhilarating,” said Julius Wayne Dudley, an Obama for America team leader in Boston’s largely African-American Roxbury neighborhood. “She knows the president in ways that most of us do not… He came off as being super intelligent, knowledgeable, the kind of person that Americans should trust in a turbulent world.”

Mr. Dudley, clad in Obama paraphernalia from head to waist, helped wrangle 16 tickets for grass-roots organizers to attend Friday’s event. They were up late to hear Obama’s convention speech and up early to carpool, and the women were especially excited to see Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Biden up close, he said.

As he sat outside the security checkpoints waiting for them, big cheers from the crowd of about 6,000 could be heard even though the event was blocks away.

The convention speeches from Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and Gov. Deval Patrick impressed Dudley in their call for Democrats to show some backbone for the fight. “I’m so pleased to see [these two from] Massachusetts fire up the crowd like old Ted Kennedy used to do it,” he exclaimed.

Several people said that in the wake of the convention, they’re ready to do more than just cast a vote for Obama.

Joni Lacroix, a young woman from Hampton, N.H., campaigned for Obama in 2008. This time, she was particularly impressed with former President Bill Clinton’s speech on behalf of Obama. “I’ll probably pop in [to the local campaign headquarters] to see what else is going on, and maybe I can help,” she said.

Erin Heffron of Portsmouth said the crowd on Friday was “pumped” and she thought the conventions had a lot to do with it. Whenever Obama talks about repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell” or other accomplishments, it reminds her “how much he actually did get done in the last four years – they are big important things that we just take for granted… We have to be reminded how big of a deal it was.”

The women speakers at the convention especially revved her up, Ms. Heffron said. “I always knew I was going to vote for Obama again, but it inspired me to talk to other people about it.”

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