The 2012 Democratic National Convention kicked off in Charlotte on Tuesday with a heavy focus on President Obama’s achievements on issues ranging from healthcare and women’s rights to immigration and ending combat operations in Iraq. San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro gave the convention’s keynote address, becoming the first-ever Latino to do so. In his comments, Castro called Republican candidate Mitt Romney out of touch with ordinary Americans.

Julián Castro: “Mitt Romney, quite simply, doesn’t get it. A few months ago, he visited a university in Ohio and gave students there a little entrepreneurial advice. 'Start a business,' he said. But how? 'Borrow money, if you have to, from your parents,' he told them. Gee, why didn’t I think of that? … We know that in our free market economy, some will prosper more than others. What we don’t accept is the idea that some folks won’t even get a chance. And the thing is, Mitt Romney and the Republican Party are perfectly comfortable with that America.”

Also speaking Tuesday night was first lady Michelle Obama, who praised her husband’s first four years in office.

Michelle Obama: “When it comes to the health of our families, Barack refused to listen to all those folks who told him to leave health reform for another day, another president. He didn’t care whether it was the easy thing to do politically — no, that’s not how he was raised — he cared that it was the right thing to do. … He reminds me that we are playing a long game here and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once. But eventually, we get there. We always do.”