Elizabeth Warren tells DNC that Barack Obama will fight for America’s middle class

Elizabeth Warren has told the Democratic National Convention that President Barack Obama fights for the middle class while his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, just wants to cut taxes for the rich and big corporations.

In what the Boston Herald described as "a blistering attack on Wall Street CEOs" and Romney, Warren told delegates:

"The Republican vision is clear: 'I've got mine, the rest of you are on your own.'" 

The Harvard Law School professor and Massachusetts Senate hopeful said that for years America's middle class had "been chipped, squeezed and hammered," and that Obama "gets it," the Associated Press reported.

His empathy derived from a life of working for the middle class, she said.

Warren, an expert on bankruptcy law, said Romney's economic plans meantime would adversely impact the middle class, particularly his proposed financial reforms, changes to Medicare and Obama's health care law.

She painted a grim portrait of Republican support for rich corporations and the financial industry.

"Wall Street CEOs — the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs — still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them. Anyone here have a problem with that?"

Warren's appearance at the DNC indicates the the Democratic party's faith in her ability to wrest the Massachusetts Senate seat from Scott Brown.

However, the Boston Herald noted, Warren did not once mention Brown in her speech, and made only a brief mention of the Massachusetts Senate race.

Instead, she focused on national themes of economic justice and a “level playing field” for the middle class.

According to NBC, only a "certifiable rising star" in the party gets to address the convention in prime time — as did Obama at the 2004 convention in Boston.

NBC described Warren as "a kind of cult hero to progressive Democrats across the country," whose "passionate national following is reminiscent of the fervor that Howard Dean inspired in his bid for the Democratic nomination in 2004."

Her appeal, the network surmised, arose from the 2008 financial crisis and her role in pushing for creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The Washington Post ran excerpts from Warren's speech.