Today, Michelle Obama is arguably the most popular public figure in the country (with the possible exception of Bernie Sanders). And she has spoken powerfully to the right of women to be valued and respected as she has stepped forward to help Hillary Clinton win the White House. But there was a time when the first lady wasn’t so beloved — when her patriotism was challenged, along with her husband’s national identity, when she was caricatured by her husband’s opponents as an angry, militant figure unsuited to the role of first lady. But Mrs. Obama has emerged after eight years in the White House as the embodiment of the modern American woman: her style, her poise, her fierce modernity, and her accomplishments — both before and after she and her family entered the White House — combined with her exceptional role modeling as a mother and first lady, have made her arguably the voice of a generation of women of all races. For a Black woman to occupy that space is itself revolutionary.

Likewise, Hillary Clinton has occupied every room in the American psyche. She has been loathed and beloved, respected and reviled, and her transition from first lady to a political leader in her own right as a United States senator, then secretary of state, and perhaps soon, president, has involved sour notes that nearly every woman can relate to. She has been “not girly enough,” not wifely enough, too bold, too ambitious, and too secretive for the tastes of many Americans. But her campaign has affirmed the value of smarts and preparation — which every woman at work, at school, and in life, can relate to. Whatever your view of her politics, it’s clear that Hillary Clinton has run a campaign of substance and ferociousness, taking on an opponent who couldn’t be toppled by 16 primary opponents, 15 of them men. If she emerges victorious on November 9, it will be because she did her homework, studied her adversary, learned his weaknesses and exploited them. She will have won, just as much as Trump will have lost.

And then, America will likely learn similar lessons about sexism and discomfort over gender through the lens of the first woman president, as the Obamas taught us with regard to race. And I, along with my fellow women and women of color in media, will be there to help keep those lessons from getting lost in translation.