In a move aimed at easing lingering tensions among supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Michelle Obama marked her entrance to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night by paying respect to the person who nearly defeated her husband in the primary.

The aspiring First Lady praised Clinton for putting ”those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling so that our daughters and sons can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.”

The comment drew some of the loudest applause during Obama’s speech, which comes as some delegates are still planning to vote, in principle, for Clinton during Wednesday’s roll call vote.

Obama also drew cheers as she praised her husband’s vice presidential pick, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), who she described as someone who has ”never forgotten where he came from and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.”

Obama focused much of her remarks on the ”improbable journey” that brought the Obama family from the streets of Chicago to the path to the White House, stating that her husband has ”this funny name” but also a commitment to ”building the world as it should be.”

That includes uniting all Americans, Obama said, since he ”doesn’t care where you’re from or what your background is or what party, if any, you belong to. That’s not how he sees the world.”