OBAMA A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW IN DENVER

"With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for presidency of the United States. Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest -- a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Bill Clinton, who made last night the case for change as only he can make it...."

And with that opening, Barack Hussein Obama has concluded an improbable journey, a journey from a virtual unknown political neophyte (sans one speech at the last DNC convention), to the Democratic parties candidate for the Presidency of the United States.

With a deft touch he has maneuvered himself around a virtual political minefield of anticipated problems that might have unfolded this, the last night of the convention; a backlash of public opinion brought out from holding his acceptance speech in an arena designed more for a Super Bowl than political event (the crowd was impressive to say the very least), the M.I.A. status of John Edwards, his closest ally during the primaries, a political backlash / protest / insistence on counting the delegates from the Clinton supporters, who were once thought to be still in defeat hangover mode, and the speech of the man himself, the apparently less bitter former President William Jefferson Clinton, who knocked the ball out of the park.

And so, with the power speeches from the Democratic kingpins out of the way (Gore-Clinton-Clinton, and a surprising re-emergence of John Kerry back into the living), his VP candidate Joe Biden able to at least perk up the crowd, all that was left was for Obama to accept and electrify the crowd. What was to follow was oratory at its best. Obama was, at times, thoughtful and almost reserved, only to crescendo into highly energetic passages as he appeared almost angry at times. Obviously part of the plan was to throw down the gloves and fight back. For the most part, he was what he is, one of the great communicators of the modern times, only this time he spoke in specifics as he outlined his political platform in detail. I have extracted some of the passages which resonated most for me at the bottom of this post, but watch the speech in its entirety. "I have a dream" it ain't, but it was pretty damn good, I must say.....

Senator Obama, you pulled it off despite the odd assortment of characters you had to deal with, none the least of which was party Chairman Howard Dean, an odd man to say the very least. Well played, senator.

"We meet at one of those defining moments -- a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush. America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this."

Tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and Republicans and independents across this great land -- enough! This moment -- this election -- is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight. On November 4, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

"I believe in the promise of America....what is that promise? It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, to look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.
Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves -- protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and science and technology.
Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.
That's the promise of America -- the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am president."

They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.You make a big election about small things. And you know what -- it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.I get it. I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree, and I haven't spent my career in the halls of Washington. But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's about you. It's about you."