An Emotional Obama Accepts Democratic Nomination to Become the First African American Presidential Nominee

The long drawn-out presidential race is finally narrowing. Republican presidential nominee John McCain, the oldest ever nominee in waiting, having just turned 72, wrapped up his nomination long ago. Who would battle him for the White House? Would it be Hillary Clinton, the first former First Lady, or would it be Senator Barack Obama, the first black presidential candidate and the youngest ever presidential hopeful at the age of 47?

According to a report released by NBC, at the Democratic National Convention, delegates voted overwhelmingly for Obama, with Clinton delegates either switching to Obama or McCain, once it became clear that Clinton’s delegate deficit was insurmountable. States voted one by one in favor of giving Obama the nod to go against McCain and when it was time for New York, Clinton’s home state, to declare their presidential candidate, Clinton used the proceedings to halt the role call that some of her most ardent supporters had demanded, giving Obama more than enough delegates to claim the nomination.

An emotional Obama accepted the nomination in 75000 raucous supporters at the Pepsi Center, home of the Denver Nuggets, saying, “This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American dream alive”. After the roar subsided, Obama continued, addressing 2 fundamental problems: the economy and the war in Iraq: “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”.

That was the positive side of Obama. He also wasted no time in slamming his Republican opponent, John McCain: “We are the party of Roosevelt (FDR). We are the party of Kennedy (JFK). So don’t tell me that democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, have built and we are here to restore that legacy”. Obama has committed a major gaffe here. Kennedy (both JFK and his brother Robert, attorney general at the time of his assassination) were killed so they never had a chance to prove much on security. Also, FDR was far more interested in economic reform instead of security.

Obama continued his barrage on McCain as a Bush clone: “John McCain has voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but, really, what does it mean when you think (that) George Bush was right 90 percent of the time? I don’t know about you, but I’m not (?) ready to take a 10 percent chance on change”. Hang on. This could be a major GAFFE onn Obama’s part. If people give only a 10% rating to “change”, why would they vote for Obama? Surely, this group of people will vote for McCain. Also, voting with anyone is better than voting “present” which Obama has a track record of doing.

It also appears as if Obama said “John McCain” too many times. Consider this next quote: “I love this country and so does John McCain”. Here, Obama has made a huge mistake because McCain can argue that “I love America more than Obama does and I have a proven track record showing this” and Obama can’t counter because as McCain and his supporters will say, McCain’s track record covers more than 2 decades while all Obama has is a bunch of speeches and he may not be able to keep all of his lofty promises. Obama also remarks that “These are the policies (that) I will pursue (i.e. the policies that he had outlined earlier). I look forward to debating them withJohn McCain. But what I will not do is suggest that the senator takes his positions (solely) for political purposes. Because one of the things (that) we have to change in our politics is that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and patriotism. The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country and so do you and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve IN OUR BATTLEFIELDS may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America, they have served the United States of America”. So, Obama said “John McCain” 3 times in 1 paragraph and even added “in our battlefields” for good measure. Presumably, this includes Iraq. Hang on. Didn’t Obama say that he was a vehement opponent of the Iraq war for years? Why is he suddenly changing his stance now?, the DNC wouldn’t be complete without a few celebrities to jazz things up withAcademy Award winner Jennifer Hudson singing the national anthem and star gymnast Shawn Johnson reciting The Pledge of Allegiance, as if to say to McCain “We’ve got star power. Where’s yours?”

Gaffes aside, praise for Obama came from both black and white, Democrat and Republican. Rep. John Lewis, who was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement, praised Obama by making a reference to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “We’ve come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. On Nov. 4, we must march in every state, in every city, in every village, in every hamlet, we must march to the ballot box. We must march like we’ve never marched before, to elect the next president of the United States, Sen. Barack Obama”. Hang on. Obama doesn’t have King’s track record yet!

McCain also congratulated Obama, perhaps putting negative politics/campaigning on the back burner for a day, perhaps, sort of. On a placard for Obama, McCain wrote “Job well done”. Orally, McCain told Obama “Senator Obama, this is truly a good (but “not great”) day for America. Too often, the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations. How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we’ll be back at it. But, tonight, Senator, job well done”. McCain’s message is 2-pronged/double-edged. On one hand, he is telling Obama “Good job”, but at the same time, McCain is saying, “Senator, don’t start partying too early. Tomorrow, we get down and dirty again (i.e. back to politics again, full-time).

Former president Clinton, reversing course sharply, offered Obama a ringing endorsement: “Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore America’s leadership in the world”. Obama is “ready to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be(come) president of the United States”. With Bill Clinton, we have to say “Hm”, because he was one of Obama’s most vocal critics during the primaries and caucuses, but he wasn’t a very positive influence for his wife either. So, is he doing this merely to appear as if he supports Obama?

Then, the anti-McCain rhetoric started with Democratic chairman Howard Dean (Howard Dean? You’ve got to be kidding!) saying “Senator McCain, I know exactly how many houses I own”. This is a straight response to the McCain response to a question posed by ABC. In response, McCain initially replied “I’ll have my staff get to you”. Oh my goodness. McCain must be a rich kid on the block if he doesn’t know how many houses he owns or can’t keep track of them. So, on this issue, the edge is with Obama who, like most people, OWN ONE HOUSE, suggesting that McCain is out of touch and doesn’t understand the plight of ordinary citizens.

Former Vice-President continued the anti-McCain rhetoric: “Today, we face essentially the same choices we faced in 2000. John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them, all over again”. Gore is painting McCain as a Bush clone/puppet. The most significant word in Gore’s statement supporting Obama is “now”, implying that McCain was OK until he openly supported Bush & Cheney and because of this, McCain is in trouble.

To top everything off.