Tears Flow, Tens of Thousands Cheer as Barack Obama Officially Becomes First Black Nominee

By: Michael H. Cottman

DENVER - On the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, Barack Obama stood before nearly 85,000 cheering supporters, accepted the Democratic nomination for president of the United States and stepped into history as the first African-American to lead a major political party on a quest for the White House.

His words, his vision for the nation and his profound passion for change, brought tears to some in the multi-cultural throng of Democrats who are solidly behind Obama on his unprecedented journey.

“Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes, and 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 is beyond your reach," Obama said. “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 presidency of George W. Bush. America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.”

Tears Flow, Tens of Thousands Cheer as Barack Obama Officially Becomes First Black Nominee....

Clinton Praises Obama’s Readiness, Judgment While Joe Biden Shows His Mettle as V.P. Pick

By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb

Call it the Redeem Speech.

Instead of basking in the glow of a nomination that could usher him and his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, back into the White House, former President Bill Clinton stood before the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night urging Americans to vote for someone else – Barack Obama.

And he did it without hesitation.

“I am here to support Barack Obama,” Clinton began his speech after a long and enthusiastic welcome from the crowd.

“You heard Hillary last night say that she would do everything she can to elect Barack Obama. That makes two of us. Actually, that makes 18 million of because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November,” Clinton said, referring to the 18 million people who voted for Clinton in the primaries.

Clinton’s enthusiastic support of Clinton even drove the crowd to chant Obama’s slogan: “Yes We Can!”

“Yes, he can,” Clinton said. “But first, we have to elect him.”

It was a speech that may have finally laid to rest suggestions that Clinton would be unable to let go of the disappointment that his wife did not win the Democratic nomination for president and fully, wholeheartedly embrace Obama.

“If the goal is big enough, sure, he can work with Obama and I think Bill Clinton wants a Democrat elected,” said Michael Frisby, a public relations executive who covered the Clinton White House as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal.

The Clintons came under fire during the primary contests because of the Clinton’s campaign’s dismissiveness of Obama’s candidacy; the suggestion that voters in the caucus states didn’t really represent the will of the people or that black voters were voting solely on the basis of race and that his wins didn’t matter because previous black candidates Rev. Jesse Jackson and/or Rev. Al Sharpton fared well in some of the same states – particularly South Carolina – and didn’t win the nomination; calling Obama’s position on the war a “fairy tale;” to some, diminishing the work of Martin Luther King, Jr., by saying it took a president for his efforts to reap benefits and, near the end of the campaign, Hillary Clinton calling herself the candidate of “hardworking white people” left both the Clintons with a long row to hoe with some black people.

But several people were ready to bury that story line.

Clinton Praises Obama’s Readiness....

Obama stage replaces goal posts at Denver's Invesco Field

By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY

DENVER — Preparing for Barack Obama's historic acceptance speech Thursday night at Invesco Field at Mile High has required an equally historic level of preparation.
More than 200 spotlights. Twenty 18-wheelers full of equipment. A crew of hundreds working nearly around the clock to prepare the stage for the Democratic National Convention's grand finale. "The magnitude of this is incomprehensible," said Bruce Crawford, the stadium crew chief overseeing the preparations.

Crawford has been sleeping in an office at the stadium since Friday night, when the Denver Broncos completed a pre-season game and the work began.

Crews cleared the field of benches, goal posts and rain tarps. The next morning, they began moving in massive components to build elevated platforms for journalists and the main stage — complete with faux-marble columns to mimic Washington's iconic architecture.

Crawford has overseen events at the stadium since it opened in 2001 and has produced concerts and music festivals for 30 years. He said none of that, however, has compared to this week's preparation, with workers for news organizations and stagehands marching up and down while he struggles to protect the $1.5 million field — a complex blend of synthetic grass and real bluegrass.

Obama stage replaces goal posts at Denver's Invesco Field....

Democrats Officially Nominate Barack Obama

By JENNIFER PARKER

Democrats made it official tonight in Denver, when party delegates formally nominated Barack Obama as their 2008 presidential candidate -- the first African American ever nominated by a major party.

The traditional state by state roll call went on until about 6:40 pm eastern, just after the network newscasts went on the air on the east coast.

The roll call included several delegates cast to Sen. Hillary Clinton, whose name was formally put into nomination, even though she did not win the primary battle. By previous agreement by the Obama and Clinton camps, the roll call was halted and Obama was nominated by acclamation.

Democrats Officially Nominate Barack Obama....

Obama Assassination Plot Investigated, No Credible Threat Found

KRISTEN WYATT and LARA JAKES JORDAN

DENVER — A group of suspected drug users arrested in Denver this weekend with methamphetamine, guns and bulletproof vests made racist threats against Barack Obama but posed no true danger to the presidential candidate as he accepts the Democratic nomination here this week, federal authorities said Tuesday.

The three men _ all said to be high on methamphetamine when arrested _ are the subject of an assassination investigation, but so far, authorities say, it appears they had no capacity to carry out any attack on Obama.

"The law recognizes a difference between a true threat _ one that can be carried out _ and the reported racist rantings of a drug addict," U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said.

He said the men's plans were "more aspirational, perhaps, than operational."

The three have been charged with drug and weapons offenses but not with threatening to assassinate Obama or with other national-security-related crimes.

Obama will become the first black nominee for president by a major party at this week's convention.

Eid insisted that the vague racist threats from the men would continue to be investigated. He said he didn't know whether Obama had been briefed on the arrests or whether security plans would change for Obama's acceptance speech Thursday.

Fed official: Colo. men no true threat to Obama....

Does Her Conciliatory, Unifying Talk Square Hillary – and Bill – with the Black Community?

By: Jackie Jones, BlackAmericaWeb

If there was a question whether Sen. Hillary Clinton would strongly endorse Barack Obama for president, she sought to put that to rest immediately in her address to the Democratic National Convention.

“I am here as a proud mother, a proud Democrat, a proud senator from New York and I am a proud supporter of Barack Obama. Whether you voted for me or you voted for Barack Obama, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose,” Clinton said.

There had been questions right up to the moment Clinton stepped on the stage that she may not be able to convince Democrats that she truly embraced Obama’s candidacy and, more importantly, persuade others to do so.

“Hillary Clinton touched every chord and gave an unequivocal, unqualified endorsement of Obama's candidacy. Talking about women's rights and quoting Sojourner Truth was apt on the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment," said Mary Frances Berry, chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. "Her suppporters should get the message and forget their discontent and start working."

COMMENTARY....

Clinton calls for Democratic unity

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

DENVER (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton delivered a ringing call for Democratic Party unity on Tuesday, promising to work for Barack Obama and challenging her supporters to bury their grudges and rally behind his White House bid.

"Whether you voted for me or voted for Barack, the time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose," said Clinton in a speech Democrats hope will end a lingering party rift left over from their bitter nominating fight.

Clinton, a New York senator, praised Obama and said Democrats could not sit on the sidelines and watch Republican presidential candidate John McCain take the White House and "squander the promise of our country."

"No way, no how, no McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate and he must be our president," Clinton told a roaring crowd waving a sea of white "Hillary" signs.

Clinton calls for Democratic unity....

Michelle Obama, Reluctant No More

By JODI KANTOR

DENVER — When her husband ran for Congress in 2000, Michelle Obama groused so much about handshaking and fund-raising that Arthur Sussman, then her boss at the University of Chicago, finally asked if she truly could not find a single thing about campaigning to enjoy.

Mrs. Obama thought for a moment. Visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas, she allowed.

Eight years later, the once reluctant campaigner is at the center of a multimedia charm offensive that may be the most closely managed spousal rollout in presidential campaign history. On Monday night, Mrs. Obama delivered a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention, preceded by an intricately made biographical video, a touch usually afforded to candidates, not their wives.

A relative newcomer to campaigning and the first black woman with a serious shot at first ladyhood, Mrs. Obama is a softer, smoother presence on the trail than she was at the start of the race.

Michelle Obama, Reluctant No More....

Democratic Party Set to Kick-Off Historic Convention, Buoyed by Excitement Over Obama

By: Michael Cottman and Sherrel Wheeler Stewart

When Sen. Joe Biden, presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s choice for vice president, made his speech Saturday in Springfield, Illinois, 975 miles away in Denver, Colorado, crowds gathered around televisions in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Hotel to watch.

“People were excited,” AFL-CIO executive vice president Arlene Holt-Baker told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “There was applause. You could just feel it in the air." Outside and throughout the city, there also was heightened security.

As thousands descend on the Mile High City this week for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, there is lots of talk about the event's excitement, but Democrats must face the challenge of carrying that excitement through to the November presidential election.

At least 50,000 people -- convention participants and protesters -- are expected in Denver for the convention, and millions are expected to tune in on Thursday night when Sen. Barack Obama officially accepts the Democratic nomination for president.

Democratic Party Set to Kick-Off Historic Convention....