Could Barack Obama have done any better? I don't think so!
What a stroke of genius to move from the tight confines of the Pepsi Center to the wide open spaces of Invesco Field ... better known as Mile High Stadium in Denver. It was a play right out of the successful John F. Kennedy "campaign play book" which took his 1960 acceptance speech from the Los Angeles Sports Arena to the L.A. Coliseum.
Obama was Kennedy-esque in his charisma as he delivered his acceptance speech before a packed house of more than 85,000 persons ... persons who ranged from infant to elderly, which included men and women, white and black, persons of Asian descent, and Native American, Hispanic and every ethnic group and religious denomination that blend together to make America.
He spoke of hope. He spoke of an America where a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas believed their son could achieve whatever he worked to achieve .. an America where "through hard work and sacrifice each of us can pursue our individual dreams."
He spoke of an America in need of a more compassionate government. He spoke of an America about to select a president where he explained "this election is our chance to keep -- in the 21st. century -- the American promise alive."
Obama spoke of what is wrong with America. For example, military families with loved ones serving multiple tours of duty in two wars being fought simultaneous. He used examples of families without healthcare being just one illness away from financial ruin, and on the brink of being homeless, and unable to afford an education. But he also spoke of a plan to return what he termed "progress" to America.
"We (Democrats) measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage, whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma," he stated.
He shaped the future he envisions for the United States by mixing examples of the past and the present ... of sharing the story of his family, and showing the parallels of his family with those of other Americans.
Obama drew a picture of what America's government will look like with him in the Oval Office. He described a government of promise, a government working for its citizens rather than against its citizens, a government that protects its citizens from harm, provides decent educations, protects the environment; plus invests in technology, education, new roads, and science.
In campaign language that was strong on promise, but short on specifics, Obama sketched his road map for the future, complete with new tax codes, incentives to create new jobs, a mandate to eliminate dependence on foreign oil within 10 years, to build fuel-efficient cars and renewable energy sources, affordable educations and health care, plus almost two dozen more planks he believes make him the man voters should select to govern this country for the next four years.
Certainly not to be lost in the remarks of the Democratic nominee were those words aimed at his soon-to-be official opponent, Senator John McCain of Arizona.
Obama singled out his political foe as a man who loves his country and has served his country in the government, in the military, and as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam. However, he took aim at McCain's "temperament and judgement to serve as the next commander-in-chief."
"John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war. That's not the judgement we need; that won't keep America safe. We need a president who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past," he declared.
As the Democrats have done throughout the days of its political convention, Obama joined with his party brethren in declaring a McCain presidency as an extension of the George W. Bush presidency.
"We are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight years," he told the crowd.
With his next breath, Obama painted McCain as a man out of touch with America, unable to identify with the factory worker, and the waitress, and the retirees on fixed incomes.
"Now I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans; I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under $5 million a year," he asked.
With the hands of an artist Obama used his moment "center stage" to sculpt his audience to his message, telling them "this election has never been about me; it's about you."
"I realize 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 in stirring," he explained.
In a final moment where no words were spoken, and none were needed, the future became defined ... a future many Americans alive today could not imagine, and many Americans from years past would like to have witnessed. It was the moment when an African American man nominated for president of the United States embraced his wife and two little girls ... a moment which will forever be preserved in the collective conscience.
It was the moment when it suddenly became possible that a man of color can take over the highest position of government. It was a moment when the words of Dr. Martin Luther King -- spoken 45 years ago -- rang true.
It was a moment where the molecules of three generations formed a new atom ... where the dream of one generation, became the reality of another generation, to become the norm of yet one other generation. In that moment -- before 85,000 persons in attendance and another 40-million television viewers -- we witnessed a man, a husband, and a father, take a unique step forward in the colorful history of this Republic.
" ... or so this new junkie thinks!"
