Comment: Obama delivers despite pomp
Friday, 29 Aug 2008 05:45
84,000 people saw Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver
Barack Obama has once again overcome the hype to deliver his message in the latest in a long line of speeches hailed as the most important of his life, writes Matthew Champion.
The Illinois senator appeared in front of 84,000 supporters slightly ahead of schedule at the Invesco Field at Mile High stadium, perhaps knowing that it would take several minutes for the crowd to calm down enough to let him speak.
The pomp surrounding the 47-year-old was frankly unbelievable, notwithstanding the excessive stage-managing witnessed throughout the Democratic convention.
Obama: Our dreams can be one
The convention hall in Denver, Colorado, was not deemed a suitable enough venue for his historic acceptance speech – while an open-air sports stadium was improved with the addition of a very West Wing-esque platform and Doric colonnades.
It is easy to see how Obama had been portrayed in right-wing US media as an aloof toga-wearer with rock-star aspirations, and the senator's speech suffered its greatest glitch when he told supporters the race for the White House had "never been about me".
"What the nay-sayers don't understand is that... it's been about you."
Beyond the dizzying hype and the extravagant surroundings, however, Obama resolutely spelled out his recipe for change.
Tax cuts for 95 per cent of working families; an end to Middle East oil dependency in ten years; affordable healthcare for all; college grants for hard-working young Americans; a 'responsible' end to the Iraq war and a renewed effort in Afghanistan – all tangible policies, albeit at an exorbitant cost.
In quotes: Obama acceptance speech
It is on the funding of his ambitious programme of reform that John McCain's response will most certainly seize upon when Obama's speech is dissected ahead of the Republican convention next week.
But Obama's newfound confidence on foreign policy, in part down to his choice as Joe Biden as running-mate and his "We are the party of Roosevelt, we are the party of Kennedy" remarks, the Republican snipers may have lost a new route of attack at the same time as gaining another.
The stakes and the standards have been raised in Colorado this week for McCain, who is virtually inseparable from Obama in the opinion polls.
The Illinois senator and his Democrat supporters – old and new – did not put a foot wrong this week, increasing the likelihood that another landmark speech for Obama may be on the cards come November 4th.