The stage is set at Invesco Field in Denver where Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination for President. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Broadcasting live tonight from Invesco Field, Denver’s mile-high-stadium, where the Denver Broncos play. Tonight, under a clear Colorado sky, this big stadium and the 70,000-plus crowd pouring in, are all about Barack Obama. Tonight, the Illinois Senator will accept his party’s nomination and become the first African-American major-party candidate in history to be nominated for President of the United States.
His journey to this moment has been extraordinary. In 2004, Obama — then a little known candidate for the U.S. Senate — delivered an electrifying keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. After that speech, the headlines read: rising star for the Democrats. Just four years later, he is their nominee.
There have been some big speeches this week, but for sheer scale, nothing compares to this night: The nation’s first African-American presidential nominee, on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, at a time of national trial, before a crowd of more than 70,000. This is as big as it gets.
This hour, On Point: We are in the stadium. From Invesco Field in Denver, Barack Obama’s big night.
You can join the conversation. What do you need to hear — want to hear — from Barack Obama tonight?
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:
Rep. James Clyburn, Congressman from South Carolina’s 6th district since 1993 and Majority Whip in the 110th Congress.
Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker. His article on Obama’s Chicago years, “Making It: How Chicago shaped Obama,” was published in July.
Jonathan Kaufman, political editor of The Wall Street Journal. His piece in today’s paper, “Rethinking Racial Progress,” looks at how the 1980s, once seen as a lowpoint, are now seen as a time when big strides were made toward the civil-rights goals of the 1960s.
Fred Thys, political reporter for WBUR-Boston.
Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Laura Washington, columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times.
Watch Obama’s acceptance speech at Invesco Field on Thursday night, August 28, 2008:
Watch Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, on August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC:
And here’s the much-talked-about advertisement from the McCain campaign, airing tonight in battleground states around the time of Obama’s acceptance speech:
Tags: 2008 Democratic Convention, 2008 election, Barack Obama, politics
I’ve just come from an outdoor picnic in Utah, where we watched Al Gore & then Barack Obama on a giant screen. To come home after these rousing, great speeches to the regurgitation of petty & snarky comments (e.g., “Temple of Obama”, source: RNC) – well, it’s not your finest hour, Tom. I would have thougnt more of you if you had SEEN the venue before repeating guttersniping crap about it. On TV, looked a lot more like a view of the White House than a temple of any sort, & with the giant screens on either end, seemed to work well for that giant stadium. Given the media’s near-total focus on the non-story about the Great Rift between Hillary supporters & Obama supporters, I don’t even listen to Public Radio anymore for election coverage. ( Except Terry Gross, who had the sense to ask Jonathan Green what he actually saw at the Convention. Check out what he said on Fresh Air today, Aug 28.) Have fun bloviating with the rest of the talking heads who are content to repeat whatever Rovian tales come your way -
Posted by UtahOwl, on August 28th, 2008 at 11:57 pm EDTI adore politics. I am a book reader and a radio listener; the only programs that I watch on the television and will not miss are Chris Mathews and Keith Olberman ( my favorite, and at times I will watch Keith at 8:00 PM and again at 10:00 PM!) I was glued to the MSNBC Democratic Convention daily—-on the edge of my seat speech after speech! The speeches have been cathartic for me as a proud American who feels that the entire Bush Administration needs to be tried as war criminals for what they have done to our Constitution, our citizens, our troops, and the Iraqi people.
Last night before Barack Obama gave his historical speech after months and months of waiting for this moment, I was shocked, appalled, and beyond livid as Keith and Chris proceeded the quote Barack Obama’s speech BEFORE Obama shared it to the American people from his heart! As a teacher who has taught elementary, middle school, high school and college, I am well aware of what cheating is but I have NEVER witnessed someone speaking the words of another before that person has the chance to speak it. Shame on both of these men! I did notice that on two occasions Keith stated that he did not feel comfortable doing this…but he did it anyway! How arrogant for these newscasters to untie the ribbon, unwrap the box, and open Obama’s “gift speech” to us Americans who have followed Obama, gone to his rallies, and supported his movement both intellectually and financially for months.
Posted by Barbara Kezlarian, on August 29th, 2008 at 7:33 am EDTMy wife, who is normally very cool-headed about these things was quite enchanted by Obama’s speech.
But I find this all a bit disturbing – the reduction of sober and complex issues to primitive animal emotions, even among educated intellectuals. I’m reminded of the Phil Ochs song “Crucifiction” . . .
The Spanish bulls are beaten; the crowd is soon beguiled/
The matador is beautiful, a symphony of style/
Excitement is ecstatic, passion places bets/
Gracefully he bows to ovations that he gets/
But the hands that are applauding are slippery with sweat/
And saliva is falling from their smiles
In “Crucifiction” Phil Ochs was comparing the story of Jesus to the modern way that we create heroes, give them impossibly difficult tasks and fill ourselves with impossibly high expectations, and then turn on our creations when they cannot deliver.
The song was a big hit among folkies back in the 60’s and has been forgotten since then. Complete lyrics may be found here:
Posted by Peter Nelson, on August 29th, 2008 at 10:45 am EDThttp://www.musicsonglyrics.com/P/philochslyrics/philochscrucifixionlyrics.htm