Officially nominating Barack Obama and pounding home the senator’s foreign policy experience were the highlights here at the Pepsi Center tonight. Democratic stalwarts such as Sens. John Kerry Jack Reed and Evan Bayh added some gravitas to the candidate the Republicans have targeted as not ready to lead.
New Mexico governor Bill Richardson was scheduled to appear to continuing playing up Obama’s foreign policy experience, but didn’t, perhaps due to time constraints.
Then of course there were the Clintons. Hillary Clinton walking onto the floor surrounded by New York State leaders giving Obama the nomination by acclamation after he secured two-thirds of the delegates.
“That roll call today just brought us all to tears,” said Tracie Reed, a delegate from Maine.
Then there was Bill, who came out swinging for Obama, by talking about his 1992 campaign.
“Together we prevailed in a campaign in which the Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be Commander-in-Chief. Sound familiar?” he said. “It didn’t work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it won’t work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.”
The delegates may finally be unified – and fired up.
“I thought (night three) was magnificent in many ways,” said Par Kettis, a delegate from Maine. “Kerry’s speech was surely the best he ever had. Bill Clinton’s speech was very uplifting and very helpful to the Democratic Party. I hope that all of Hillary’s supporters all will be fully supportive of Barack.”
Vice-president Joe Biden went on the attack after talking about his upbringing and Obama’s.
“I fell in love with him tonight,” said Adriane Jaymes, a 28-year old delegate from Oklahoma.
It was rather clear from the tense presence of the Secret Service and news tips that Obama would appear onstage with Biden and his family, including “Mama Biden,” or Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, age 96.
“It was an incredible night. It was unbelievable,” Reed said. “So many big speakers made it so. Then we got this great surprise for dessert.”
Staff reporters Chuck Plunkett and Allison Sherry contributed to this report.
