This summer while he was in Europe, Barack Obama called out to the “people of the world,” saying, “This is our moment. This is our time.”
But tonight, as he strides to the podium at Invesco Field to accept his party’s mantel and nomination for president of the United States, it truly is his time.
His time to show the nation that he is ready and able to lead.
His time to introduce himself to middle America, those folks who don’t hang on a candidate’s every word during primary season.
His time to show his mettle, to reassure the nation that he has the vision and toughness to protect our national security — without dismaying the sometimes stridently anti-war Democrats who won him the nomination.
His time to be strong without seeming to be bellicose, to be humble like Abraham Lincoln without the self-doubts of Jimmy Carter.
When he speaks to the nation tonight, he needs to show the empathy to understand the daily trials of ordinary Americans and the inspiration to ignite the best qualities of our people.
Not unlike another young Democrat who spoke in a daunting outdoor arena at his convention speech 48 years ago, Obama will accept his nomination not only on behalf of his party, but also, to some degree, on behalf of a new generation.
Yes, he will be the first African- American ever nominated by a major party for the presidency, but that subtler theme of generational change could decide his fate.
John F. Kennedy’s election in 1960 passed the torch from those who managed World War II — Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower — to those who fought it in the ranks. Now, the cycle repeats itself anew as a Vietnam War hero, John McCain, faces a man 25 years his junior who not only didn’t serve in the military but who as an Illinois state senator opposed the war in Iraq.
Generational shifts aside, this country has been divided 50-50 in the past two election cycles, and has been carved up into red states and blue states.
Four years ago as a relative unknown, Obama launched his national political career at the DNC in Boston by declaring, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America.”
Tonight, he must speak to all ages, and to red states and blue states and all those in between. He must begin to describe, in some specificity, his plans for the nation should he be elected.
Obama, in short, needs to be presidential. And whether or not he meets that challenge may, in turn, determine whether be becomes president.
