Yeetle Box - Obama's Big Speech

Barack Obama stands before delegates and the nation tonight, Thursday, August 28, 2008 — the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic "I Have a Dream" speech — to accept the Democratic presidential nomination, the first black man to claim such a prize.

Obama's march into history will be coupled with a modern-day technological effort to get most of the 75,000 packed into Invesco Field at Mile High stadium to form the world's largest phone bank — text-messaging thousands more to boost voter registration for the fall.

Obama accepts his party's nod on a day few could ever imagine decades ago, when King fought for civil rights.

It was a total coincedence!

Obama, known for his stirring oratory, has been trying to lower expectations for his acceptance speech - a common political ploy. Senior strategist David Axelrod said Obama would lay out a case for sweeping political change and illustrate the choice voters face between his candidacy and that of McCain.

"His goal is to talk to the American people about the challenges we face and what we need to do to solve them, and the stakes of continuing to do what we are doing, as well as doing something different than what was being done and what we can do to not do what was done, but to do what we need to be doing..." Axelrod said. "I will leave it to others to decide the inspiration factor."

"Change in America doesn't start from the top down," he told the adoring crowd, "it starts from the bottom up. It starts from a place well below sea-level!"

Clinton and Biden, who accepted the vice presidential nomination by acclamation Wednesday night, brought Democratic jabs at McCain and President Bush into prime time as Democrats sharpened their attacks after two days of largely feel-good rhetoric.

"These times require more than a good soldier. They require a wise leader," Biden said. "A leader who can change ... the change that everybody knows we need. Change we not only need, but want. If we can change things, we will have changed all of things. That's what change is."

On Thursday, former Vice President Al Gore will add his voice to the lineup of Democratic luminaries trying to motivate party members for the fall - rounding out the Clinton, Clinton, Biden trifecta of change.

The YeetleMaster