Perspectives
Obama's fight for presidency now begins
Let's start the changePhoto: AFP
AFTER having convincingly won the primaries for the party nomination, the recently held Democratic National Convention at Denver was little more than a formality for Senator Obama to be officially endorsed as nominee and his acceptance, yet its significance didn't end there. During the year-long campaign, both of the stellar candidates frequently clashed, creating deep schism in the fraternity, which could be, if at all, removed only in a national convention attended by a crowd of party workers, die-hards, and patriarchs. Cut to the quick by an intra-party feud, and shaken by ragging ratings, the Democratic Party felt compelled to reintroduce their presidential candidate to the voters barely 10 weeks before the election. At the end, those who felt intrigued at the selection of Denver in the Rockies of the Wild West -- a Republican stronghold -- were relieved by the result it produced. The Democrats remember with a measure of bitterness the state of Colorado, which had seldom been charitable to any Democratic presidential candidate except Harry Truman and Bill Clinton, but returned happy after what they achieved. The convention was held in an open-air football stadium attended by an 85,000-strong enthralled crowd and also included celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and rock star Stevie Wonder as well as politicians, party delegates, and ordinary people. The prima donna at the convention was, of course, Michelle Obama, the 46 year-old spouse of the candidate who in her warm and intimate way communicated their very own American story -- the ordinariness of their origin and the old-fashioned values that let them to trump the odds. "I love this country," was her pointed refrain. The emotional pitch went up for the assembled when Ms. Caroline Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy's only surviving child, stepped on the stage. She spoke about how she felt pulled to Obama who, she confessed, inspired her now: "I have never had someone to inspire me the way people tell me my further inspired them." Another leading light of th Kennedy clan, Senator Edward Kennedy -- despite being treated for a malignant brain tumor -- flew into Denver to be greeted with thunderous applause. His message demolished the perceived leadership deficit in Obama's candidature: "Mr. Obama will be the commander-in-chief who would never send young men to a mistaken war." Some tough talk also came from the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: "Republicans say John McCain has experience … [but] … McCain has experience of being wrong." The most magnanimous in the convention had, however, been Senator Hillary Clinton, who declared in no unequivocal terms: "Obama is my candidate." She affirmed her support for Obama repeatedly, mentioning him by name ten times. Applause rained from the aisles as the began defining herself as a proud Democrat, a proud senator from New York, a proud American, and a proud supporter of Barrack Obama. However, there was one slight issue in the speech. The observers and Republicans were quick to note that her carefully crafted speech did not address the biggest charge that Mrs. Clinton leveled at Obama during the primaries -- is he ready to lead? But many think that like Edward Kennedy, Bill Clinton, back in the spotlight in Denver, further elaborated the question by entrusting his presidential legacy to the keeping of Senator Obama in a stellar performance at the Democratic Convention. Bill Clinton's speech at the convention adequately absolved Obama's deficiency, if any, when he likened Obama's presidential bid to his own bid in 1992 when "Republicans said I was too young and inexperienced to be commander-in-chief. It did not work in 1992 because we were on the right side of the history." "In the end," he said, with a nod to his wife, "My candidate didn't win. But I am proud of the campaign she ran." Being on the right side of history, Senator Obama accepted his party's nomination for president of the United States amid a volley of cheers and a crowd of 85,000 roaring and stomping their feet in approval as he delivered an apple pie of a speech stuffed with appetising promises of policy changes yet sweetened with his trademark eloquence. The fight for the Democratic candidate to take the White House now begins. It was a historic moment, the 45th anniversary of the "I have a dream" speech by civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King. Is his dream finally coming true?
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