Obama's nomination official

Democrats nominate Obama by acclamation; acceptance speech tonight is next challenge

By Paul West | paul.west@baltsun.com

August 28, 2008

The New York delegation celebrates after Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was formally nominated for president. (AP photo / August 27, 2008)

DENVER - Democrats nominated Barack Obama for president yesterday, capping a trailblazing campaign that makes him the first African-American to lead a national ticket.

The next challenge for Obama is to use tonight's acceptance speech to pivot into a general election that's up for grabs, polls show, because many voters aren't sure he has enough experience for the job.

Obama appeared briefly before the delegates at the Pepsi Center last night, a few hours after a roll-call vote that ended when Hillary Clinton asked the convention to nominate her former rival by acclamation.

"I think we're going to have a great night tomorrow night and I look forward to seeing you there," said Obama, whose surprise emergence onstage, at the conclusion of running mate Joe Biden's acceptance speech, touched off a roar from the crowd.

A shift in momentum toward Obama appears to be building, according to the latest Gallup daily tracking survey, which showed an uptick since Democrats gathered in Denver but still leaves him in a virtual dead heat with John McCain.

The success of the convention will ride, in large measure, on the acceptance speech of the 47-year-old senator from Illinois, whose candidacy has been defined by his ability to captivate massive crowds. An estimated 80,000 people are expected at the open-air event.

"This is arguably one of the most important convention speeches in recent memory," said Steve Jarding, a Democratic consultant in South Dakota.

Like other party politicians and strategists, Jarding said Obama needs to do a better job of connecting his candidacy to voters' everyday lives.

"He's got to assure the American people that this isn't just a speech on the idea of hope and change," he said. "People are hurting, and they want someone to pay attention to them and tell them what you are specifically going to do and how you are going to deliver on that change."

The unconventional scene for tonight's address - a football stadium packed with screaming supporters and a stage set that has been compared to a Greek temple - will add both novelty and drama. The Obama camp decided to throw the party meeting open to ordinary Obama backers, and not just the delegates, contributors and VIPs, as a sign of the change their candidate intends to bring to Washington.

But the forum, designed to capitalize on Obama's ability to rouse a large crowd, could prove a distraction to his real audience: tens of millions of undecided voters across the country who may be watching on TV.

His task, strategists said, is to come across in a way that convinces Americans that he shares their feelings about the way things are going in the country. His laid-back personal style could make that more difficult.

"Look, he's not a populist," said Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster. "People have got to come away with the sense that he's as angry" as they are about current conditions.

The McCain campaign derides Obama's celebrity, but Democratic consultant Geoffrey Garin said it was wrong to think that a huge crowd of cheering supporters would reinforce the Republican attacks.

"A president has to move and inspire the country," he said. "John McCain can make fun of it, but it is an important part of what people feel the country needs now."

A festive atmosphere is almost guaranteed, with plans for post-speech fireworks and musical performances. Bruce Springsteen's agent has denied that he will appear, but rumors that he'll be there have continued to circulate.

Among the speakers is Al Gore, the party's 2000 nominee and a hero to the environmental movement.

Obama needs to let people see "who he really is, what's in his core," said Steve Rosenthal, a strategist with strong ties to organized labor. "Americans want to be comfortable with the person in the White House."

Recent polling shows that Obama's support from conservative Democrats and married women has slipped in the past few weeks, according to an analysis by the Gallup organization. Obama continues to struggle among working-class white voters and whites older than 50.

"You can't avoid the elephant in the room," said Rosenthal. "There are definitely racial undercurrents that we need to overcome in a lot of places in the country."