by Frank James
11:19 PM -- The Biden clan lasted on the stage longer than Obama did. He left the stage to let the Bidens have their moment.
If the night was about getting some momentum going into the last night of the convention, the delegates certainly seem more juiced at the end of the night than they were at the start. The Obama people got exactly the speech they likely wanted from Bill Clinton tonight. He provided the arguments for voting for Obama that the delegates can use in coming weeks when voters ask them why they should, especially since Obama has little foreign policy experience. They said the same about me, said Clinton, and look how well I did. If Obama loses, he won't be able to blame Clinton, at least he won't be able to point to tonight as one of the reasons.
Biden wasn't as strong as he was Saturday, the day he was formally introduced as the veep pick. But he still got the job done in terms of communicating his background to those Catholic voters in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio and elsewhere the Obama campaign is desperate to get.
He also continued to show that he can channel the economic anxieties of the middle class and he spoke authoritatively about foreign policy and what he sees as the Bush administration's blunders. And he once again flayed McCain, though not in a mean, nasty way. More as a disappointed friend.
And with all those Biden grandchildren coming out on stage, Biden certainly looked the part of the eminence grise.
The reality is that a lot of what was said tonight will be overwhelmed, however, at least by voters who watched in flyover country, especially as they live their lives. It's the impression that matters most and the impression from tonight was certainly of a party that's come together. It really hasn't. Many Hillary delegates are still miffed and many Obama people nurse their own sense of grievance towards the Clintons.
But they looked like one big happy family on TV. And that counts for something.
So much for tonight's live blog. Join us tomorrow night when we live-blog the last night of the 2008 Democratic convention.
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10:55 PM -- Obama is on the stage and the delegates go wild. The crowd is totally energized. Obama says now the crowd sees why he has the Biden clan on the ticket with him, including Momma Biden. He gives a shout out to Hillary and Bill Clinton. "Thank you President Clinton," he says, waving in the wrong direction from where the Clintons are seated. But it's the thought that counts. As he reminds us, now it's on to Invesco Field.
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10:52 PM -- Biden is nearing the end of his speech. He talks about looking at his grandchilden and being "here" for their future. We have to meet the challenge. We have to get back up together. It's a riff off what his father used to tell him, when you get knocked down, get back up. This is his time, he says of Barack, this is our time. His wife comes on stage. Those of us in the know are waiting for Obama.
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10:50 PM -- Biden has nice words for McCain. Gives him props for his war record. But not laces into McCain. Now he sets up a call and response, "that's not change, that's more of the same" as he ticks off all the votes that McCain has taken which he has supported Bush, votes against minimum wage, for instance. In the same vein, he hits McCain for proposals that he says would give hundreds of millions of dollars in tax cuts for corporate America but little relief for middle-class families.
Now he talks about all the good Obama will do, setting up a new refrain: "That's the change we need." Obama will reform the tax code and reduce health care costs for families.
He now moves to foreign policy. The crowd seems to be getting restless. It's been a another long day. He damns the administration's foreign policy as "an abysmal failure." Whose judgment should you trust, he asks? McCain who said three years ago that Afghanistan was fixed or Obama who said we need to send two brigades of additional troops to Afghanistan. "John McCain was Barack Obama was right." Cheers and applause.
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10:42 PM -- I just learned that Obama is going to make a surprise appearance tonight, joining Biden on stage after Biden's speech. Since I'm telling you, it's not a surprise anymore.
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10:40 PM -- Biden thanks his son, wife and the Clintons. Biden makes reference to his verbosity and says yes, yes, yes that he accepts the nomination. Later, he makes a joke. "No longer will the eight most dreaded words in the English language be "The vice president's office is on the phone." Then he introduces his mother who has the very Irish American name "Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden." He tells some touching, funny stories of his mother. She sounds like a terrific mother.
Biden sounds a little muffled, like he might have had a little dental work done today. He moves into the part of his speech where he talks about the economic concerns of Americans. The crowd is quiet when he describes American worries. Then he muffs his line, conflating George Bush and John McCain. "They're one and the same," he says as the crowd laughs.
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10:31 PM -- Beau Biden gets big applause when he says after the car crash, which happened after his father was elected to the Senate, his father wasn't going to take his oath, saying the state could get another senator but his sons couldn't get another father but that Ted Kennedy and Mike Mansfield prevailed on him. A few sentences later he says his father isn't of Washington. A politician within my hearing says "That's going to be a tough line to sell." Anyway, BB asks the delegates to be there for his dad the way he was there for me. "Be there" he says. The younger Biden gives a great speech. When he introduces his father, the crowd is on its feet and Sen. Biden comes and hugs Beau. The cheers are loud, not Clinton loud but almost.
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10:18 PM -- A Delaware woman whose sister was killed in an act of domestic violence comes out to place Joe Biden's name into nomination. That's a real downer. Anyway, she praises Biden for legislation to protect women from domestic violence. Then Pelosi comes out get the ayes and nays (there are no nays) and she paves the ground for Biden to come out. But first we have to watch the obligatory biographical video. Biden makes an interesting point about the people Obama is trying to win, they don't like to be called working class. They prefer middle class. This is what makes Biden an important pick. He understands more about the middle class than many a senator. We hear more about how the great tragedy in Biden's life, the loss of his first wife and daughter in a car crash. Then he says something that is really down to earth "when you see an abuse of power you have to act, whether it's a parent slapping on a child or a president taking a country to war unnecessarily." That line will resonate with a lot of people. It did in the hall. Now Biden's son Beau, Delaware's attorney general is introduced and the hall is a sea of red Biden signs.
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10:15 PM -- Duckworth says the Bush administration has let its warriors down. She gets a big cheer when she says that we attacked Iraq instead of going into Afghanistan in a bigger way to get those who perpetrated 9/11. She gets her biggest applause when she says the nation doesn't need four more years of Bush policies that allegedly would be carried out by McCain. She says Obama visited her and other wounded troops when she was in the hospital and that it wasn't about getting publicity.
Then she says Obama will take care of the VA and veterans the way Gov. Blagojevich has in Illinois. Wow, a shout out to Blago in primetime during the Democratic convention? That was pretty amazing. That's the first kind word we've heard the whole convention from anyone for Blago. She walks off the stage, her prosthetic legs clearly apparent.
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10:09 PM -- The lights have been dimmed and we're watching a video of veterans. There are images from Iraq, of soldiers and Marines at war and one Iraq veteran chokes up as he remembers seeing the bodies of dead soldiers who were wearing gear just like his. The audience applauds when one veteran says that if a war is so important to send servicemembers to wage it, then it should be important enough for these veterans to be taken care of. The only similarity this video has to one that might be shown at a Republican convention is that it shows servicemembers in uniform. But it is more "Red Badge of Courage" than you'd ever see at a Republican convention. The downside of war and being veterans. The lights come up and Tammi Duckworth, a wounded Iraq War veteran who ran for Congress is at the podium and gets a standing O.
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10:00 Rep. Chet Edwards was on the short list for veep. Now he's on the stage. I never believed he was a real prospect. He was on the list as a sop to House Speaker Pelosi because she wanted to show that the House and not just the Senate has some quality players. He knocks McCain for not supporting vets and says Obama will.
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9:57 PM -- Now a retired admiral from New Hampshire says he has a confession to make. The crowd gets real quiet. He says he was a Republican as an adult but has become a Democrat. "The Grand Old Party is no longer grand, it is just old." The delegates have heard this one before, they complete the sentence with him. Still they like it and they cheer. "I see arrogance at home and incompetence at home and I simply can't tolerate and America can't afford four more years." Obama's ideas aren't old, he says. As an old Navy veteran he says he knows change isn't easy. He says he says in "Obama he sees the change America desperately needs."
The Democrats are really laying it on thick, which is what you do at a convention to drive the point home.
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9:50 PM Gen. Claudia Kennedy (ret) the Army's first woman three star is now at the podium. She says Obama has the judgment to be a superb commander in chief. This may be the 20th time we've heard this tonight. (Barely has Kerry's speech finished than the RNC sends out an e-mail response. Talk about your rapid response.) She repeats that Obama will end torture by Americans. She's a very soft-spoken general. Getting hard to hear her over the rising chatter of the crowd.
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9:46 PM -- Kerry gets a big applause when he says Obama will shut down Guantanamo because the U.S. doesn't believe in torture. He says the McCain he sees now is not the McCain he has known, that there's a difference between candidate McCain and Sen. McCain. When he says candidate McCain would vote against the immigration bill he supported as senator he says "Are you kidding me folks." Then he says he was for it before he was against it and that before McCain debates Obama he needs to finish the debate with himself. He echoes the line others haven't used tonight, that judgment is better than mere experience. Now he sets up a call and response by using a number of instances in which the Bush administration has come closer to Obama's positions after first mocking them: "who can we trust to keep America safe" he says several times. "Obama" the crowd responds.
Now Kerry says how dare the Republicans question the patriotism the son of single mother who went into public service when he could have done otherwise. The crowd cheers. Next he introduces Charlie Payne, Obama's veteran uncle. Kerry seems a little angry for the Swiftboating he endured four years ago and he's getting it off his chest. "You don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't" Big cheer from the crowd.
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9:33 PM -- A Marine wife is on the stage now. Clinton whipped the crowd into a frenzy and clearly the convention program planners wanted to give the delegates a chance for release. It's a tough position to put this military wife in since many in the crowd are moving about and talking though a goodly number do appear to paying attention to her.
She leaves the stage and Sen. John Kerry appears. He doesn't salute and say he's reporting for duty. The 2004 nominee says "we came so close to winning and this time we will." Then he says we know what a Bush administration will look like, meaning the McCain administration. "That was a slip" he said.
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9:27 PM -- Bill Clinton cites a list of alleged Bush administration failings, from cronyism to Katrina. "America can do better than that and Barack Obama will." Now he commends McCain and speaks well of his heroic service. But he says that once Republicans took over the whole government in 2001, the nation started to go down the tubes. That was the year of course that he left office. He tells the delegates, "let's send a message, thanks but no thanks. In this case the third time is not a charm." Big cheers. Now he makes the crucial link to his presidency. He says the Republicans said he was too young and inexperienced to be president. Didn't work in 1992 because he was on the right side of history and it won't work this time for the same reason.
Now he says Obama represents the American dream and that he has American values. The man from hope says Obama will lead the nation to unity and hope and that America should always be a place called hope. He's done. It was vintage Clinton. The crowd is up and cheering, waving the flags. Close your eyes and it's 1992 with the strains of "It's a Beautiful Day," echoing throughout the arena. Why were so many pundits making a such a big deal about whether he would deliver or not. Clinton almost always delivers, at least when it comes to speechifying.
9:18 PM -- Bill Clinton "In his first presidential decision, his selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park." He says Obama is ready to lead America and is ready to honor the oath to "preserve, protect and defend," the U.S. Obama is "ready to be president of the U.S" he says to big cheers. Clinton isn't holding back. The Obama people should be pretty pleased. He says Obama will stand up to the U.S. adversaries. That gets cheers. Clinton supposedly was upset that the Obama people wanted him to stick with national security but it looks like he won the fight because he was able to get a lot of domestic policy into the speech. One of the biggest cheers of the night goes to the line: People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."
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9:10 PM -- Bill Clinton: "That campaign generated so much heat it increased global warming." Joke gets a good laugh. "last night, Hillary said she's going to do everything she can to elect Barack Obama. That makes two of us." Big cheer. Now he says it makes it 18 million. He mentions former President Carter who gets cheers just from Georgia delegation. Clinton now proceeds to the meat of his speech. Outlines the worsening U.S. economy, then says "our position in the world has been weakened. He hasn't mentioned Bush but everyone knows he's talking about. "Clearly the job of te next president is to rebuild the American dream and to restore American leadership in the world." Cheers. He gets bigger cheers when he says he's "convinced Barack Obama is the man for the job."
9:05 PM -- Rep. Kendrick Meeks is on stage to intoduce President Bill Clinton who he calls his friend. See, not all African Americans are done with the Clintons. He sings the praises of the Clinton years. Great economy. Peace and prosperity. Now Clinton takes the stage and the whole arena erupts in waving American flags. A huge ovation erupts. Much bigger than even what Teddy Kennedy received, They love Clinton who gets ovation after ovation. The sound equals a 747 at take off at one point. Now the crowd is cheering Bill, Bill, Bill. "I love this and I thank you. I'm here first to support Barack Obama." Big cheer. "And second I'm here to warm up the crowd for Joe Biden." Another big cheer.
8:59 PM -- Former Sen. Tom Daschle tells a story about Afghanistan, how President Karzai of Afghanistan told him in 2002 during his visit there "We want to be like you" in the U.S. Daschle says the U.S. can't have four more years of decline. "If the Bush administration has proven anything it's that length of service" doesn't make for wise leadership. Daschle is making one of the stronger arguments against McCain that's been made tonight. A good job of warming the microphone for Sen. Joe Biden, the vice presidential pick and former President Bill Clinton who are expected to make even stronger arguments against McCain. Now the music that fills the hall is "Chain of Fools" that old Aretha Franklin classic. Is this an editorial comment on the Bush team or does the music director just like the song? American flags have been distributed to the delegates and they are waving them to the beat.
8:51 PM -- Sen. Jack reid of Rhode Island is on stage. Another former veteran whose well-respected on military issues. He says there's heroism in every American who sacrifices and says Obama shares those values. He cites his recent trip to Iraq with Obama and Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska Republican, and gets applause when he recounts how Obama was surrounded by servicemembers eager to meet him. "He will be a superb commander in chief" he says. Barack Obama has proven he can deliver change and says McCain was cheerleader in chief on Iraq. "Obama and I opposed the Iraq War from day one." Reed is politely going after McCain. Says the nation's resources are limited and that the military is overstretched. A well received speech.
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8:43 PM -- Sen. Evan Bayh, the man who would have been the vice president nominee, immediately goes after McCain, saying that Bush/Cheney will end in five months unless McCain wins, then it will be four more years. Ouch. He sets up a refrain. McCain would continue Bush policies and "that is not the change we need" he says in order to get the delegates to repeat after him. They do but not energetically. He says Barack Obama "is the change we need." Now he says McCain is not a bad man but that he agrees with Bush on every issue and is about the only person who does. Now he gets back to Obama, says he will create a green America. He's moving from security to the economy but gets back to Iraq, saying Obama will end the war. Now he hits Bush for not being a uniter and dividing the nation more than at any point since Vietnam. The delegates are talking. Great, poor Bayh. Hillary Clinton and Chelsea have entered the hall are in their box and all the cameras are now pointing at them. Bayh can't catch a break. Nice guys do finish last.
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8:37 PM -- Former Clinton Administration Secretary of State Madeleine Albright tells the delegates she grew up in Denver after her family left Europe ahead of the Nazis. She's an important person to be supporting Obama since all the Clinton delegates know that she was a strong Hillary Clinton supporter. She takes on McCain, says the first quality a president needs to have is the ability to learn, who is not wedded to 20th century thinking. No president can be expected to solve every problem but she says Obama has shown he's tough and won't alienate friends. She doesn't have to mention Bush and Cheney but everyone knows who she's alluding to. "We can't afford to be taken in by the politics of fear," she says and adds that Obama will work hard everyday for America so the delegates should work hard for him.
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8:30 PM -- Iraq war vet Rep. Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania takes the stage with a large group of Iraq War vets. They get a standing O from the delegates. What's important here is that he's from Pennsylvania, an important swing state, and that he's a veteran. He accuses President Bush of using soldiers as props but abandoning them at Walter Reed. There for the photo ops but AWOL when it came to caring for veterans. Again, we hear that Obama will be the kind of cinc that will take care of the military. "We are so proud to stand with him as he leads the fight for stronger and tougher foreign policy... It is time for Barack Obama." Murphy is an attractive politician. With his war veteran record, he's a good surrogate for Obama.
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8:24 PM -- A woman from Washington DC who is a command sergeant major, the highest rank an non-com can have, says Obama can be a commander in chief, indeed he is the kind of cinc the military needs because he will make sure they have what they need. She also says he'll fund the VA and take care of homeless veterans for which he'll have zero tolerance. Where he'll get the money, she doesn't say. She tells a story about Obama visiting a soldier sick with brain cancer because she asked. He didn't do it for publicity, she says but because she asked. This is clearly meant to neutralize the GOP charge that Obama wouldn't visit wounded troops when he was overseas because he couldn't a photographer.
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8:19 PM Finally Reid gets a rise from the crowd when says "It's time to elect Barack Obama president," raises his arms and then leaves the stage. Nothing became his speech as the ending of it.
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8:15 PM -- Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, is at the podium. His mission was to pound on the Bush Administration for its links to the energy industry. In his low-energy way he does that. The delegates are talking fairly loudly through Reid's talk. He says Barack Obama is a man of integrity. Now he pivots to take on John McCain and to smack the Arizonan around for calling for off-shore drilling. Of course, Obama is now for off-shore drilling too. Reid's nasally drone can barely be heard over all the conversation in the hall.
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8:05 PM - Denver -- It's security night at the Democratic National Convention here and we're going too live-blogging the whole thing. The star of the evening is expected to be former President Bill Clinton who is likely to be on his best behavior.
Musical star Melissa Etheridge has taken the stage. Don't know what she has to do with security but she sounds good.
She started with "God Bless America," then went to "The Times are a Changing" which got a huge hand when she got to the chorus, hen "All We Are Saying is Give Peace a Chance" and and increasingly urgent sounding "Born in the USA." The delegates are jamming, waving and near ecstasy. She ends where she began, with "God Bless America," singing the last notes with a raw intensity that has this crowd pumped. There'll be hearing from Sen. John Kerry soon. That should take the life out of them.
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