Democratic nominee tackles Iraq, race and the Republicans during a rousing address in Denver
Ewen MacAskill and Suzanne Goldenberg in Denver
August 29, 2008
Barack Obama fulfilled the promise made when he entered the US political stage four years ago and the dream of Martin Luther King almost half a century ago, when he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination before tens of thousands of his supporters.
Obama’s speech, at Denver’s Mile High stadium, added policy to the rhetoric that had helped bring a man who was virtually unknown at the 2004 Democratic convention to within reach of the White House.
Speaking on the 45th anniversary of King’s “I have a dream” speech, the first African-American to secure the nomination of a major party brought the 80,000-plus who packed the stadium to their feet when, concluding a 47-minute speech, he paid homage to King. Obama said it was the promise of America that had brought people from every corner of the country to hear King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Bush had betrayed that promise during the last eight years and the country could not take the chance of another four under John McCain, Obama said. Quoting from King’s call to march forward together and not turn back, he echoed the father of the civil rights movement: “America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done … We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future.” After months of criticism that there was no substance behind the words, Obama spoke about how he would deal with America’s ailing economy, the biggest election issue. He offered a programme of education, health and energy reforms, allied to job creation and tax cuts.
He finally went after McCain and made sly digs over McCain’s volatile temperament and age: McCain turns 72 today.
To cheers from the crowd, he challenged McCain’s foreign policy judgment and rounded on him for supporting the Iraq war at the expense of failing to go after Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell – but he won’t even go to the cave where he lives.”
The Obama campaign had intended the speech to be a people’s event. He was only the third Democratic candidate to accept the party’s presidential nomination outside a convention hall: Roosevelt did in Chicago in 1932, and Kennedy in Los Angeles in 1960.
Tens of thousands of people took the chance to be part of the event, with long lines snaking for miles around the stadium under a blazing sun and filling the stadium three hours before he spoke.
They came in Martin Luther King T-shirts and in full Obama regalia – T-shirts, hats and buttons. A few came in Native American traditional dress. Vendors sold Obama dolls and life-sized figures of Obama dressed as Uncle Sam.
Inside the stadium, there was a collective sense of history in the making. Flash bulbs from cameras popped incessantly from the stands, as people waved small American flags, danced to Motown and shouted “Yes, we can!” as Will.i.am and other performers took to the stage.
Obama came to his first Democratic convention eight years ago short of cash and was frequently frisked by security because of his name. He recalled his arrival on the national scene, “Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story – of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren’t well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to,” he said. He used his own life story, too, to address the negative campaign that McCain has mounted over
Obama says ‘it’s time to change America’
Level 3 Advanced
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Obama says ‘it’s time to change America’
Level 3 Advanced
Comprehension check
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Find the answers to the questions in the article.
1. Why was Barack Obama at Denver’s Mile High stadium?
a) To announce his decision to run for US President. b) To officially accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
c) To talk about Martin Luther King.
2. Where did Martin Luther King hold his famous “I have a dream” speech?
a) In Denver’s Mile High Stadium. b) In Boston.
c) At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. 3. Obama had been criticized for...
a) ... paying homage to Martin Luther King. b) ... not giving enough details about his policies. c) ... talking about the US’s ailing economy.
4. Obama criticized McCain for... a) ... not acting his age.
b) ... supporting Bush’s war in Iraq over pursuing bin Laden.
c) ... not being patriotic. 5. Obama’s parents are from...
a) ... Kenya and the USA. b) ... Kansas and Hawaii. c) ... Kenya and Hawaii. the last two months, in particular that he was too
fond of his new-found celebrity status. Obama spoke about the sacrifices made by his family. “I don’t know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead but this has been mine,” he said.
He also responded to charges by Republicans that question his patriotism. He adapted a line from his 2004 speech in Boston to argue that the men and
women fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan may have been of different political parties but all died under the same flag.
“They have not served a red America or a blue America – they have served the United States of America,” he said. “So I’ve got news for you, John McCain: We all put our country first.”
© Guardian News & Media 2008 First published in The Guardian, 29/08/08
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NEWS LESSONS / Obama says ‘it’s time to change America’ / Advanced
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Obama says ‘it’s time to change America’
Level 3 Advanced
Discussion
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Who is the presidential nominee for the Republican Party? Who is his running mate? Why are the world press so interested in the US presidential elections?
How do US politics affect your country / you personally?
Webquest
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You can watch a five minute video of Barack Obama speaking in Denver here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/29/uselections2008.democrats20082
You can also type Barack Obama Denver into YouTube to watch it there.