It’ll knock plenty of socks off…but is it enough? Do the following words and paragraphs really ene dup winning this election for Obama? That is not a given.

Love the excerpts.

“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.

“It is that promise that has always set this country apart – that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

“It is why I stand here tonight.  Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women – students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors — found the courage to keep it alive.

“We meet at one of those defining moments – a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

“Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less.  More of you have lost your homes and more are watching your home values plummet.  More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay and tuition that is beyond your reach

“These challenges are not all of government’s making.  But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency of George W. Bush.

“America, we are better than these last eight years.  We are a better country than this.�

***
“This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive.  Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third.  And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight.  On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.�

“Now let there be no doubt.  The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect.  And next week, we’ll also hear about those occasions when he’s broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

“But the record’s clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time.  Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than ninety percent of the time?  I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.�

***
“You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

“We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put away a little extra money at the end of each month so that you can someday watch your child receive her diploma.  We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President – when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

“We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job – an economy that honors the dignity of work.

“The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great – a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.�

***
“That’s the promise we need to keep.  That’s the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.
.
“Change means a tax code that doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

“Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship our jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

“I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

“I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all working families.  Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

“And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

“Washington has been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them.  In that time, he’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels.  And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.
“Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution.  Not even close.

“As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power.  I’ll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America.  I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars.  And I’ll invest $150 billion over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.�

***
“We are the party of Roosevelt.  We are the party of Kennedy.  So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country.  Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe.  The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans  — Democrats and Republicans – have built, and we are to restore that legacy.
“As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm’s way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

“I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.  I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts.  But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.  I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease.  And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.�

How much will the grand stage and Greek columns and general aura of a mammoth stadium diminish Obama’s stated goal of tonight’s long-awaited speech to “communicate (with) middle-class families…”?

The idea of putting the Dem nominee with a “elitist” image problem on an immense and lavishly decorated platform in the middle of a football stadium may seem just silly to most people. But the McCain campaign and all conservatives are pouncing on this seeming gaffe, labeling it as proof that Obama is everything from amazingly “put of touch” to an emerging egocentric dictator who will destroy democracy. That’s bad.

The Obama team has apparently received the message loud and clear, and after having the huge stage assembled a few days ago, construction workers are going about toning down the awe-inspiring backdrop at Mile High and ripping out the most lavish of the, well, lavish decorations.

The Greek columns now symbolize a building in Washington, TV camera angles will be tweaked to portray Obama as being “in” the crowd instead of dozens of feet away and above the delegates on the field.

On Thursday afternoon, workers were still making changes to Invesco Field, home to the Denver Broncos, so it would feel more intimate, less like the boisterous rallies that served Mr. Obama so well early in the primaries, but also created the celebrity image that dogs him. (Wary of the field’s corporate-sounding name, Obama campaign spokespeople and surrogates were referring to it with the name of the stadium it replaced, Mile High.)

They were still testing camera angles to the very end, so Mr. Obama would appear among the giant crowd, not above it. They took steps to reduce the echo effect, familiar to football fans, of speaking in such a cavernous space. Planners scrapped their idea to turn the audience of 75,000 into a giant phone bank, in response to fears that the cellphone system would crash (people will instead be asked to text-message friends and neighbors to support the campaign, program aides said would be effective nonetheless.)

And workers put the finishing touches on the backdrop: faux columns intended to suggest a federal building in Washington and create an air of stateliness. (The McCain campaign named it the Temple of Obama, a label repeated by some commentators.)

Mr. Obama had shared his rationale for the move when he took the stage at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday night. “We’re going to be moving to Mile High Stadium tomorrow, and I want to let you know why,� he said. “We want to open up this convention to make sure that everybody that wants to come can join in the party and join in the effort to take America back.�

This stage snafu is less of a major controversy than perhaps a disturbing metaphor for Obama’s big speech tonight. Will Obama be able to tear away the lofty rhetoric that he wields so well and that shot him up the political depth chart in record time? Can he really deliver a speech tonight that makes voters forget about the backdrop or Obama’s past speeches and make them believe that he really does understand their problems and has plenty of substance to “deliver”?

Or maybe the entire thing will come across as fake as the “temple” behind Obama when he walks across the stage in Denver.

Highlights from, well, you know the drill…

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Video & Remarks
The Honorable Howard Dean
Former Governor of Vermont
Chair of the Democratic Party

Video & Remarks: Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King
The Honorable John Lewis
Member of the US House of Representatives, Georgia
Rev. Bernice King
Daughter of the late Dr. King
Martin Luther King III
Oldest son of the late Dr. King

The Honorable Bill Richardson
Governor, New Mexico

Live Performances
will.i.am
Accompanied by John Legend (piano), Agape Choir, and band

Sheryl Crow
Singer/songwriter

8:00 PM – 9:00 PM

The Honorable Mark Udall
Member of the US House of Representatives, Colorado

The Honorable Tim Kaine
Governor of Virginia

Live Performance
Stevie Wonder   

Remarks
The Honorable Al Gore
Former Vice President of the United States

9:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Susan Eisenhower
Granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower

Remarks
The Honorable Dick Durbin
US Senator, Illinois

10:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Video/Remarks
SENATOR BARACK OBAMA
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Adjournment
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Permanent Chair, Democratic National Convention

• Momentum has finally pushed the Democratic Convention into high gear, with last night’s knockout speeches from Bill Clinton and Joe Biden and the painless roll call vote framing what the new Dem storyline will be coming out of Denver: The party is publicly unified, Barack Obama is prepared to be commander-in-chief, and that opposition to John McCain will be much more fierce and consistent (”More of the same!”) than anything we’ve seen since the end of the primary. What some perceived as a shaky beginning on Monday has suddenly shifted to become as good of a convention as the Obama campaign could hope for. This week in Colorado may end up meaning nothing to voters. McCain could blow folks away with a surprise Veep and continue punching Obama over the celebrity factor. But nothing that happened at the DNC (so far) will be blamed for any potential troubles ahead for the campaign or future defeat for Obama. And the Clintons are finally off the hook (again, so far). Will we all now stop lavishing them with more coverage than the Dem nominee and McCain combined?

• Embarrassing and potentially devastating verbal gaffes are always possible come October or some other date, but Joe Biden has already proved that can at least be a solid attack dog for Obama and will have no second thoughts about taking on his friend John McCain during this election. His headliner speech was surely overshadowed by Bill Clinton’s rock star moment earlier, but Biden still managed to put together a speech that all running mates are expected to give; something that hammers the opponent while also laying out an emotional personal background story that ties in to the greater theme of the ticket. Biden did that on Wednesday. He occasionally hearkened to the broad, more grandiose themes of the Obama campaign- just to show that he could do it, but his real talent was in presenting a tough and feisty shell for himself and the campaign, sprinkling in some of his favorite Scranton/working-class sayings in making it clear that McCain will be hit hard. Joe Biden is performing as advertised.

• All attention now focuses on Obama’s acceptance speech at Mile High tonight, the crescendo of the convention and the first event in this campaign that has the power to dramatically affect the outcome (no, not the VP pick). The debates are more important simply because there are three of them and they’re still ahead of us, but tonight’s speech provides Obama the chance to set the tone for the rest of the campaign and lay out that desperately needed retooled vision that his campaign has been pushing so hard. The esteemed Dan Balz writes that Obama must cut the cord on McCain’s “celebrity” attack theme  - and face head-on the similar concerns of swing voters - by making the case that this election is less about him and more about the general idea and ideals of change and turning the tide on the ills sapping the country’s strength (voters buy that). That specific tone could also be digested as bordering on arrogance - more of the “symbol” talk opens doors for negative ads. General consensus on the speech is that it has to lay out a good contrast between Obama and McCain while also presenting the Dem nominee as someone who has been humbled by the campaign and is ready to lead with others - not to simply lead others.

• Plenty of mixed signals on the McCain Veepstakes front. After a half-week in which McCain himself admitted that he had settled on a running mate and then his campaign concurred anonymously, and a week when the date for the Veep announcement was pushed up and then back and then back again, (whew…) we have more confusion on the matter thanks to the good Senator. Asked about some insider buzz that an event in Pennsylvania this Saturday that features McCain along with Ridge and Romney is proof that one of them is his final choice, McCain casually remarked that he didn’t know the answer because “I haven’t decided yet.” So know JMac backtracks and either lies or admits that he doesn’t have a Veep. This no doubt fuels speculation that Joe Lieberman is the real target and that the campaign is working behind the scenes to calm down evangelicals who are sure to be enraged if Joe is the pick. And now we hear that n announcement tomorrow is again the plan. Talk about a roller coaster…

• Take this for what it’s worth: Tim Pawlenty, long a Veep contender but recently pushed off the media’s short list for McCain, has been one of the more vocal GOP first responders on the ground at the Dem convention in Denver this week. He has personally appeared at press conferences and on TV multiple times to do rapid response opposing the latest “outrage” coming from the Pepsi Center. He has been especially harsh on Obama himself and the Clinton storyline, calling Obama “weak” and the Clintons “hypocrites.” Too late for this audition to make a difference?

• More proof that McCain has a dangerous enthusiasm gap with the Democrats comes in the form of reports that the GOP nominee’s mega-rally (well, it was supposed to be) in Dayton, Ohio tomorrow - where he may unveil his running mate - is far from sold out and that the campaign has been forced to drop off thousands of tickets for free distribution at local GOP offices and, some reports say, they are even handing them out on the streets.

More highlights from tonight’s Denver convention lineup.

7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

The Honorable Harry Reid
US Senator, Nevada
Senate Majority Leader

The Honorable Patrick Murphy
Member of the US House of Representatives, Pennsylvania
Joined by Iraq war veterans

The Honorable Madeleine Albright
Former Secretary of State

The Honorable Evan Bayh
US Senator, Indiana

The Honorable Jack Reed
US Senator, Rhode Island

The Honorable Tom Daschle
Former US Senator and Senate Minority Leader, South Dakota

9:00 PM - 10:00 PM

The Honorable Bill Clinton
Former President of the United States

The Honorable John Kerry
US Senator, Massachusetts

The Honorable Bill Richardson
Governor of New Mexico

Veterans Video and Remarks

The Honorable Chet Edwards
Member of the US House of Representatives, Texas
10:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Tammy Duckworth
Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs
Helicopter pilot and wounded Iraq war veteran

Vice Presidential Nomination
Remarks and nominating speech
Seconding speech

Vice Presidential Nominee
The Honorable Senator Joe Biden
US Senator, Delaware

You could say that the entire Democratic Convention comes down to tonight’s speech by Hillary and tomorrow’s potential shocker from Bill; two nights at a convention again dominated by the Clintons, even when both aren’t even close to being on the winning Dem ticket. The wild stories of PUMA’s and threats of disruption from bitter Hillary supporters may be overblown to a degree, but tonight’s speech from their leader will be the moment that is most vital to the success of Barack Obama this November.

Hillary will be speaking to her own fan base but also the moderates out there, the swing voters enamored with the successful economies under Bill in the ’90’s yet unsure about this new Democratic face leading the ticket this time around. Throw out any implications concerning her voters and how they will leverage their support and Hillary’s moment tonight is still a moment that allows Obama’s message to be delivered to independents, moderate and women who admire her for what she is (even though she is to the left of Obama on lots of issues) and what she has done - and see Obama as a candidate who brings them not comfort, only questions. Hillary can speak to them and help soothe those fears.

But Hillary will mainly be directing her moment at those aforementioned PUMA’s, the supporters - like the moderates and Rust Belters who seem to control the fate of this election - who don’t want anything to do with the Obama campaign, whether out of spite or uncontrollable disappointment or real concerns about issues and character.

But don’t look for any sign of how Hillary will handle her fan base or how she wants to remembered from this campaign and for her entire political career from the actual contents of her speech. The speech itself will be spot-on and everything any good Democrat or Obama adviser (Axelrod calls Hillary’s speech “perfect” after seeing and advanced copy) is desperate to see after a summer of party rancor. She will bash McCain and praise Obama and tell her 18 million that the future is what matters now . And she will acknowledge that those 18 million votes command respect and emanate success for her and her campaign. But it won’t mar the solid message of the text of her speech.

The text. Only that is a sure-thing at this moment. The spoken words will be “perfect.” The tone? Well…

It will be a pundit’s dream to parse Hillary’s body language, her  facial expressions, the timing if her applause line…that very important tone. Those are the factors that will define the speech. Those are the indicators being looked at by her delegates, by those 18 million that apparently still love her enough to abandon their party (and, the Obama campaign will say, their future). It’s a form of code that will express what we all like to think are Hillary’s true wishes.

How much does she emphasize her primary success? Will she make particularly forceful intonations as she encourages her supporters to be active in their embrace of Obama? Will she do what it takes to convince us all that she is truly authentic in her appeals for order and unity within the party?  Will she…

It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for.

M.P.  

Highlights from this evening’s scheduled slate of speakers at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

The Honorable Ed Rendell
Governor of Pennsylvania

The Honorable Tammy Baldwin
Member of the US House of Representatives, Wisconsin

John Sweeney
President of the AFL-CIO

The Honorable Rahm Emanuel
Member of the US House of Representatives, Illinois

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius
Governor of Kansas

The Honorable Robert Casey, Jr.
US Senator, Pennsylvania

The Honorable Mark Warner
Governor of Virginia
Remarks

The Honorable Deval Patrick
Governor of Massachusetts

9:02 PM – 10:04 PM

The Honorable Brian Schweitzer
Governor of Montana

Hillary Clinton Segment - Video/Remarks

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
US Senator, New York

• Despite the outside reaction to last night’s opening dialogue at the Democratic Convention, with many pundits calling the proceedings weak and too soft on McCain, the Dem crowd inside the Pepsi Center was fired up be the power-packed trio of Nancy Pelosi, Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama. Their speeches set the tone for the overwhelming effort to bring about party unity and convince the Hillary faction in Denver to quiet down and back Obama for the good of the party. The surprise appearance by Ted Kennedy especially made a mark on the delegates and Dem in attendance. His powerful - if laborious - comments about keeping “the dream” alive with Barack Obama at the head of the Democratic Party was a strong argument for the Clinton activists to put aside any lingering primary anger and coalesce behind the true nominee. But is that necessary theme of unification going to overshadow attempt to contrast McCain and Bush with the platform of Obama and the Dems?

• Frustration is sure to set in for the Obama camp as the Clintons prepare to take over the convention for the next two days. With Obama himself absent and the media going crazy with the Hillary supporters storyline, Hillary and Bill have hijacked the coverage and are even being pegged by some as saviors of the convention and of the Obama campaign. With the opening night relegated to image makeovers and soothing feelings inside the party, it will be up to the Clintons to use their speaking slots to not only convince her fan base to switch allegiances before November but also to hit hard against McCain and the Republicans as only those two can do. Red meat is being hoped for from the two speeches, and they’re being pegged as the cure to turn around what could be a Denver dud. Can Hillary step out of the way and start the turnaround for Obama tonight?

• But some Democrats on both sides of the party divide are still “seething” at perceived slights and insults from either the Clintons or the Obama campaign. Emotions are running high among the close advisers to each group and are only being stoked further by events in Denver. Some furor erupted as Bill Clinton expressed his displeasure with being given a speaking slot out of prime time and on a night dedicated to national security and foreign policy. No surprise that the former president is disgruntled with that decision from the Obama camp that takes him away from his favorite issue to talk about - the economy. When Obama himself responded that Bill could “talk about whatever he wants,” Clinton backers were even more enraged, viewing that off-the-cuff remark as disrespectful and threatening to create  convention floor distractions after Bill speaks on Wednesday. Publicly, all is well between the two camps. But even Obama supporters are now disgusted at not only the acrimony from the grass roots Hillary base, but also with the lukewarm support for Obama shown by Bill and Hillary. Their speeches are still, at their core, all about unification and convincing their backers to move on.

• Worries about the level of loud opposition to McCain and the Republicans coming out of the convention may be forcing the Obama campaign and the DNC to tweak the message of the remaining speakers the next three nights. While the storyline leading up to Denver was the need to redefine Obama as a safe choice for voters and someone with an All American family and patriotic values, initial concerns over the level of contrast with McCain and George Bush from the Dems is beginning to force movement within the campaign. Party insiders are promising “major” attacks on McCain’s credibility and efforts to link him to Bush  from nearly every speaker in prime time until the end of the convention. Some feel that what Michelle did last night and what Obama himself will drive home during his acceptance speech will be enough to soften the character image and answer the questions about Obama’s values.

• Too much POW card from McCain? While the GOP and the McCain campaign lash out at Obama over purportedly playing the race card in this election, McCain himself could be overplaying his hand by bringing out the “POW card” in unseemly ways during his run. Last night on Leno was yet another example of perhaps going too far with the familiar Vietnam War prisoner storyline for the GOP nominee. Instead of responding with disarming humor when jokingly queried about the recent house controversy engulfing him, JMac went all serious on poor Leno.  Was it too much?

“You know, could I just mention to you, Jay, and a moment of seriousness. I spent five and a half years in a prison cell, without-I didn’t have a house, I didn’t have a kitchen table, I didn’t have a table, I didn’t have a chair. And I spent those five and a half years, because-not because I wanted to get a house when I got out.