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Democrats Make History With Obama Nomination

Thursday August 28, 2008
Obama and Biden
Photo: Getty Images
There had been rumors that staunch Hillary Clinton supporters might force a Democratic Convention floor fight. Instead, when it was the state of New York's turn, Clinton herself made the motion from the floor to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation, suspending the traditional roll call vote.

She called on delegates to "declare together in one voice, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president." With that move, Clinton ended the longest, and perhaps closest, Democratic nomination battle in modern political history as the Democrats became the first major party to nominate an African-American to be president.

Subsequently, delegates confirmed Joe Biden, 65, as the party's Democratic vice presidential nominee. Then, surprise! An unscheduled visit from Obama capped off the evening.

In a convention marked by speech after speech, Biden was preceded by former President Bill Clinton. He acknowledged that "in the end, my candidate didn't win," but reiterated his support for Obama's candidacy, as Hillary Clinton did on Tuesday.

Biden did his best to counter his own remarks, made during the primary season and capitalized on by Republicans on Saturday, that questioned Obama's qualifications:

These times require more than a good soldier; they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change-the change everybody knows we need.

Barack Obama will deliver that change... Folks, remember when the world used to trust us? When they looked to us for leadership? With Barack Obama as our president, they'll look to us again, they'll trust us again, and we'll be able to lead again.

Obama will address delegates Thursday at the 75,000-seat Invesco Field (home of the Denver Broncos). He will then have to convince voters -- specifically independents -- that he has the experience to lead the nation, given his meteoric rise from an Illinois state legislator giving the convention keynote speech in 2004 to presidential candidate in 2008.

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