Obama adds detail, knocks McCain in rousing convention speech

DENVER – Illinois Sen. Barack Obama hit all the marks supporters were hoping for in has acceptance speech of the Democratic presidential nomination, energizing a party that appeared to find unity at this week’s convention.

Despite the arena setting of Invesco Field, Obama connected with a raucous audience of 84,000 and managed to both build his own case for the presidency by adding some details on his economic and foreign policy plans while also attacking the policies of his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain.

Giving more details of his plans if elected, Obama renewed a promise to end the Iraq war, end U.S. dependency on Middle Eastern oil in 10 years and to cut taxes most working families.

Obama’s speech was personal, touching on his relationship with his mother and grandparents and how they shaped his outlook on life. It was political in that he continued to walk the line and show respect for McCain’s character and service to country, but saying that McCain’s policy stances were fair game and “wrong.”

“Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans,” Obama said. “I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?”

Obama also played on the same “change” theme his campaign has revolved around, yet used a tried and true promise of politicians everywhere – to eschew partisan politics.

“The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook,” Obama said. “ So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.”

The only person who came close to getting the same amount of applause for his speech was during the “common man” segment of the evening. This is when the party sends some hand picked “Average Joe’s” out to say why they are voting for someone.

Barney Smith of Marion, Indiana brought the crowd to their feet when he said, “Republicans talk about putting ‘country first,’ but tell that to Marion, Indiana. They sent my job overseas. America can't afford more of the same. We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys.”

Obama also went right at the policy differences he has with many conservative Democrats in states like Tennessee, saying there can be a middle ground.

“We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country,” Obama said. “The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang- violence in Cleveland, but don't tell me we can't uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination. Passions fly on immigration, but I don't know anyone who benefits when a mother is separated from her infant child or an employer undercuts American wages by hiring illegal workers. This too is part of America's promise - the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.”

In a preview of what is almost sure to come next week at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, a McCain spokesperson returned fire in a statement issued to national media, striking a contrast between McCain’s long record in the Senate and Obama’s relatively short tenure.

"Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama,” McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds said. “When the temple comes down, the fireworks end, and the words are over, the facts remain: Senator Obama still has no record of bipartisanship, still opposes offshore drilling, still voted to raise taxes on those making just $42,000 per year, and still voted against funds for American troops in harm's way. The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be President."

(Executive Editor Clint Brewer contributed to this story.)