Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama delivered the keynote address to the Democratic convention last night, and delegates and the media were mostly united in his praise. The AP reports, "Offering his own life as an example of uniquely American possibilities, Barack Obama — the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya — drew roars of approval from Democrats on Tuesday night, saying Americans must not allow 'spin masters and negative ad peddlers' to divide the country. . . .The energized crowd — some chanting his name — cheered the convention keynoter and waved blue-and-white Obama signs."
Reuters adds that Obama "has won rave reviews for his charisma and cross racial appeal." The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports this morning, "Keynote speakers are chosen both as symbols and convention tone-setters, and Barack Obama filled the bill on both counts." The Dallas Morning Newsadds Obama is "already being touted as a future national hopeful."
The New York Times reports that Obama "told a classic American story of immigration, hope, striving and opportunity. He did not speak of race or civil rights or a struggle for equality. He did not speak, as the Rev. Jesse Jackson did so passionately in 1996, of the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a black America still in despair. Instead, Mr. Obama, a black state senator from Illinois who is running for the United States Senate, spoke of 'one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.'"
The Washington Times reports that Obama "received superstar treatment from the press this week as the convention's keynote speaker. His speech last night gave little indication of Mr. Obama's politics — which Illinois Republicans have called radical left wing — but in keeping with the night's theme, he talked about a unified America, attempting to reach out to Republicans and independents and denouncing the idea of red and blue states."
Prior to the speech, all three networks aired stories on Obama during their nightly newscasts. ABC reported that Democrats "could have picked someone more famous for tonight's speech, but the pros saw something special in Barack Obama." CBS called him "one of the party's best hopes in the battle for control of the US Senate."
