Barack Obama Makes Surprise Appearance After Joe Biden DNC Speech

Hillary Clinton Moved to Declare Obama Nominee

But some of the bitterness of the primary lingered in the convention hall before the main speeches Wednesday. Some attendees still expressed disappointment that Hillary Clinton wouldn't be the Democratic Party's official presidential nominee.

"I still feel like I lost something," Peggy Tanksley, a Clinton delegate from Ohio.

"I remember going through each and every one of those primaries thinking this one is going to push her over," she said. "No it's not, this one is going to push her over. ... No it's not. And so I think it was a continual process of being excited and anxious and let down ... excited, anxious, and let down."

The traditional state-by-state roll call went on until about 6:40 p.m. ET, just after the network newscasts had gone on the air on the East Coast.

The roll call included several delegates cast to Clinton, whose name was formally put into nomination even though she did not win the primary battle.

By previous agreement between the Obama and Clinton camps, the roll call was halted and Obama was nominated by acclamation.

Midway through the alphabetical roll call, New Mexico yielded the floor to Illinois, which had passed its turn previously so that the candidate's home state could be the final one to cast its vote. Illinois, represented by Chicago Mayor Bill Daley, then yielded to the state of New York "home of Hillary Clinton."

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And finally, the junior senator of New York, representing her state, moved to declare Obama the party nominee.

"I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the roll call vote, [that] all votes cast by the delegates will be counted, and that I move that Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States," Clinton said.

Earlier, Clinton officially "released" her delegates, clearing them to back Obama during the roll call vote. She did not tell them to do so formally, although she did just that informally in her speech before the convention Tuesday night.

"I am here today to release you as my delegates," she said. Loud boos were heard in the room, presumably from Clinton loyalists.

She added, to cheers, "I am not telling you what to do."

Clinton said she herself marked her ballot for Obama Wednesday morning.

"Many other people who sign their ballots will make a different choice," she said. "You are to be given the respect and recognition you have earned as delegates for the Democratic Party."

Democratic Speeches Focus on National Security

With the theme Wednesday of "Securing America's Future," many of the Democratic heavyweights who spoke at the convention touted Obama as ready to lead the country in a time of war.

Republicans have stepped up their efforts to paint Obama as an inexperienced celebrity who is "not ready to lead." And the message may be working: The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll showed McCain leading Obama by 2-1 margins as more knowledgeable on world affairs and as better-suited to be commander in chief.

Trying to reverse that, Bill Clinton argued the country needs Obama's ability to inspire people around the world.

"Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and restore America's standing in the world," he said. "Everything I learned in my eight years as president and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job."

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who was attacked by Republicans as a "flip-flopper" when he was the Democratic presidential candidate in 2004, issued a blistering attack on John McCain's positions and judgment on foreign policy and national security.

"Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Sen. McCain once denounced as immoral," Kerry said. "Candidate McCain criticizes Sen. McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Sen. McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.

"Let me tell you, before he ever debates Barack Obama," Kerry added, "John McCain should finish the debate with himself."

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright asked why Americans should trust Republicans to safeguard the nation's security.

"We cannot afford four more years like the past eight years -- policies that embolden our enemies, undermine our economy, and place an unfair burden on the heroes of our armed forces," she said. "John McCain asks that we trust Republicans to safeguard our national security -- to which we can only reply: Why would we?

"We need a president who is not wedded to 20th century thinking, who can forge a network of power and principle that will keep America strong and safe in the 21st century," she said. 

ABC News' Kate Snow, Matt Jaffe, Jake Tapper, Karen Travers, Teddy Davis, Tahman Bradley, Eloise Harper, Sunlen Miller, and Rick Klein contributed to this report.