Obama: 'Restore our moral standing'

DENVER -- In a speech filled with promises of generational change and a better America, Barack Obama has accepted the Democratic nomination for president.

Obama, speaking to more than 84,000 cheering people in a crowded football stadium, called for a renewal of the American spirit.

"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," Obama will say, according to an advance copy of his speech released by his campaign.

"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 policies of George W. Bush," he said.

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

The first African American to win a major party's presidential nomination, Obama spoke on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. The 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," Obama said.

In the address, Obama promised to cut taxes for most Americans — not mentioning that he wants to raise them on a small percentage of high-income taxpayers. He also promised to end the war in Iraq, overhaul the nation's energy policy and "restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom."

"Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves," he said.

"Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work."

His fall rival, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain, was a regular target of criticism.