Kennedy, Obama rally Dems
DENVER -- Barack Obama "knows the thread that connects our hearts" and will work with others to "fight for the world as it should be," his wife said Monday as the Democratic National Convention closed its first night.
The address by Michelle Obama, 44, wrapped up a night that also featured an emotional tribute to Sen. Edward Kennedy. Her speech focused on two tracks: Barack Obama as a husband and father, and Barack Obama as a political leader.
"I come here today as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president," Michelle Obama said. "I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world. ...Their future – and all our children's future – is my stake in this election."
She said her husband "knows the thread that connects us – our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future – is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree."
The Obama family and their supporters are "driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do – that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be," Michelle Obama said.
"That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope," she said.
The Harvard-educated lawyer praised members of the military and their families, teachers and community service workers as people with "a simple belief … that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be."
She included Hillary Rodham Clinton in that group, her husband's former rival as someone "who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher."
After the speech, Barack Obama appeared via video link from Kansas City, where he is campaigning on his way to Denver. "How do you think she did?" he asked his 7-year-old daughter Sasha, who along with 10-year-old daughter Malia had joined her mother on stage. "I thought she did good," Sasha replied.
Michelle Obama was introduced by her brother, Craig Robinson, the men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. "I've watched Barack and Michelle stand by each other, and I know they'll stand by you, the American people, in the future," he said.
Her speech capped the first night of a convention that aimed to also featured an unscheduled speech from Kennedy. The Massachusetts senator, 76 and fighting brain cancer, urged delegates "to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States."
"So many of you have been with me in the happiest days and the hardest days. Together we have known success and seen setback, victory and defeat. But we have never lost our belief that we are called to a better country and a newer world," Kennedy said.
He called on Democrats to push for universal health care "as a fundamental right and not a privilege," and pledged "that I will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate."
"There is a new wave of change all around us, and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination — not merely victory for our party but renewal for our nation," Kennedy said. "The work begins anew. The hope rises again, and the dream lives on."
Convention officials didn't confirm until Monday that Kennedy would even attend — much less speak — at the tribute set for him on the convention's first night. His son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island, said the senator did not decide until Monday to give the speech.
"So many people were calling and asking for him," Patrick Kennedy said. "It was incredibly emotional."
"He's our guy!" said John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, who predicted that Kennedy's appeal for unity would end any lingering bitterness between followers of Obama and Clinton.
He was introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, who said her uncle had been "inspired all over again" by Obama."Their stories are very different, but they share a commitment to the timeless American ideals of justice and fairness, service and sacrifice, faith and family," she said. "Leaders like them come along rarely. But once or twice in a lifetime, they come along just when we need them the most."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the convention's first major address, using her time to outline differences between Obama and presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
Pelosi outlined a series of campaign issues, including the war in Iraq, health care and energy policy. Each time, Pelosi refrained: "Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong."
"The American people gave Democrats their confidence, and we have started to reclaim the American dream for all Americans," Pelosi said. "But our journey to take our nation in a new direction cannot be complete without new leadership in the White House."
Behind the scenes, Obama's representatives worked with Clinton's camp on a deal to give her some votes in the roll call for the nomination — but to then quickly end the process in a show of unanimous acclamation for Obama.
Clinton told her New York state delegation over breakfast Monday that it is time for Democrats to unite behind Obama.
Other speakers Monday included former Iowa congressman Jim Leach, a Republican who has endorsed Obama. "In troubled times, it was understood that country comes before party," Leach told the crowd, saying the Republican Party had drifted away from its traditional values.
Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, soon to be Obama's official running mate, arrived earlier Monday in Denver. He later appeared in the convention hall, talking to Democratic officials and delegates.
McCain was scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday. The Republicans open their own convention in one week in St. Paul.
Contributing: Rick Hampson, Martha T. Moore, Jill Lawrence, Susan Page, Richard Wolf, Kathy Kiely, William M. Welch, Alan Gomez and Randy Lilleston in Denver; Associated Press