Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president, mixing a soaring pledge to preserve the ``American promise'' with a sharp attack on John McCain's judgment on the war, the economy and support of George W. Bush.
In a moment full of history, the first black nominee of a major U.S. party told the crowd of more than 75,000 that he can fix the ``broken politics'' of Washington and end the ``failed policies'' of Bush. Against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains in Denver's Invesco Field, he forcefully answered McCain's charges that he's unprepared to handle national security.
``If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament and judgment to serve as the next commander-in- chief, that's a debate I am ready to have,'' Obama said, highlighting his own early opposition to the war in Iraq. ``John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.''
Obama, 47, used much of the speech to talk about what he characterized as his unlikely journey to the nomination. Speaking on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s ``I Have a Dream'' speech in Washington, Obama last night referenced that historic legacy by echoing King's words.
``America, we cannot turn back,'' Obama said. ``We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future.''
2004 Speech
Democrats had high expectations for the speech; it was Obama's keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 2004 that propelled him to prominence. In that speech, Obama brought the crowd to its feet declaring, ``There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; There's the United States of America.''
Last night, the Illinois senator combined lofty rhetoric with specific pledges, promising to cut taxes for working families and small businesses and end U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil in 10 years. He also took on his opponent with a passion that has sometimes been missing from stump speeches designed to hit largely positive notes.
``John McCain doesn't get it,'' Obama said. McCain subscribes to an ``old, discredited Republican philosophy'' that rewards the rich and leaves others worse off, he said. ``It's time for them to own their failure,'' Obama said. ``It's time for us to change America.''
90 Percent
Obama said McCain, an Arizona senator, voted for the president's positions 90 percent of the time.
``What does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush was right more than 90 percent of the time?'' Obama said. ``I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change.''
McCain, who turns 72 today, is set to accept his party's nomination at the Republican National Convention next week in St. Paul, Minnesota. His campaign took some of the attention away from the Democratic convention when officials confirmed that McCain will announce his running mate sometime today.
McCain himself offered a temporary suspension to the campaign hostilities in a new television advertisement released just before Obama spoke.
``Too often the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed,'' McCain said in the ad. ``So I wanted to stop and say, congratulations. How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day. Tomorrow, we'll be back at it. But tonight, senator, job well done.''
`Not Ready'
As Obama was concluding his speech, however, McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds issued a statement. ``Tonight, Americans witnessed a misleading speech that was so fundamentally at odds with the meager record of Barack Obama,'' Bounds said. ``The fact remains: Barack Obama is still not ready to be president.''
Obama's speech addressed critics by offering specifics, a window into his personal life and tough challenges to McCain, said Rogan Kersh, a public service professor at New York University. Kersh said he counted 28 policy prescriptions.
``It's not yet clear whether he passes the `presidential' sniff test for undecided voters, but he took a long stride in that direction,'' Kersh said.
Obama formally became his party's standard bearer on Aug. 27. His former rival, Hillary Clinton, moved to nominate him by acclamation after her name was placed in nomination along with his for the party roll call.
Obama paid homage to Clinton early in his speech, saying she served as ``an inspiration to my daughters and yours.''
Stadium
Supporters began streaming into the stadium seven hours before Obama began his speech. His campaign turned it into a high-tech organizing seminar, asking supporters to text-message the Democratic National Committee. It was part concert, with Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder among others performing, and it was part Fourth of July celebration, with fireworks exploding over the stadium after Obama spoke.
During a brief appearance the previous day at the Pepsi Center arena, where the bulk of the convention took place, Obama said he decided to move the event to Invesco Field to include more people because ``change starts from the bottom up.''
The risk was that McCain's campaign might use images of the huge venue to press its description of Obama as more a ``celebrity'' than a leader.
`Enough!'
Obama addressed that line of attack by recounting the struggles faced by his grandmother, who helped raise him, and the laid-off workers he assisted on Chicago's South Side.
``I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine,'' he said.
Throughout the speech, Obama linked McCain to Bush and Republican policies that he said were responsible for the declining fortunes of American workers.
``Tonight, I say to the people of America, to Democrats and Republicans and independents all across this great land, enough!'' Obama thundered. ``This moment -- this election -- is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. We are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight.''
Obama tied that promise to his own family, saying his parents, a Kenyan man and a white woman from Kansas, ``shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.'' He said he became the Democratic nominee because Americans are looking for a different kind of politics.
``I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring,'' Obama said. ``You have shown what history teaches us -- that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.''
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