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Democrats to celebrate Obama's 'landmark' nomination with grand spectacle
By Reuters
Tags: John McCain, Democratic Party 

Democrats prepared a grand spectacle on Thursday to celebrate the historic presidential nomination of Barack Obama, who will take the party reins with a speech that spells out his vision for change in America.

Obama, the first black presidential nominee of a major U.S. party, will deliver the address in Denver's open-air football stadium before 75,000 supporters on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech - a landmark in the U.S. civil rights movement.

The televised speech by Obama, who was formally nominated on Wednesday, will give the first-term Illinois senator his biggest national audience until he meets Republican rival John McCain in late September in the first of three face-to-face debates before the Nov. 4 election.
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Obama will speak from an elaborate stage backed by Greek columns, a grand setting some Democrats fear could distract from his economic message and feed Republican criticism that he is more political celebrity than man of the people.

Obama spokesman Bill Burton shrugged off the grumbling and said the rally would be a useful organizational tool. "Am I concerned? No, I feel great about this opportunity," he told Fox News.

In an unannounced appearance in the hall at the end of Wednesday's national convention program, Obama said he shifted the event to the football stadium as a tribute to the grass-roots energy of his supporters.

"We want to open up the convention to make sure that everybody who wants to come can join in the party," said Obama, 47, who appeared on stage after the acceptance speech of his newly minted running mate, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

National conventions are often the first time voters start to pay attention to a presidential race. Opinion polls show many voters are still unfamiliar with Obama and concerned about his readiness for the job.

Republicans, who hold their own convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, next week to nominate McCain, 71, hammered on their theme that Obama is unprepared and his soaring speeches mask a lack of substance.

"The question for Obama is 'What have you done and what have you run?'," Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible running mate for McCain, said on ABC's Good Morning America. "He has good oratory but when you shut off the teleprompter there's not much there," he said.

Speakers at the Democratic convention have addressed those concerns, led by rousing testimonials for Obama from former rival Hillary Clinton, her husband former President Bill Clinton and Biden.

"Barack Obama is ready to lead America and to restore American leadership in the world," Bill Clinton told flag-waving Democrats on Wednesday.

Obama is running even with McCain in most opinion polls, although a Gallup daily tracking poll on Thursday showed him beginning to get a bump from his convention and moving out to a 6-point advantage, up four points in one day.

The back to back-to-back nominating conventions will give voters a chance to compare and contrast. Obama's senior strategist, David Axelrod, told reporters the speech would focus on Obama's vision for the country's future.

"He's going to lay out a case for change. He's going to set the stakes of this election, the risks of continuing down the road we're on which is plainly what Senator McCain is offering," Axelrod said.

Democrats tie McCain's name to that of the unpopular President George W. Bush, whose eight years in power are associated with the Iraq war and an economic malaise.

Some Democrats have said Obama needs to be more specific about his priorities as president, and draw a sharp contrast with McCain. Axelrod said both elements would be included.

Republicans, hoping to draw attention from Obama, tried to build up anticipation over McCain's vice-presidential pick and a party official said on Wednesday McCain had made his choice.

McCain has said two men considered potential running mates would join him at a rally in Ohio on Friday, his 72nd birthday, when the announcement is expected - Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

If elected McCain would be the oldest first-term president to take office.

Obama was formally nominated on Wednesday in an emotional show of unity after Hillary Clinton, his vanquished rival, appeared on the convention floor to ask Democrats to suspend their roll call of the states and make Obama the nominee by acclamation.

Former Vice President Al Gore will speak to the convention before Obama on Thursday. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Hispanic, will also make an appearance. Hispanics are a fast growing segment of the U.S. electorate and a potentially vital voting bloc.

The last presidential candidate to accept the nomination in an open-air football stadium was John Kennedy, who spoke to the Democratic convention at the Los Angeles Coliseum before 80,000 supporters in 1960.

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  • Obama hits back, accuses McCain's top aides of ties to Iran
  • Bill Clinton backs Obama at convention, draws comparison with own campaign
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