A Convention Outsider Moves to Center Stage

Convention will seek to define candidate and attack McCain

(NEWSER) - The Democratic convention opens tonight, not quite the coronation envisioned only a month ago as twitchy party grandees push Barack Obama to make his case forcefully to a still-skeptical electorate—using the spotlight to draw the strongest possible distinctions between himself and John McCain. "The stakes of this election will be made very clear," chief strategist David Axelrod promised the New York Times. More»

Congressional hopeful rips off 2004 DNC speech

(NEWSER) - A congressional candidate from Idaho has the backing of Sarah Palin but a taste for the rhetoric of Barack Obama. A fellow Idaho Republican—not even an opponent, but a candidate for state senate—has released an attack ad contrasting Vaughn Ward's announcement of his candidacy with then-state senator Obama's career-making speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, reports the Washington Post . More»

Favorite phrase—'Let me be clear'—now signals grim determination

(NEWSER) - One of President Obama's longest-running, most-used rhetorical standbys is the earnest phrase "let me be clear." It cropped up in his national debut speech at the 2004 convention, was deployed throughout the campaign, and continues. But let me be clear—Obama's use of the phrase has changed. During the campaign, he used it to cut through his sometimes heady rhetoric and drive a point home: his opposition to the Iraq war, his faith that America was "ready" for a black president. More»

(NEWSER) - Four years after Barack Obama’s keynote speech won him nationwide acclaim, the New Republic looks at how he landed the fateful speaking slot at the party convention. The pick was unprecedented because Obama was largely unknown—he wasn't even in the Senate—and he had never given a speech of such magnitude. But he was generating positive buzz, including a photo spread in Time, and he dovetailed nicely with Kerry's need to reach young black voters. More»

Dems risk rubbing out the candidate's authenticity: Brooks

(NEWSER) - As Barack Obama arrives in Denver, the once-buoyant candidate is being assailed with bad advice from all sides, writes David Brooks. From a Dukakis-style policy blitz to Michael Moore-ish pugilism, the suggestions for Obama's team are a "Greatest Misses compilation" of past failures. Obama knows what he should do, says the New York Times columnist: push on, stay authentic, and tune out "the phantasmagorical vapors of his own party." More»