Obama 'lives up to expectations'
2008-08-29 10:02
Denver - Supporters of Barack Obama found
the inspiration they were seeking in the Democratic nominee's
prime-time speech on Thursday but many Republicans said it only
compounded their concerns about him.
Phyllis Ring, 81, of Fort Collins, Colorado, watched the
speech from her wheelchair in the end zone of Denver's Invesco
football stadium. She said she found the speech "very, very
inspirational", adding: "It definitely lived up to my
expectations."
She was joined at the mass rally by her friend Alice
Buchholz, also 81, of Barrington, Illinois. "I thought it was
marvelous. He laid out what he is going to do. It's not going
to be easy but he is going to try."
The speech gave Obama an opportunity to state the case for
why he should be elected over Republican John McCain in
November to succeed President George W Bush.
Obama, who would be the first black American president,
delivered a hard-hitting address vowing to renew his vision of
the American Dream.
"Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility.
That's the essence of America's promise," he said.
Obama spoke to two audiences - the one in the stadium,
which was filled with passionate, flag-waving supporters as
well as curious onlookers - and millions more who tuned in to
watch on television.
Celebrity?
"Call him a celebrity? Call him an elitist?" said Betsy
Hyder, who watched the speech with her children at home in
Davis, California. "I see him as very Midwestern, pragmatic yet
generous."
Susan French, a Democrat who watched the speech in
Cincinnati, Ohio, said she was impressed by how forceful Obama
was, though she thought the speech could still leave him open
to attack.
"He did a great job addressing the areas where he has been
attacked: patriotism, his qualifications for the job and how he
plans to pay for all his ideas," she said.
"The over-the-top stadium show (surrounding the speech)
might help motivate his supporters but it might be playing into
the hands of his critics who try to paint him as a rock star
with no substance," she said.
But to many Republicans, the speech merely amplified many
of their concerns about the candidate who, at 47, would be one
of America's youngest presidents if elected on November 4.
"He described a chance to keep the American promise and he
made a lot of promises. He is the pied piper of promises," said
Mike Vanderboegh, of Pinson, Alabama.
"A government that is powerful enough to give you
everything you want can take everything you have," he said,
adding, "He is scarier than (former President Bill) Clinton
because he is arrogant and a true believer."
'Feel-good speech'
Bob Lindsey, a business owner in Birmingham, Alabama,
picked up on a frequent criticism of Obama - that little lies
behind the candidate's capacity to spin fine words.
"It was a feel-good speech. It made you think about
yourself and where you wanted the United States to go. It was
just him making you feel good for the purpose of him getting
elected," Lindsey said.
Obama put himself on the map when he delivered the keynote
address at the Democratic convention in 2004 and his capacity
to inspire Democrats with soaring oratory has proved
fundamental to his appeal since he launched his bid for the
nomination in February 2007.
But soaring oratory has brought its own pressures and one
of his challenges was to win over independent voters.
Matthew Steffey, a professor at Mississippi College, said
the speech's success was to tap into the economic discontent of
voters. "There was great resonance with his criticism of the
Bush administration and McCain's support for it," he said.