Senator Barack Obama’s wife Michelle on Monday pledged allegiance to the “blessing” of the American dream, as the Democratic convention opened in Denver.
On an emotional night, cancer-stricken liberal icon Senator Edward Kennedy meanwhile passed his dynasty’s torch of idealism to Obama, who will be anointed as party nominee tomorrow night.
Michelle Obama portrayed her husband as a crusader for justice and said his showdown with Republican Senator John McCain came at a pivotal moment in US history.
“I stand here today at the cross-currents of that history, knowing that my piece of the American Dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me,” she said.
And she paid a pointed tribute to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as rumors rumbled of discord between the two camps as the convention opened.
She lauded “people like Hillary Clinton, 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.”
As Stevie Wonder’s Isn’t She Lovely rang out after the speech, daughters Sasha and Malia blew kisses from the stage over a satellite link to their Dad.
“I love you Daddy,” Sasha, seven, said at the climax of the convention’s first night, watched by thousands in the arena and millions on TV.
Michele, 44, said she and her husband, were driven by a “simple belief” that the “world as it is just won’t do.”
“That is the thread that connects our hearts,” she said. “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.”
The Democrat hopeful told his daughters to look after their mom until he arrives in Denver tomorrow.
Local media, meanwhile, reported that police had arrested four men in connection with a possible plot to assassinate Obama at the stadium, but a federal prosecutor said there was no credible threat.
Kennedy made a surprise appearance at the political extravaganza, barely three months after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“This November, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans, so with Barack Obama, and for you, and me, our country will be committed to his cause,” Kennedy roared.
“The work will begin anew, the hope will rise again, and the dream lives on,” Kennedy said.
Earlier, Clinton made a fresh attempt to rally her millions of primary voters behind the Democratic presumptive nominee.
“Let there be no mistake about it, we are united,” Clinton said.
She was due to make a closely watched speech at the convention last night.
Meanwhile, Vice Legislative Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) yesterday led a legislative delegation to the US to observe the Democratic Party congress following an invitation from the National Democratic Institute.
He said that although the delegation might not be able to meet with Obama or his vice presidential choice Senator Joseph Biden it should be able to exchange ideas with Obama’s campaign aides.
Tseng dismissed media speculation that the delegation would touch on the issue of arms procurement during the talks.
The delegation, composed of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) and John Wu (吳志揚) and former National Security Council deputy secretary-general Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), is expected to spend five days in the US, Tseng said.
Another delegation led by Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) will leave for the US on Saturday to observe the Republican Party congress.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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