Between them, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden, two white-haired Washington veterans, certified tonight that the new man is ready to move America ahead and handed him the keys to do it.
Clinton, in full-hearted endorsement, declared, "Clearly, the job of the next president is to rebuild the American dream and to restore American leadership in the world...Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job...
"Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States."
To underscore his point, the former President noted that "Republicans said I was too young and too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief. Sound familiar? It didn't work in 1992, because we were on the right side of history. And it will not work in 2008, because Barack Obama is on the right side of history."
Biden, as Obama's partner on the journey, after acknowledging "a friendship that goes beyond politics" with John McCain, said, "But I profoundly disagree with the direction John wants to take this country, from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Amtrak to veterans."
As a good running mate should, Biden ran through a litany of foreign policy and domestic issues to show that "Again and again, John McCain has been wrong, and Barack Obama is right."
To cap off the evening of validation, Obama made a surprise appearance to hug Biden surrounded by four generations of his family as the Clintons and Michelle Obama beamed from the balcony.
The three-night unity show has set the stage for Obama's performance tomorrow night before a live audience of 70,000 but intended mainly for millions of TV viewers, many of whom will be paying serious attention for the first time. The opening acts have done their job well.
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