[VIDEO + MP3] Obamapalooza: DNC Highlights from Invesco Field

VIDEO: Barack Obama, "The American Promise"

VIDEO: Obama: The Movie

VIDEO: Barney Smith, Not Smith Barney (or, for that matter, Barney Frank)


VIDEO: Al Gore at Invesco Field

VIDEO: McCain TV ad congratulates Obama

DOWNLOAD: Barack Obama, "The American Promise" (DNC August 28, 2008) [mp3] 

Below, David Bernstein is Twittering live from Invesco Field in Denver. Carly Carioli is blogging from the couch.

12:08 am: After all the talk, finally saw the McCain "thank you" ad (above) on CNN -- aired just after his press secretary said "no thank you" to the "he won't even follow Osama to the cave he lives in" line. Oopsie.

10:25 pm: Red State quotes unnamed McCain advisor -- Republican VP "more likely than not" is Pawlenty.  

10:20 pm: "We are a better country than this." 

10:19 pm: Bernstein via Twitter: Flashbulbs are going off around the stadium throughout the speech.

10:09 pm: While we're watching the most impressive political rally of our lifetimes, we are also looking out the corner of our eye for cues to McCain's VP. Earlier today, a Secret Service sweep of Romney's sister's house made him a brief favorite. Now Huffington Post is up with the story that Tim Pawlenty has cleared his schedule and been booked on Meet The Press this Sunday. Advantage: Pawlenty. OK, here's Barack . . .

9:46 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: The press LOVED the Barney Smith - Smith Barney joke 

9:44 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: These regular people speakers are freakin' brilliant -- especially right when the crowd is fired up for the big O

9:19 pm: Wish-I'd-Thought-of-That Dept: voters text-vote on their top election issue; Dems display in interactive Google map.

9:06 pm: For a new-media campaign, they sure do love them some fucking horrible old-people music. Democrats: we give you the best white Ray Charles impersonator American money can buy!

9:03 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: "Security presence visibly increasing."

9:03 pm: CNN: Invesco sold out, thousands waiting outside, fire marshall says final crowd may top 90,000. Obama camp may have given away 20,000 more tix than capacity 

8:50 pm: Gore's pocket version of the Inconvenient Truth speech: still one of the greatest booga-booga moments in American oratory.

8:47 pm: Love Al Gore, but did he just say that if he'd have been president, he would've captured Osama by now?  

8:23 pm: Obama's acceptance speech will end on a strong national-defence note: "I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing so that America is once more the last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future."

8:18 pm: According to advance text of speech, Obama to make a shocking, man-on-the-moon type promise: end US dependence on foreign oil within the next decade.

8:15 pm: New York Times has excerpts from Obama's speech: It begins: "Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story – of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

"It is that promise that has always set this country apart – that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well. . . . "

8:01 pm: My wife, a Hillary supporter who'd been grudgingly drifting towards Obama, says this . . . this is the final straw: making us sit through Sheryl Crow. "That's it, I'm officially voting for McCain."

7:40 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: "Don't know how will.i.am & john legend came across on TV, but it was moving in the stadium"

6:13 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: "That Hudson girl has some pipes, huh?"

6:08 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: "The Mass. delegation has the absolute worst seats of any state."

5:32 pm: Bernstein, via Twitter: "Everyone I talk to is stoked for Stevie Wonder -- he's scheduled for around 8:30 ET"