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07/14/2004:
"Obama to Give Keynote Speech at Dem Convention"
by Christopher Wills The Guardian UKSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Eager to showcase new faces at the party's national convention, Democrats have picked just about the newest face around to deliver the keynote address: Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama.
Obama could become only the fifth black senator in U.S. history. Tapping him to deliver the keynote address suggests the party sees a bright future for the 42-year-old law professor and state senator.
``What an extraordinary expression of confidence by the national party in his ability to command that stage,'' said David Wilhelm, the former head of the Democratic National Committee.
...Obama, whose father was black, has made a splash on the national scene since his March victory in the Illinois Senate primary, partly because he was able to win the support of many white voters as well as an overwhelming number of blacks.
``At a time when so much of our politics seems divided, the fact that, at least within the Democratic Party, we were able to pull together a broad-based coalition is encouraging to Democrats,'' he said Wednesday.
Obama often says he is part of the black community but not limited by it.
His father was from Kenya. He met Obama's mother, who was white, when both were students at the University of Hawaii. When Obama was 2, his father left the family and returned to Kenya, where he eventually became a senior economist in the Ministry of Finance.
Obama was raised, mostly in Kansas, by his late mother and grandparents. He graduated from Columbia University in New York and received his law degree from Harvard Law School. He became the first black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review and later worked as a civil rights lawyer and as a community organizer in New York and Chicago.full article
New Kerry Ads Aim at Black Voter Turnout: The Guardian UK
``...There are some subtle cues that we have tested that resonate with African-American voters,'' Morrison said. Such cues include the introduction of more African-American characters and a voiceover that is ``talking to us, not at us,'' he said...
"Kerry and Edwards:White America's Dream Team
