Race Is Obama's To Win or Lose

DENVER — All throughout the week, strategists, analysts and pundits were chirping and complaining that the party's convention was too soft in the beginning by not blasting away at Sen. John McCain and President George W. Bush.

My CNN colleague James Carville, one of the chief architects of Bill Clinton's victory in 1992, was among those leading voices, believing that the Democrats didn't have a consistent message to counter the GOP.

Yet that was never the view that struck me. As the week developed, I began to view the proceedings much like a sprint relay, with the speeches of the speakers prior to Sen. Barack Obama's focused on staying in their lane and properly passing the baton to give their anchor leg a chance to finish strong and race to victory.

On Monday, Sen. Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama ran a good first leg by focusing on faith, family and values.

Tuesday brought the bipartisan focus of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, who was billed as the keynote speaker. But it was Sen. Hillary Clinton who was the main attraction of the night, and her call for healing of the Democratic base and uniting behind the Democratic nominee was vital to the party moving beyond the contentious battle between the Obama and Clinton camps. That speech, coupled with her putting Obama over the top during the roll call the next day, providing the opportunity for the Democrats assembled to put their differences aside and focus on winning the White House.

Leg two was solid.

Then came leg three, which was run by three speakers: Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who showed amazing fire and passion in his denunciation of Sen. John McCain and President Bush. He was followed by former President Bill Clinton, who made a strong case for backing Obama, even calling on his wife's 18 million supporters to put their full thrust behind the junior senator from Illinois. The hat trick was completed when Sen. Joe Biden spoke to the audience, and connected with them by virtue of his blue-collar roots.

Leg three, again, solid.

Then it came down to the anchor: Sen.

Barack Obama. Anyone who follows track and field knows that normally, the person running the last leg of a relay is seen as the strongest and fastest. If a race is tied, their job is to take a lead and grow it; pull a team ahead if they are behind; or if given a lead, blow away the competition in a race to win gold.

That was clearly Obama's task. He needed to deliver the most important speech of his political life, and to speak to the lingering questions from his critics and supporters. Among them:

- Were his values consistent with other Americans?

- Did he offer a vision, laden with specifics, to lead the nation?

- Was he patriotic?

- Did he have the gumption to fight back and hit McCain hard on the issues?

The stakes were raised even higher because he decided to move the final act to Invesco Field and speak before more than 75,000 delegates and supporters. When you make a move like that, you better deliver.

And, oh, he did.

The stadium was already electrified by the reality of the historic moment: the first black presidential nominee of a major political party, as well as his speech coming on the 45th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.

As my eyes panned across the massive stadium, all I could do was shake my head at witnessing an epic election event that had not been seen since then-Sen. John F. Kennedy held a similar acceptance speech at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1960.

Obama was firm and decisive, speaking to the pain Americans are going through because of the faulty economy, but also taking McCain on when it came to national security. He didn't back down, nor did he offer nuanced answers. He truly delivered a speech that will go down as one of the most important political addresses in recent history.

But with all its brilliance, this wasn't the finals. It was the preliminaries. He may have had an awesome showing, but he must continue to run harder and faster and stronger over the next 2 1?2 months if he truly wants to win the gold.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN contributor and the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at www.RolandSMartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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