Obama's life story, Kennedy top opening night

[August 25, 2008]  DENVER (AP) -- Opening night at the Democratic National Convention will reintroduce Barack Obama to voters, and no one knows him better than the evening's featured speaker, his wife Michelle.

The Obama campaign also hoped for a surprise appearance by ailing Democratic icon Edward Kennedy, although it could upstage Michelle Obama's prime-time address. A video tribute is planned, and Kennedy's son Patrick said it's possible the senator could make it if his doctors approve.

"If he's up to it in the 11th hour and can get the green light from doctors, he might be able to pull it off," Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., said Sunday. The elder Kennedy, 76, has had surgery for a malignant brain tumor and undergone a lengthy course of chemotherapy and radiation.

Officially, the Monday convention program is themed "One Nation."

The presentation, according to a Democratic news release, "will highlight Barack Obama's life story, his commitment to change, and the voices of Americans calling for a new direction for this country."

Among those voices will be former Iowa GOP Rep. Jim Leach, whose speech is designed to illustrate Obama's appeal to Republicans and independents.

Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., women who took some political chances in endorsing Obama over primary rival Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., will try to bring Clinton loyalists around to Obama.

Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, will also speak in a program that will detail to voters Obama's upbringing by a single mother, his days as a community organizer, and his rise in politics.

With Obama coming under daily assault from Republicans as a celebrity with a thin resume to be president, Democrats hope the warm introduction will boost his appeal to independents and swing voters, and reinforce his image as the candidate of change.

The "one Nation" theme, said Obama campaign spokesman Josh Earnest, will "demonstrate the breadth of our party and the different kinds of people who make up our country and have found a home in the Democratic party because it represents their values."

[Associated Press; By ANDREW TAYLOR]

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