Obama blasts Bush’s ‘failed presidency’

Obama all but ignores racial milestone
One topic Obama did not directly address when he accepted the Democratic nomination shortly after 10 p.m. ET was the historic nature of his status as the first black major-party nominee for president. Only once, late in his speech, did he obliquely refer to the speech in 1963 when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

“It is that promise that 45 years ago today brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln’s Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream,” said Obama, who did not even mention King by name.

After three days of a Democratic National Convention that has relentlessly focused on Obama’s leadership abilities and policy proposals, it was left to others to note his shattering of a centuries-old racial barrier in American politics.

Obama even said less about his milestone than McCain, who was airing a new ad in battleground states Thursday night. In the ad, McCain looks into the camera and says, “Senator Obama, this is truly a good day for America.”

“Too often, the achievements of our opponents go unnoticed. So I wanted to stop and say, ‘Congratulations.’ How perfect that your nomination would come on this historic day,” McCain says. “Tomorrow, well be back at it. But tonight, Senator, job well done.”

Jill Hazelbaker, the campaign’s deputy communications director, called the ad “very exciting,” adding in an interview on MSNBC: “I think that a lot of people are going to focus on it.”

Obama’s big night came on a day few might have imagined decades ago, when King fought for civil rights. Obama was just 2 years old when King addressed a sea of people on the National Mall in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.

King “would be very pleased and proud of what the Democratic Party and our nation is on the brink of doing,” Martin Luther King III, the civil rights leader’s eldest son, said in an interview with MSNBC.

“I feel that he and my mother are looking down today with a great big smile on their faces.”

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine called it “one of those moments where, no matter how you assess it, America is moving far from where it’s ever been.”

Gore, Kaine go after McCain
Former Vice President Al Gore, the Democrats’ nominee in 2000, warmed up the crowd with an attack on McCain.

“Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them,” Gore said.

“The same policies all over again? Hey, I believe in recycling, but that’s ridiculous,” Gore said.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who was widely reported to have been on Obama’s vice presidential short list, called McCain a captive of “the special interests and Washington lobbyists.”

He said Obama would provide “leadership that answers to us,” saying Obama would “put middle-class Americans first again and reward companies who create jobs in America instead of shipping them overseas” and end the war in Iraq.

GOP readies ticket
McCain, meanwhile, was set to announce his running mate Friday, campaign officials told NBC News, in hopes of curbing any bump in the polls Obama might get as he and his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, begin a three-day bus tour of battleground states that starts in Pennsylvania.

McCain’s pick was expected to join him at a campaign appearance Friday in Dayton, Ohio, the officials said. Like Obama’s, the campaign also planned a rally in Pennsylvania, on Saturday; both campaigns see Pennsylvania as an important battleground.

McCain was keeping his selection a close secret, but speculation coalesced around Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Pawlenty was in Denver on Thursday morning as part of a Republican team criticizing Democrats, but later in the day, he canceled all media appearances and left town.

Pawlenty deflected all questions about the possibility of being McCain’s vice presidential pick. As to his immediate plans, Pawlenty said: “I am scheduled to be in Minnesota tomorrow to be at the State Fair.”

Tom Costello, Savannah Guthrie, Mark Murray  and Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News; Norah O’Donnell of MSNBC; and NBC affiliate KUSA-TV of Denver contributed to this report.

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