Obama keynote hits magic chord

Hours after the self-described “skinny kid with a funny name” introduced himself to the nation, Obamania had set in. Barack Obama ...

Hours after the self-described “skinny kid with a funny name” introduced himself to the nation, Obamania had set in. Barack Obama owned the town. Ubiquitous and sought after, he whirled through ballrooms and meetings and was besieged by Democrats who wanted a moment of the time of the US Senate candidate from Illinois.

The day before, he had been a state senator from Chicago, bringing promise to Democrats who saw him as a likely vehicle to take back the Senate, having no Republican opponent. But then he delivered the keynote address to the Democratic convention, and his personal biography — son of a Black Kenyan father and White Kansan mother, raised by White grandparents in Hawaii, Harvard and Columbia educated, a lawyer and advocate for the poor — and his words of unity and hope brought some to tears and many to loud and long cheers. He used his biography to talk about America’s embrace of people of every culture and race: “There’s not a Black America and a White America and a Latino America and Asian America, there’s the United States of America,” he said.

Some political consultants said it was the best keynote address they had heard in years.

Story continues below this ad

On Wednesday, Obama could not walk around without being swarmed. He was, at mid-day, already running 40 minutes late for one of a day-long blitz of appointments. But then John Kornacki, the chaperone for a youth group, approached him and asked for a minute of his time. Obama allowed Kornacki to lead him into a chamber full of 165 high school student leaders spending the day learning about politics and government.

He needed no introduction. The students erupted, shouting and clicking cameras as the man they view as a comet of hope for the Democrats strode to the podium and delivered an impromptu talk urging them to stay in school, get involved. ‘‘You made their convention,’’ Kornacki whispered as Obama departed.

Obama delivered serious messages about ending racial and ethnic divisiveness, creating more jobs and providing health care, but the talks were laced with humour.

To the New York delegation, one of three he addressed on Wednesday: ‘‘A week ago people were calling me Alabama and Yo mama.’’

Story continues below this ad

As he moved through rooms, whispers followed: Maybe, perhaps, there had just passed the first Black president of the US. ‘‘Every baseball team and political party needs a great bench and rookies to be Alex Rodriguezes of the future,’’ said Mark Green, the former New York City public advocate. ‘‘He is our Alex Rodriguez.’’

As he made the rounds, shaking hands and signing autographs all along the way — at an evening reception for Congressional groups, some people shouted for him to stand on a chair so they could catch a better look — Obama rejected as ‘‘flattering’’ but ‘‘silly’’ any talk of him as a future president. He said his priority was winning the Senate eat. He believes that, while right now attention on him is at a fever pitch, ‘‘I think the fever will break.’’

He was still facing a meeting before an evening reception. But as an aide flipped through his schedule, Obama asked to shift course. ‘‘We got to skip some things,’’ he said. ‘‘I got to see my wife.’’ — NYT