Obama accepts Prez nomination, dares McCain

I DO: He emphasised his humble roots and cited the example of his grandparents.

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Denver: Obama compared himself to McCain on domestic and foreign policy in an impassioned speech before a cheering crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.

"If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have," he said.

He said he was able to lead the country into an era of change after what he called eight years of failed policies.

"America, we are better than these last eight years," he told supporters at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night in Denver Colorado. "This moment, this election, is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive."

Obama was greeted by tens of thousands of cheering supporters chanting "yes we can."

He emphasized his humble roots and the example of his grandparents' service to the nation and their family.

"I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine," he said. "These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States."

"We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans - Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are to restore that legacy," he said.

"The same party that brought two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will work for the third term. We are here because we love our country too much to let next four years be like last eight. Eight is enough," he added.

He brushed aside critiques from his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, accusing him of being out of touch.

"It's not because John McCain doesn't care. it's because John McCain doesn't get it," he said of economic problems facing the country.

Point by point, he addressed McCain's policies on the Iraq war, the economy, offshore drilling and health care, accusing him of pursuing the same policies as the Bush administration.

He also said his judgment was better on foreign affairs, accusing McCain of turning his sights to Iraq days after the September 11 attacks when resources and attention should have been on Afghanistan.

"John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell -- but he won't even go to the cave where he lives," he said to cheers.

"It's not that McCain doesn't care. It's more that he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle class as someone who earns less than $5 million a year? Why else would he propose tax breaks for big companies but none for ordinary people? Why else woould he introduce a health plan that taxes benefits, an education plan that doesn't help families pay for college or a plan that privatizes social security and makes it a gamble for retirement?" Obama asked his audience.

"On issues that could make a difference in your lives - like health and education - McCain has been anything but independent under Bush. He said the economy has progressed and fundamentals are strong even as one of his chef advisors, man who wrote his economic plan, wrote about anxieties faced by Americans. He said we were suffering from mental rec and were a nation of whiners," sais Obama.

Obama, who is the first African-American to lead a major party ticket, is accepting his party's nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech.

Earlier in the evening, other Democrats attacked McCain's policies.

Former Vice President Al Gore urged Americans to "seize the opportunity" to change course by voting for Barack Obama as president.

He reminded the audience at the Democratic National Convention of his failed bid to become president in 2000 when, he said, some believed there was so little difference between Republicans and Democrats that it did not matter who won the White House.

"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.

"Hey, I believe in recycling, but that's ridiculous," he joked.