DENVER — In less than 24 hours, the once little known senator from Illinois will be officially named the Democratic nominee for president in Denver. Barack Obama will become the first African American nominee in history. That political reality is raising high hope.

Energy, high spirits and being more committed to this most significant cause seemed to be what many delegates, as well as many others, were feeling during what they called living history.

Alan Hughes, editorial director of Black Enterprise magazine expressed that even if Obama doesn’t win in November, the nomination raises the bar and is an inspiration for young people.

Correct.

But Obama has to win this election. Aside from the gravitas of his selection and its significance in the African American community, the candidate of change has to demonstrate he can win.

That is why his selection of Joe Biden, the veteran Deleware senator, provides a crucial stablity to the so-called crisis of experience Obama’s opponents have been trumpeting against Obama. Biden comes at a time when Obama has been under the virulent attack machine of the right wing bent on portraying him as an immature candidate who would be better of being a rock star than a serious politician.

With decades of inside Washington politics experience, Biden knows where the dead bodies are buried and can help Obama locate them in the crusade for change inside the Beltway.

Make no mistake. The presidential election has caught fire. Biden showed that when he went on the attack against Republican candidate John McCain in Illinois, brilliantly juxtaposing McCain and President George W. Bush, showing the similarities between the two. It was masterfully done to the extent that McCain’s only response was to tell CBS that he respects Biden.

I shook my head after I watched McCain’s reaction. Given the effectiveness of the GOP attack machine, Obama must brace himself for a tough fight even though Biden has assigned himself that responsibility by demonstrating that in his acceptance remark after Obama announced his VP choice.

What Obama must do now is show that he is not afraid to talk tough and confront the issues affecting the lives of millions of Americans. That is why his acceptance speech on Thursday will either help to reaffirm the candidate of change he is or cause voters to waver regarding his candidacy.
In a world of sound bites and the dangerous trend of emotional politics where voters continue to fall victim to all sorts of political trickery without getting the facts, Obama has to define himself and not let the GOP or his other detractors explain who he is to voters.

At the IVESCO Field at Mile High on Thursday, the world would be watching to see what message Obama will carry to the November election. The nation is at a crossroads, involved in two foreign wars which makes it clear that there is a strong international interest in this election. Journalists from around the world are here to not only cover the excitement of the convention, but to look deeper into the candidates and the issues.

The economy, with devastating consequences on the lives of so many people, including senior citizens losing their homes, is an issue Obama should trumpet when he takes the world stage Thursday night. He has to explain what, in concrete terms, an Obama administration would offer as a solution as the mortgage crisis envelopes lives, making it impossible for many people to live without undue stress.

If McCain cannot remember how many homes he owns, that sounds like a yardstick for becoming president. Obama has to show that in this election there is a clear choice. Beyond the slogan of “Voting for McCain is a Bush third term,” there has to be an explanation as to why McCain in office is going to be a real third term of the Bush presidency.

Slogans are not enough. Provide emperical data to that effect, information that will resonate with average Detroiters, Michiganders and far beyond who are feeling the pinch of the economy. Explain to delegates and families why this election is of such momumental importance.

In the past few months we have been bombarded with a lot of subterfuge, leaving many people confused regarding what the real issues are.

I want to believe that most people are not deeply interested in the personalities of the candidates, but, rather, the value judgment they’ve shown in their public service careers. People want to know how the judgment of either Obama or McCain affected the policies they pushed. It is not a question of who is ready, older and more experienced. It is a matter of values and the judgment displayed in the dispensation of public service.

It would be a mockery of the democratic system of electoral politics to pander to age and experience as the ultimate marks of political matriculation at the expense of talent and sound judgment. And if that was the case, former president Bill Clinton would not have been elected to the White House in the first place when he was in his forties.

Barack Obama has to show that he can translate the hope he has pushed in this campaign into food, shelter and clothing for ordinary people who have been severely impacted in this economy.

Michigan knows that story.

Mr. Obama, Thursday should be a time to explain to the nation what your manifesto is. You have only one opportunity to make this right.

Show us.

Bankole Thompson, senior editor of the Michigan Chronicle, is covering the Democratic National Convention. He can be reached at bthompson@michronicle.com.