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Canadians can be forgiven if for the past eight years we have held our maple leafs even tighter our chest while our American neighbours got embroiled in an unpopular war, endured the national shame of Hurricane Katrina, and suffered a rapid economic downturn. However, as the 2008 US election cycle moves into its final phase, Barack Obama’s historic night in Denver, watched by Canadians from coast to coast, might have left more than a few of us rather envious and asking: When was the last time we were as passionate about our politics?
Read Holly Jean Buck on Obama’s big speech at our blogs page.
DENVER, CO—Forty-five years to the day when Dr. Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC to famously declare “I have a dream,” Barack Obama, the democratic senator from Illinois, stepped into history and that promise by accepting his party’s nomination to become the first African-American nominee of any party for president of the United States.Nothing in the way Barack Obama has waged his historic candidacy has spoken to politics as usual and in staging his nomination in front of a mile-high crowd of more than 84,000 at Invesco Field — the only other candidate to accept his party’s nomination on such a scale was John. F. Kennedy in 1960 — Mr. Obama succeeded in pulling off one of the greatest feats of political pageantry in American history.
With lines stretching for miles around the stadium, the thousands who waited patiently in the Denver heat were moved to tears and a pin-drop silence, amid a sea of American flags and signs calling for ‘change’, as a video biography of the young senator’s life played on giant screens that backed high onto the Denver night sky.
As diverse as they were vast, the crowd made up of blacks, whites, Hispanics, college kids, senators, celebrities, and blue collar American families from every corner of the union — all sitting side by side — prompted many observers to wonder whether this moment, was in fact was what Dr. King’s dream, boldly declared on another warm August evening, might have looked like.
Comments (6 comments)
Anonymous: Joe Biden is his VP. Seems exactly like politics as usual to me. Perhaps a better indication would be McCains gutsy appointment of Sarah Pailin. September 02, 2008 10:21 EST
Anonymous: What a boring, trite little story. Hope you are not fronting too much money for this cattle fodder.
Actually folks, the show was totally underwhelming. Any event planner would tell you that you can have a much better effect, especially for national television by reducing the space and filling the scene. What they had was a stage in a stadium, which diminished the impact of that stage, when Obama sauntered in few were even aware that HE had arrived for the crowning, he gave a lackluster speech that would have even made Stephanne D sound eloquent, then they had a fireworks display that was no better than a few hand sparklers and a miscue when the paper confetti failed to fire up at the same time. The effect, a phizzle. If you are going to use a stadium, you have to put on a grand show—aka Chinese version of the Olympic ceremonies. If I may be prosasic, the Democratic affair was much like fooling around in the back seat of the car only to have messed your pants to show for all your effort—and although it doesn't matter I lean towards the Democrats philosophically. carl September 03, 2008 14:31 EST
Anonymous: brilliant photos. thanks for giving us an insider's look at a historic moment. keep them coming!
September 04, 2008 17:12 EST
Sarah L: Fantastic photos! Having missed the live coverage while travelling it's great to be able to pick up the atmosphere and momentous sense of occasion in these pictures. November 06, 2008 02:27 EST
Anonymous:
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A insomnia frog:A insomnia frog
January 01, 2009 02:22 ESTA Joyful party:A Joyful party
Bear in eggs:Bear in eggs
Big alligator:Big alligator
Birds and bear:Birds and bear
Carving and desert:Carving and desert
Chickens and ducks:Chickens and ducks
Clever crow:Clever crow
Crystal ball's dream:Crystal ball's dream
Hungry fox:Hungry fox
Mom's birthday:Mom's birthday
Only one goal:Only one goal
Piglets temper:Piglets temper
Small white and black pig:Small white and black pig
The camel is angry:The camel is angry
The old dog:The old dog
The poor and the rich:The poor and the rich
Broken dreams:Broken dreams
The little princess:The little princess
Dance bear:Dance bear
spring:spring
The little princess:The little princess
Three rats:Three rats
A selfish giant:A selfish giant
Anonymous:
Dust off
your old sneakers
Do you own an
old pair of Nike’s or Adidas shoes? Were you ever into playing sports like
basketball or skateboarding, or into Hip Hop music? Were you born around 1970?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you could already guess what
this is about. Even if the answer was no to the last question, then you’re
still on page because most people these days understand the significance behind
Nike, Adidas, and the Sports and Music industry. And if your not, then you will
now.
They say that it was the Nike Dunk that started it all off. In 1985,
Nike brought out the Nike Dunk. Originally these sneakers meant for the
college community of basketball players. Instead, this style of sports shoes
started the sneaker sub-culture. Although this style of sneaker was designed
to be used during high intensity basketball games, the spotlight quickly turned
to the fashion of wearing them, what they looked like, and which ones you
owned. Twenty years later, Nike has brought the Nike Dunk back on the
courts with all its retro style and performance.
But why stop
with basketball shoes? In 2000, Nike decided to jump into the skateboarding
scene with the new Nike Skateboarding product line.
With Nike SB
has come the Nike Dunk SB. For years, before skateboarding came out from
the underground scene, skateboarders utilized the rugged design of basketball
shoes. Nike decided to capitalize on what Vans and DC shoes had been
monopolizing for years, and take what was already an amazing sneaker, and fit it
into the needs of skateboarders. What the Nike Dunk SB brought in the
way of performance was extra-padded tongue and their patented Zoom Air insole.
In the way of style, this sneaker has already come out with six series, and
names for them like Grip, Forbes, and Vipers.
Another blast
from the past would be the Nike Air Force 1. These sneakers first came
out in the early 80’s. And like the hip hop culture, their popularity grew.
However, this band did not reach their full fashion peek until 2002 when Nelly
released the song “Air Force Ones”.
The other major
sports shoe brand is the Adicolor Shoes, an Adidas Original. The design
became so popular because the plain white canvas was adaptable by painting,
drawing, and spraying on your own personal design, and even accessories were
sold to help you in your creativity. In 2006 they pushed the envelope further
with a new color series using artists and designers from all over the world.
Another huge sneaker that was popular with the hip hop world was the
Adidas
Superstar. A very raw and controversial Hip Hop group that helped skyrocket
the Adidas Superstar to stardom was Run-D.M.C. This cutting edge group was known
for wearing their Superstars out on stage, and even wrote a song dedicated to
them called “My Adidas”. Whether its Nike or Adidas, clean out that closet,
dust off your old sneakers, and get into the game.
January 01, 2009 02:28 EST