As Barack Obama prepares for the speech of his life - made in a Greek temple before thousands - is he about to go over the top?
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:59 PM on 28th August 2008
Setting the date for his big nominee acceptance speech on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech tonight is poignant enough.
But Mr Obama - who has been criticised in the past for his rock star image - is set to outdo himself. And the mockery is coming before he's even begun.
Lights, camera, action: The stage is set for Obama's speech tonight
Enlarge
The Invesco Mile High Field, home of the Denver Broncos, where Obama will make his speech tonight
His big speech accepting his nomination as the Democratic party's presidential candidate will be delivered from an elaborate columned platform resembling a miniature Greek temple and designed by the same set designers who work with Britney Speaks.
The stage has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' American football team plays.
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Up to 80,000 supporters will see Mr Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.
He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the floor.
Obama has already inspired a rock-star like devotion that even leaves some Democratic supporters wary - will tonight be his undoing?
Once Obama speaks, confetti will rain down on him and fireworks will be fired from around the stadium wall.
Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem.
Even for a country known for its sometimes cringe-worthy flag-waving patriotism, this might be a bit much.
American media are already ripping into Mr Obama, with papers such as the New York Post serving up mock pictures of Obama in a toga under the headline ''O' My God - Dems erect Obama temple'.
Right-wing commentators such as the controversial Rush Limbaugh called the set-up a 'charade', attacking what he said was Obama's portrayal of himself as a deity.
Even more the more liberal media are disapproving, with the New York Times admitting that aides to are feeling pressure to 'bring a lofty candidacy to ground level'.
Meanwhile the Washington Post said that 'even for Obama' the setting was intimidating.
Enlarge
Presidential image: A full-scale replica of Air Force One fuselage arrives at Invesco Field before Mr Obama speaks
Mr Obama's campaign tried its best to prove that the speech tonight will be about substance, not style - or, as some right-wing commentators noted, lack thereof.
"I think what Senator Obama wants to do is make sure everyone watching at home is going to have a clear sense of where he wants to take the country, that we're on the wrong path and Barack Obama is going to put us back on the right track both here at home and overseas," campaign manager David Plouffe said this morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Communications director Robert Gibbs, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," put it this way: "He's going to be talking to millions of Americans individually tonight about the pain that they feel in their lives and what we can do to bring jobs back to this country and create a better life."
But when the man who has engendered more political fervor than anyone since John F. Kennedy takes to the stage tonight, the lights, cameras and action may prove too much.
It remains to be seen whether the smiling senator can rise above the hype that he himself has created and prove to America that he has what it takes to be commander-in-chief.
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:59 PM on 28th August 2008
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Setting the date for his big nominee acceptance speech on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech tonight is poignant enough.
But Mr Obama - who has been criticised in the past for his rock star image - is set to outdo himself. And the mockery is coming before he's even begun.
Lights, camera, action: The stage is set for Obama's speech tonight
Enlarge
The Invesco Mile High Field, home of the Denver Broncos, where Obama will make his speech tonight
His big speech accepting his nomination as the Democratic party's presidential candidate will be delivered from an elaborate columned platform resembling a miniature Greek temple and designed by the same set designers who work with Britney Speaks.
The stage has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' American football team plays.
More...
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- Hillary Clinton makes speech of her life for Barack Obama... but stops short of actually helping him
- Barack Obama is who America needs: Wife Michelle wins over sceptics with speech
- PHILIP DELVES BROUGHTON: Does Michelle Obama deserve to be America's First Lady?
- Hillary Clinton all smiles... with her eye on the 2012 presidency
Up to 80,000 supporters will see Mr Obama appear from between plywood columns painted off-white, reminiscent of the White House, to accept the party's nomination for president.
He will stride out to a raised platform to a podium that can be raised from beneath the floor.
Obama has already inspired a rock-star like devotion that even leaves some Democratic supporters wary - will tonight be his undoing?
Once Obama speaks, confetti will rain down on him and fireworks will be fired from around the stadium wall.
Oscar-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem.
Even for a country known for its sometimes cringe-worthy flag-waving patriotism, this might be a bit much.
American media are already ripping into Mr Obama, with papers such as the New York Post serving up mock pictures of Obama in a toga under the headline ''O' My God - Dems erect Obama temple'.
Right-wing commentators such as the controversial Rush Limbaugh called the set-up a 'charade', attacking what he said was Obama's portrayal of himself as a deity.
Even more the more liberal media are disapproving, with the New York Times admitting that aides to are feeling pressure to 'bring a lofty candidacy to ground level'.
Meanwhile the Washington Post said that 'even for Obama' the setting was intimidating.
Enlarge
Presidential image: A full-scale replica of Air Force One fuselage arrives at Invesco Field before Mr Obama speaks
Mr Obama's campaign tried its best to prove that the speech tonight will be about substance, not style - or, as some right-wing commentators noted, lack thereof.
"I think what Senator Obama wants to do is make sure everyone watching at home is going to have a clear sense of where he wants to take the country, that we're on the wrong path and Barack Obama is going to put us back on the right track both here at home and overseas," campaign manager David Plouffe said this morning on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Communications director Robert Gibbs, on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," put it this way: "He's going to be talking to millions of Americans individually tonight about the pain that they feel in their lives and what we can do to bring jobs back to this country and create a better life."
But when the man who has engendered more political fervor than anyone since John F. Kennedy takes to the stage tonight, the lights, cameras and action may prove too much.
It remains to be seen whether the smiling senator can rise above the hype that he himself has created and prove to America that he has what it takes to be commander-in-chief.
