Down-to-Earth Barack Brought Fire

Barack Obama took on two of his greatest challenges head-on in his acceptance speech last night, Patrick Healy writes in the New York Times. The Democratic nominee added some down-to-earth proposals to his lofty talk of change, while proving he could take the fight to John McCain with "memorable fire," Healy writes.

Instead of directly tackling the race issue, Obama invoked Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech with his talk of unity, Healy points out. Obama didn't reveal too much about himself, but that wasn't his purpose—it was to "open a direct channel between his candidacy and the personal lives of Americans," Healy notes.
(More Democratic National Convention stories.)