About 90 Newton County Democrats were on hand at a watch party at Neosho Inn to see an historical moment: Barack Obama’s acceptance of his party’s nomination for president of the United States.

During his remarks, Obama related his personal story and took a strong stance against the policies of current President George W. Bush, adding that presumptive Republican candidate John McCain would offer voters four more years of the same.

“Change happens because the American people demand it — because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time,” Obama told the crowd at Invesco Field in Denver. “America, this is one of those moments.”

Many of the candidate’s remarks were punctuated by applause and whistles from those gathered at the motel Thursday night, who clapped and chanted along with delegates in Denver on two television screens in a large conference room at the motel.

“It was tremendous, first of all,” said Bill Jackson, the former superintendent of the George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, of Obama’s speech. “He is exactly what the country has needed for the last eight years. I’m hoping that the Obama / Biden ticket will change this nation for the better come Jan. 20, 2009. I have not been so excited in a long time. Barack Obama is an honest, down-to-earth Christian man that we cannot not elect as president of the United States.”

Echoing her husband’s statements was Jean Jackson.

“I think Barack has the potential to serve the American people and to be determined to make a change,” she said. “He will not only serve America, but all over the world.”

Both noted the history of the occasion, as Obama is the first African-American to accept a major party’s nomination for the highest office in the land. And, as both noted, the acceptance speech came on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington, D.C.

Wes Nall, a former Neosho postmaster, was also at Thursday night’s watch party and was thrilled with the candidate’s speech.

“I was just amazed,” he said. “It was really terrific and the message was great. I think he said it all.”

Part of that message related the war in Iraq and the troubled economic times.

“Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less,” Obama said.
“More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet.
More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bill you can’t afford to pay and tuition that’s beyond your reach.

“These challenges are not all of the government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

“America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.”

“His touched on everything: It wasn’t just an item or two,” Nall said. “What amazed me the most was he stood up there and spoke and I didn’t see any notes. Some of the other speakers I’ve seen, they’ve looked down at the podium and had to have notes.

“It was great. What I see in him is really feeling the needs in this country. And it’s not just Democrats, it’s Republicans and Independents. People realize that we have to have a change of heart. On this economy, we have to have a change of heart.”

Obama portrayed his opponent as someone who wasn’t uncaring, but that he was out of touch with what middle class Americans were experiencing.

“Why else would he define middle class as someone making under $5 million a year?” he asked the crowd. “How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies, but not one penny of tax relief to more than 100 million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people’s benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

“It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care. It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.”

Obama also outlined his plans as president. Among these were:

• Stop giving tax breaks to corporations which ship jobs overseas and begin giving tax breaks to companies who create jobs in the U.S.;

• Eliminating capital-gains taxes for small businesses and high-tech startups;

• Cutting taxes for 95 percent of working families, and;

• Ending America’s dependence on foreign oil by tapping natural gas reserves, investing in clean coal technology, safely harnessing nuclear power, and building fuel-efficient cars in the U.S.

To fund the plans, Obama proposed closing corporate loopholes, eliminating programs in the federal budget that do not work, and streamlining others.

“And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money,” he said. “It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our ‘intellectual and moral strength.’ Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

“Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility — that’s the essence of America’s promise.”

For one watch party attendee, it all boiled down to Obama’s campaign slogan: change.

“He spoke about how we should be able to come together, his policies, what they were and what he will be about,” said Charlie Smith. “And he broke it all down to where we can understand.
Four more years of Bush, well his policies, isn’t going to bring about change. And change is what we need.”