*This was written just during the Al Gore speech, but my internet went crazy just as Obama took the stage. Coincidence? Hmm…

Just a bit of a round-up before the historic speech tonight from Senator Barack Obama in front of the Invesco Field crowd of 70,000 –

• If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, he’d be in tears today. A candidate with half African-American roots is the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America. I think it’s safe to say this is one of those “mountaintops” MLK Jr. said we could reach. Any and every American can and should be proud of this accomplishment, whether or not you believe in Obama’s policies.
• If I had to rank the speeches given this week from the prime time appearances, it’d go (top down): Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton (VERY close 2nd), Joe Biden, Bill Clinton (he’s back!), Mark Warner (distant last, although he did shout out the roommate’s hometown of Danville, VA). Michelle stepped on the scene as someone to not forget down the line (Hillary would agree). Hillary reassured her voters of her support of the Democratic ticket and took plenty of good “meat” shots at the McCain policies. Biden told us the story of his life of tragedy and triump (sorry to sound so cliche, but it is just that), jabbed his “good friend” and his policies.
• I think the Clintons BOTH did the right amount of passing the torch along, encouraging the 18 million folks who voted for Hillary to stick to the Obama/Biden/Democrat/Obamican ticket that holds most of the same policy positions. Hillary was gracious from her wonderful, non-bitter speech, to her speeding along the official nomination of Obama during the roll call vote. Bill Clinton forced along the words, “Obama is ready to lead,” as many times possible, proving that he’s at least ready to grin and bear the fact that his wife just barely lost the closest, most historic Democratic primary in history. Glad to see the fired up, happy William J. Clinton, as opposed to the red-faced, “my way or the opposition” one who appeared on the primary campaign trail. Unity reached thanks to these folks.

Back to the big speech. I’ll have a follow-up, but shoot your reactions my way. Either here or email me at tim@timothylukehopkins.com.

No need to follow every second of the Democratic National Convention stuck in front of the television.

Thanks to modern technology, each speech given on the DNCC floor can be accessed on-demand from a high-definition feed using your computer. Both the picture and sound qualities are superb.

The DNCC site streams the action live as well, helping those of you not by the TV, or for those who’d rather watch the speeches instead of the pundits battling amongst themselves.

Take a peek yourself.