Politics Audio/Video - NPR

Barack Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night. He was nominated Wednesday by acclamation at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Later, Bill Clinton delivered a ringing endorsement of Obama, and then vice presidential nominee Joe Biden told the crowd that the nation requires more than a good soldier in the White House.

Former presidential hopeful and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is among a group of Republican leaders countering Democrats during their national convention in Denver. He says Hillary Clinton's speech in support of Barack Obama helped herself and helped Republicans, but didn't help Obama.

History was made Wednesday in Denver as a major political party for the first time nominated a black man to be president of the United States. Barack Obama will accept the nomination Thursday at the pary's convention. Early on, his campaign was propelled by his opposition to the Iraq war, but it succeeded for reasons well beyond the war.

Journalist Joshua Green discusses the activities at the Democratic National Convention. Green is a senior editor at The Atlantic. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Esquire and Rolling Stone.

The 112 delegates on the Republican platform committee have hammered out a 20,000-word document outlining the party's beliefs, positions and ideals. It's a symbolic document, non-binding on the candidates. It proved to be an exercise in balancing positions held by the party faithful with those of their presumptive nominee, John McCain.

Georgia Rep. John Lewis marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 45 years ago when he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Sen. Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination on the same date. For Lewis, that marks the start of a new time in racial politics.

Sportscaster John McEnroe, who as a tennis champ was known for his temper tantrums, has declared that in covering a great match, sometimes the key is to withhold comment till things play out. If only his brethren in the cable news world followed suit more often in covering politics.

Who was behind the inflammatory ad that showed Obama wearing a turban? The answer could be the start of a joke: a hypnotherapist, an apolitical wedding videographer, and a felon now on the run. And they still haven't paid for the ad.

Barack Obama will accept the Democratic presidential nomination in an outdoor stadium with 70,000 screaming onlookers, a light show and music. It'll look like a rock concert rather than a political rally. Bruce Springsteen concertgoers give advice on how to keep your cool and not look like an Obama poseur.

Joe Biden accepted his nomination Wednesday as Barack Obama's running mate on the Democratic ticket. In his speech, he said Obama was the great American success story.

When Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination in his bid to become the first African-American president, he'll join icons who made history on Aug. 28, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Emmett Till and even John Hinckley Jr.

In his speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Bill Clinton said Barack Obama is ready to be president. The former president also praised Obama's choice of Joe Biden as a running mate, saying, "He hit it out of the park."

The Democratic Party, as assembled and packaged at its national convention, does not seem especially proud that it is about to become the first major American political party to nominate an African-American to be president.

Wednesday's speeches are designed to show how Biden and Obama will mesh in their approach to America's role in the world. But some question how closely their ideas align.

Political scientist James Thurber discusses the role of lobbyists in the McCain and Obama campaigns. An expert in campaign conduct and lobbying, Thurber testified before Congress about lobby reform and advised both candidates on the 2007 lobbying reform bill.

A math class at the University of Colorado examined some of the issues facing organizers of the Democratic National Convention. The students came up with several variables that appear to have been incorporated into the quantitative and qualitative distribution of thousands of volunteers.

Political pundits live for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions. But when it comes to what political analysts are saying about the Democratic National Convention going on in Denver, viewers aren't always getting an independent assessment of events.

Barack Obama arrives Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. He was in Missouri on Tuesday, continuing his tour of some battleground states before he accepts his party's nomination for president. In Kansas City, Obama argued that the American middle class is worse off than it was eight years ago when President Bush took office.

Six Republicans have fallen short in their attempt to unseat Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. Stevens won the GOP primary with 63 percent of the vote. He faces what looks like a tough challenge from the mayor of Anchorage in November.

Hillary Clinton did everything she could Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver to help unify the party. She urged her supporters that, no matter how painful, they get behind Barack Obama. She said Democrats must prevent another White House win by Republicans.

Hillary Clinton is urging all of her supporters to get behind Barack Obama. In a prime-time speech Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, Clinton told the delegates, "No way, no how, no McCain." That line drew applause from Obama, who was watching with supporters in Montana.

Sen. Hillary Clinton delivered an impassioned plea for party unity at the Democratic convention Tuesday night, challenging her supporters to embrace Barack Obama's candidacy. Wednesday's roll call may provide a clearer picture of just how united Democratic delegates are.

It's not unusual to hear accusations of journalistic bias in political reporting. Some of the loudest accusations come from journalists who, like CNN's Lou Dobbs or MSNBC's Joe Scarborough, have made their own biases abundantly clear.

Sen. Joseph Biden will deliver the prime-time speech at the Democratic convention Wednesday night. The VP candidate previewed his remarks at an economic roundtable, where he equated a GOP victory in November with tax cuts for the wealthy and a more conservative Supreme Court.

Joe Biden can come across as long-winded and sharp-elbowed. But he also has a reputation as a family man. And he shed tears in front of his state's delegation at the Democratic convention.

In an emotionally charged speech at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, Hillary Clinton put her full support behind Barack Obama. "No way. No how. No McCain," she said.

In his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday, the former Virgina Gov. Mark Warner talks about the future of America and that electing Barack Obama president is the nation's "one shot to get it right."

Late-night talk show hosts are having a field day with the presidential candidates, and their jokes have become the subject of some rigorous study. The Center for Media and Public Affairs counted them. Both John McCain and Barack Obama get mocked, but it turns out that McCain gets mocked more.

Monday night's emotional appearance at the Democratic National Convention by Sen. Ted Kennedy wasn't the first time convention delegates were brought to tears by a Kennedy.

One of Barack Obama's staunchest defenders has been U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. He has stepped up for Obama even when that meant publicly chastising his own father. Now, as Obama takes center stage at the Democratic National Convention, the congressman is not too far behind as part of the new generation of black political leaders.

While both John McCain and Barack Obama agree that the American health care system needs reform, the candidates differ markedly in their vision of the remedy. Political scientist Jonathan Oberlander offers an in-depth comparison of the candidates' proposals.

Gen. Norton Schwartz is a man in line with Defense Secretary Robert Gates' vision of the Air Force. Unlike his fired predecessor, Schwartz isn't reluctant to send Air Force officers and more intelligence and surveillance to Iraq.

Barack Obama has a lot of campaigning to do before he arrives in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. He was at a supporter's home in Kansas City, Mo., Monday night as his wife, Michelle, addressed delegates. It was the latest stop in Obama's convention week tour of battleground states.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is doing his best to stay in the spotlight while the Democrats gather for their convention. He joked Monday night with Tonight Show host Jay Leno and announced that his wife, Cindy, is on a humanitarian mission to Georgia.

Officials say there was no "credible threat" to Barack Obama from a man arrested on weapons and drug charges Sunday in Denver. Obama will be in the Mile High City this week to accept the Democratic nomination for president.

The Democratic National Convention was gaveled to order Monday in Denver. The convention gives Barack Obama an opportunity to reassure voters about his values and readiness to be president. That task began Monday when an ailing Ted Kennedy passed the torch to Obama, and then Michelle Obama spoke about her husband.

The Democratic National Convention was supposed to be all about Barack Obama. But his vanquished opponent will share the spotlight with a major speech Tuesday and in the roll call vote of delegates the following night. Some Hillary Clinton delegates share what they hope will come from the convention.

The Democratic Party hopes to use its national convention to unite support behind Barack Obama. But many of Hillary Clinton's supporters have come to Denver to cast a vote for her — and some say they will not be supporting Barack Obama.

Michelle Obama painted an intimate portrait of her husband, Barack Obama, as a father and family man with faith in the American dream Monday night. Earlier, the ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy delivered a rousing speech at the Democratic convention, telling the crowd that "hope rises again."