Without mentioning President Bush by name, Obama said the president had failed to level with the public before ordering troops into Iraq. Obama described John Kerry as a war hero who has made tough choices in his lifetime. "John Kerry understands the ideals of community, faith and service because they have defined his life. From his heroic service in Vietnam to his years as a prosecutor and lieutenant governor through two decades in the United States senate. He has devoted himself to this country," said Obama.
Obama is considered by many of his colleagues as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Obama says he was nervous before last night's address but he says the energy of the convention crowd moved him.
"You know, obviously you pace back and forth before you get on. Once I got the first couple words out I figured I better keep on going and the reception was obviously very warm. I just am thankful to the voters of Illinois because it shows of their trust that they placed in me at least as a nominee that allowed me to do this tonight," said Obama.
In the meantime, Obama supporters in Chicago gathered to watch his speech. Some union members watched from the local IBW Hall while members of Obama's church also watched very closely. He attends Trinity United Church of Christ on the city's south side.
The Illinois Democratic Party chairman arrives in Boston two days after most of the delegates arrived. Speaker of the House Mike Madigan joined his fellow democrats in the Illinois section of the Fleet Center. He sat down near Mayor Daley and Governor Blagojevich just in time to catch Obama's keynote address. Madigan raised some eyebrows by delaying his arrival for a state fly around to talk about the new budget.
Michelle Obama keeps her husband in check
July 27, 2004
Michelle Obama keeps tabs on her husband, Barack, as he prepares for his keynote address Tuesday night.
This is Barack Obama's big night. He is in the national spotlight delivering the keynote address to the National Democratic Convention. The pressure is on Obama and his family, who appear to be the calm in the middle of the media storm.
Obama says the meat of his address will highlight Illinois families who are having a difficult time making ends meet. He will also tell his audience that democrats are the true champion champs of the working family.
Barack Obama, 42, who lives in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side, is a lawyer a college professor, a state senator, and a father of two little girls, ages three and six, who are staying back in Chicago this week with their grandparents. But his wife Michelle is in Boston to keep his feet on the ground, among other things.
 Michelle Obama
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Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, is a Harvard-educated lawyer like her husband. Her biggest job this week with the kids back home in Chicago is to keep the senate candidate's ego in check despite an avalanche of gushing media stories, calling him one of the Democratic Party's brightest and fastest rising stars. The Kerry campaign gave him the honor of delivering tonight's convention keynote address. "You can always become dust in a moment, which is why you can't take this too seriously, all this attention. I think the focus is on the work," said Michelle.
"I'm going to try to remind myself that although this has been a fun week, this isn't real," said Barack.
"This is a person of substance. Barack Obama has a strong family a strong background, and he's endured a lot to get to the point where he is today, so he'll do just fine," said Sen. Dick Durbin.
Barack Obama likes to compare political campaigns to buying a car --with voters kicking the tires of the candidates before deciding who to support. The analogy is sparking a classic exchange between the Obamas today when a reporter asks Barack if the viewers of tonight's keynote address will be doing the same thing.
"Do you think voters will be kicking your tires tonight?" said the reporter.
"Absolutely. If I screw up, my wife will be kicking more than my tires," said Barack.
"I'm not going to kick him," said Michelle.
"He says you'll kick him if he screws up," said ABC7's Andy Shaw.
"He does not say that," said Michelle.
"We've got it on videotape for you," said Shaw.
"Well, he is exaggerating. He's being silly," said Michelle.
Obama's 15-minute speech will be talking about his life as the embodiment of the American dream, a dream he says that he and John Kerry are fighting for. He wrote in it about two hours a few weeks ago. The Kerry campaign edited it slightly. In the last couple of days, Obama has been practicing on the teleprompter to deliver it without having to be kicked by his wife.
Groups challenge security on Boston public transportation
In the Boston subway two local civil rights groups want is for police to stop random searches of passenger's bags. The inspections on trains and busses near the fleet center began late last week. Transit police reinforced by state and federal officers don't want the searches photographed…and city lawyers defended the searches today at an emergency hearing in federal court…where a judge took the challenge under advisement.
"There were secret service agents on the subway and it was obvious who they were and they were traveling between the cars making sure everyone was safe," said Maria Pappas, Cook County Treasurer.
Even some high-profile Illinois delegates have been taking public transportation.
"I think police are everywhere, but they are very, very nice. They haven't been stopping us and shaking us down," said Rev. Willie Barrow, Illinois Delegate
"Last night we had a bus full of delegates on our way over to the convention here. We were in a designated lane. The bus driver was driving at a reasonable pace and got stopped by the police and given a ticket," said Rep. Bobby Rush, Chicago Delegate
Today law enforcement helicopters saturated the sky over downtown Boston. People on the street kept looking up as in a Spiderman movie. But the democrats' man of this evening-Illinois senate candidate Barack Obama tells said he's impressed by the level of protection.
"I don't want them it cutting me slack. This is one of the serious things where there's no privilege involved here. Everybody empties their pockets and gets the wand," said Barack Obama,keynote speaker.
Clintons, Gore open convention
 Former President Bill Clinton hugs his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., as she introduces him before the delegates during the Democratic National Convention at the FleetCenter in Boston, Monday, July 26, 2004. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
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A roaring reception for two of the stars on opening night at the Democratic National Convention-- Former President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton appealed to the party faithful to help lead John Kerry to the White House. The first night of the Democratic National Convention brought out an impressive lineup of former political primetime players including former Vice President Al Gore, former President Jimmy Carter. The Clintons capped the night off.
"He will create good jobs, not lose them. And he will solve a health care crisis for our people, not ignore it," said Hillary Clinton.
"During the Vietnam War many young men including the current president, the vice president and me could have gone to Vietnam and didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background. He could have avoided going, too, but instead he said, send me," said former Pres. Clinton
John Kerry will speak to the packed Fleet Center crowd on Thursday night.
Opening night was the first chance to put the complicated security plan to the test. It proved to be very smooth, according to authorities in Boston. There were no security issues. On the outside, police managed to shut down virtually every street surrounding the Fleet Center, checking cars by questioning drivers. There were no arrests reported. There were no problems reported by the FBI or Boston police. The big attraction inside the Fleetcenter were former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady and now U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton. Both Mayor Daley and Governor Blagojevich were there.
"They both spoke eloquently. They came with strong messages, different messages, and that's how they are. They re great public servants and made a great contribution to this country," said Mayor Daley.
"He defined the distinctions between John Kerry and John Edwards, President Bush and Vice President Cheney, between the Republican ticket and the Democrat ticket. And it s the distinctions and the choices the American people have to make that I think in the end are the reasons why there s going to be a change," said Governor Blagojevich.
Nearly 5,000 delegates from all the states and three times as many members of the media filling the Fleetcenter for the next several days. According to estimates from the Boston police, security is costing as much as $1 million an hour.
Tonight's keynote speaker is U.S. Senate candidate, Chicago politician and rising Democratic star, Barack Obama.
Live Convention Coverage: ABC News Now
And a reminder, ABC7 will have live coverage of the convention all week long. Chuck and Andy will have reports on our newscasts throughout the week.
ABC News is also launching a new service on Monday. Peter Jennings will anchor gavel-to-gavel convention coverage on the Internet and digital TV channels. It's called ABC News Now, and you can learn all about it by clicking here.
You can see the ABC7 report by clicking on the video icon above. You will need Windows Media Player to view this video. You can get it FREE by clicking here. NOTE: Video clips will only be available for 5-days from the date they were created. ALSO: Video clips may play in a separate window, without audio, on Mac OS X machines. ABC7Chicago.com is aware of this issue and is working with the video player vendor to correct it as soon as possible.
Video: Day 2 Wrap-up
ABC's Exclusive digital gavel-to-gavel convention coverage
