At the DNC, Bill Clinton restated his successful ideological hybrid of social progressivism, cultural moderation and fiscal responsibility. Barack Obama affirmed these same center-left themes. Let's compare the two speeches.

The most important thing the president did in Charlotte was offer a specific definition of what it means to be an American. That definition centered on one word: citizenship.

Barack Obama's convention speech stayed true to an important southern rhetorical tradition. Stay with me here. I'm about to teach you how to call someone a %#@&* in public and be polite at the same time. See, politics is fun!

If you love cities, if you see them as the places where the promise of America, the ideal of citizenship highlighted by the president, can be fulfilled... you have one more reason to keep pushing for real change over the next four years.

It's a cliché, by now, to hail Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic convention as a masterpiece. And I won't bother going into all of the details for why that is. What I do want to recall is what it was like to be in the Garden that night eight years ago in Boston.

In a speech that covered the usual checklist of a convention speech -- love my wife and kids, America is the greatest country on earth, savior of the middle class -- Obama said something that jolted me awake.

I desperately want Obama to win. But the one thing his speech last night lacked was the one thing that was the most important for him to offer -- a plan for how to get the economy out of the doldrums.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There were no fireworks on Thursday night -- at least not of the literal variety. There were no Greek columns or open-air stadiums ...

By DAVID ESPO AND ROBERT FURLOW, ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLOTTE, N.C. — His re-election in doubt, President Barack Obama conceded only halting progre...

President Barack Obama delivered his Democratic National Convention speech at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday night. Bel...

President Barack Obama made his case for a second term with his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday night. ...

By DAVID ESPO AND ROBERT FURLOW, ASSOCIATED PRESS CHARLOTTE, N.C. — His re-election in doubt, President Barack Obama acknowledged slow progress t...

President Barack Obama will deliver his speech to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. on Thursday night. Below, excerpts of his r...

* Obama has chance to spell out his economic approach * Hard act to follow after Clinton at Democratic convention * Fina...

Democrats have made the arguments they needed to about the fundamental difference in values between the two parties. Now that the table is set, Joe Biden and Barack Obama need to finish the meal.