Barack Obama's night in Denver

We sat in front of our tv like many other millions of Americans not fortunate enough to be present in Denver's Invesco Stadium to see history made in person. But we did see it made.

First, John Lewis reminded us of how our nation has moved forward though not always smoothly but definitely forward in providing opportunity and equality for all of its citizens. He touched my heart with his story. It is so fitting that he was present at the main event. And what a main event it was.

84,000 people representative of us all, cheering, on their feet, crying, moved, invigorated, amazed, dancing, joyous, proud.

And into their midst strode Barack Obama to deliver a pitch-perfect address that accomplished so many things but foremost, established the legitimacy of his candidacy for President of the United States. It was not just inspirational though it certainly was inspiring. It was hard-hitting, precise, touching, visionary, inclusive, and left us in no doubt that Barack Obama will be an outstanding president, a leader who will take this nation forward into a better future.

It's difficult to choose just a portion of the speech because it is such a power whole but these words illustrate the breadth of what he had to say to us all:

The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.

So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first.

America, our work will not be easy. The challenges we face require tough choices, and Democrats as well as Republicans will need to cast off the worn-out ideas and politics of the past. For part of what has been lost these past eight years can't just be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What has also been lost is our sense of common purpose - our sense of higher purpose. And that's what we have to restore.

And it was with these words that Barack Obama reaffirmed our nation and invited us all to share his vision:

This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.

Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.

That promise is our greatest inheritance. It's a promise I make to my daughters when I tuck them in at night, and a promise that you make to yours - a promise that has led immigrants to cross oceans and pioneers to travel west; a promise that led workers to picket lines, and women to reach for the ballot.

And it is that promise that forty five years ago today, brought Americans from every corner of this land to stand together on a Mall in Washington, before Lincoln's Memorial, and hear a young preacher from Georgia speak of his dream.

The men and women who gathered there could've heard many things. They could've heard words of anger and discord. They could've been told to succumb to the fear and frustration of so many dreams deferred.

But what the people heard instead - people of every creed and color, from every walk of life - is that in America, our destiny is inextricably linked. That together, our dreams can be one.

"We cannot walk alone," the preacher cried. "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone. At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

We've been called to action and as a nation, we cannot afford to fail to respond. We can't turn back. It's time to step into America's future with the thoughtful, firm leadership of Barack Obama.

The complete transcript of prepared remarks is available below the fold.