BARACK OBAMA launched his historic campaign for the White House with a rousing speech to 84,000 cheering supporters, promising to end the "broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush."
Officially accepting the Democrat nomination for the US presidency, the 47-year-old senator from Illinois told the crowd in a massive outdoor stadium: "America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this."
Mr Obam
a, who is the first African American US presidential nominee of a major party, said: "This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive."
His address same 45 years to the day since civil rights leader Martin Luther King inspired the world with his "I Have a Dream" speech.
And he sought to remove criticisms that his inspirational campaign consisted of empty rhetoric by setting out "exactly what change would mean if I am president".
America's troubled economy and its national security would be his central focus, he said.
He pledged to cut taxes for 95 per cent of all working families, end US dependence on oil from the Middle East within 10 years and create jobs for Americans.
Mr Obama delivered his address in front of an elaborate stage set with columns looking like a Greek temple. And fireworks erupted over the stadium as he was joined by his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, at the end of the speech.
Before Mr Obama spoke, the crowd heard musical performances, including one by Stevie Wonder, and a speech from former vice-president and environmental campaigner Al Gore.
The full article contains 283 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
