BARACK Obama would make an "extraordinary president", his wife Michelle told the opening night of the Democrat National Convention.
She used stories from her personal life to emphasise her husband's American values and that he understood what the United States needs.
She urged America to listen "to our hopes instead of our fears" and to "stop doubting and start dreaming".
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n a keynote address to the convention in Denver, Colorado, carried live by the US networks, Mrs Obama, 44, said her husband was running for president to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that helped every family, and to make sure healthcare was available to every American.
She emphasised that her husband, who has struggled to attract support from working class Americans, was raised by working class grandparents; she told voters who are focused on the troubled US economy that his family had struggled to pay the bills; and she said that their families had the same values, a belief in truth and honesty, and that "you can make it if you try".
Veteran US Senator Edward Kennedy, who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour in May, made a surprise appearance at the convention,
He told delegates Mr Obama offered "new hope" and that America would "scale the heights" again under his leadership.
Following an emotional video tribute, which saw many of the delegates in tears, Mr Kennedy went on: "Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender, of group against group, and of straight against gay.
"And Barack Obama will be a commander-in-chief who understands that young Americans in uniform must never be committed to a mistake but always to a mission worthy of their bravery."
The full article contains 299 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
