Barack and Michelle Obama arrived back at the Westin Hotel at 17th and Lawrence around 11 pm. There was a huge motor parade escorting them. We all had to wait at the entrance until they got an "all clear." The kid in front of me didn't seem to want to wait and ended up arrested. There were tons of police motorcycles and SUV's, using sirens to take them back. The street was lined with people and they all cheered as the Obamas drove by.

Motorcycles pictured below:

What if they gave a convention and nobody watched? Sasha Abramsky tried to find a bar in Clovis, New Mexico that was willing to show Barack Obama's speech. No dice.

In a town with numerous restaurants and bars, not a single one was showing the speech. Some had no televisions; others did have TVs, but they were tuned to one or another sports channel and the owners and bar-tenders were damned if they were going to change channel for the convention.

But, he argues, maybe it doesn't matter. [more ...]

Here's the segment I did for CNN.com Thursday from their Pepsi Center Headquarters at Brooklyn's Bar and Grill with Chris Walla of Deathcab for Cutie (blogging for Rolling Stone) and Amanda of Town Hall. It was a very fun segment to do, we covered a lot of subjects.

I'm home. What a spectacular event at Invesco Field. I have a ton of pictures and video (not of the speeches, you can see those on TV) but they will have to wait until tomorrow or the weekend.

Denver really came through for the Democrats. It's a very proud moment for those of us who live here.

If you somehow missed the speeches this week, they will replay on Cnn.com/Live -- the schedule is below. click on the thumbnail images under the "Happening Now" column.

This is an open thread.

Barack Obama must have done something right. The Wall Street Journal is approaching hysteria. Obama, we are told, "has by far the most liberal program of any Democratic nominee since George McGovern in 1972." It describes Obama's proposals as being "from the Great Society." That news will be reassuring to Democrats who considered him too centrist.

Democrats who think Obama may be too willing to compromise should be equally reassured by the WSJ's perspective.

Mr. Obama's concessions are nearly all rhetorical, a nod that Ronald Reagan had some good ideas or that the free market does some things well. But his policy instincts and political program always seem to turn left.

Too quick to negotiate with enemies, too slow to make war. A liberal advocate of big government and income redistribution. Is this the kind of change we want?, the WSJ skeptically asks. If that's what Barack Obama will give us, I skeptically answer, the answer is an unequivocal yes.

More talk.

The language did not soar. The rhetoric, tone and demeanor were down to Earth.

I give this speech, in this place, at this time, an A+. It was the right speech, with the right delivery that needed to be delivered by Barack Obama tonight. Even towards the end, where change was the discussion point, it was down to earth. And then a quick shift to why AMERICA is great. Of course the end was the soar. But it was just the end. In the live blog I wrote:

His moment approaches. I'll live blog the proceedings from 10:00 pm on below the fold. Here is the prepared text of Obama's speech:

. . . Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land – enough! This moment – this election – is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: “Eight is enough.”

Al Gore giving a great speech.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Um, so the message tonight is that Democrats like to go to concerts? And the "Yes, We Can" song? With Obama speaking cuts in the middle and big pictures of Obama? Not a good idea.

In my opinion of course. I'm not following what this is supposed to be achieving tonight.

Speaking for me only.

The people already in Invesco Field were just treated to Will.I.Am (of the Black Eyed Peas) and John Legend, backed by a sizable choir, singing "Yes We Can," based on a Barack Obama speech, with the words of the speech echoing in the background, as in the video above. Whether you like Obama or not, it was pretty cool to watch.

Lewis’ role in tonight’s program “shows the magnanimity of Barack Obama,” said House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina, who is the highest ranking African-American in Congress. Clyburn, who like Lewis was jailed as a civil rights activist in his younger days, acknowledged Lewis’ significance to African-Americans’ battle for equality.

An utter disgrace.

Speaking for me only