Obama practices humility preached to him
Beth FouhyBarack Obama took a sermon on humility to heart Sunday, predicting his presidential acceptance speech might not be the best at this week's Democratic convention despite his famous oratory skills.
Lowering expectations is one of the oldest tricks in the political book, especially before a pivotal event like a political convention. And expectations for Obama are sky high because he's delivered such rousing speeches before.
"I'm still tooling around with my speech a little bit," Obama told reporters on a stop in this Midwestern battleground state. "May not be as good as the other headliners the first three nights, but hopefully it will make clear the choices the American people are going to face in November."
Obama's remarks came as headed to Chicago, where he planned to spend several more hours at a downtown hotel practicing the speech he will deliver at the National Democratic Convention in Denver.
The pressure is high. Obama will become the first black presidential nominee from a major party in front of 75,000 people and 20 million more watching on television Thursday, the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
During his brief visit to Wisconsin, Obama attended a barbecue and worshipped at Eau Claire's First Lutheran Church where Pastor John Kerr made no mention of the presidential contest or the candidate in his congregation. But he noted that the morning's first Scripture reading, from Romans 12:1-8, counseled humility and warned that no one should become "cocky" just because they are a good singer or good public speaker.
Afterward, Obama told the press he couldn't wait to hear his wife's speech Monday night after watching a video preview of her rehearsing. "It's extraordinary," he said.
While he was heaping praise on others, he said his conversations with running mate Joe Biden in the past couple days "make me absolutely convinced he is the right man for the job."
At the barbecue, Obama told supporters the convention will leave them with a clear impression. "You'll conclude, 'He's sort of like us,'" Obama said.
"'He comes from a middle-class background, went to school on scholarships,'" Obama said. "'He and his wife had to figure out child care and how to start a college fund for their kids.'"
Obama joked he was running for president to have Secret Service protection for his daughters — 10-year old Malia and 7-year old Sasha — when they start dating.
As voters struggle with home foreclosures and sky-high gas prices, Obama and Republican rival John McCain are sparring over who can better relate to middle-class concerns.
Republicans seek to depict Obama as an Ivy League-educated elitist. The Obama campaign, meanwhile, is ridiculing McCain for being unsure during a recent interview when asked how many homes he owns.
Obama was scheduled to arrive in Denver late Wednesday after campaign stops in Iowa, Missouri and Montana.
Aides said Sunday that Obama spoke by telephone with former President Bill Clinton Thursday and erstwhile rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday. Both Clintons have prominent speaking roles at the convention as Obama's campaign seeks to bring her supporters into the fold.
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