Obama chides McCain, inspires delegates

McALLEN -- Sen. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, attacking John McCain and inspiring support among local delegates.

"Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet," the junior senator from Illinois told a crowd of 80,000 at Denver's Invesco Field.

"These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush."

As the freshly minted nominee closed his party's convention, local delegates looked forward to coming home and hitting the campaign trail running.

"It's just been amazing - the energy and the excitement," said delegate Ruby de la Garza, 29, of Alamo, hours before Obama's keynote speech.

While there's little doubt the party will take the Rio Grande Valley come November, the contentious primary race between Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton left some Democrats fearing members of their own party may stay home on Election Day - or even vote for John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee.

Clinton, who volunteered in this area as a youth and was a frequent visitor during her husband's two terms in the White House, maintains enormous popularity in the Valley, after winning more than 70 percent of the primary vote.

But state Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, believes the former first lady's speech this week in which she endorsed Obama did much to heal any remaining wounds.

"There was some anxiety that was felt going into the convention," he said. "But delegates from both sides got to interact and realize we're all Democrats. There's a palatable shift."

Clinton is tentatively set to visit the Valley on Sept. 21 in hopes of convincing the region's voters to support Obama and other Democrats seeking local and statewide offices, the Texas delegation said.

Her support should go far in convincing local voters to turn out at the polls, said Dolly Elizondo, the chairwoman of the Hidalgo County Democratic Party.

"Our main focus now is to make sure that our community comes out and votes," she said.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.

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 Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement, business and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4434.