“We meet at one of those defining moments — a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil and the American promise has been threatened once more,” Obama told the crowd at the start of his address. “These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush. America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.”

Obama delivered plenty of the soaring, inspirational rhetoric that’s made him a figure of worship among millions — while also drawing ridicule from his political opponents. But the son of a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya also laid out a detailed list of policy prescriptions that he would seek to implement if he prevails on November 4. Obama vowed to raise taxes on oil companies, while cutting taxes for 95 percent of American families. He pledged to invest $150 billion in developing renewable energy sources and deliver health insurance for all Americans. The Illinois senator also promised an expedited withdrawal of troops from Iraq, while invigorating military efforts in Afghanistan and the pursuit of Osama bin Laden.

“We are the party of Roosevelt; we are the party of Kennedy,” he said. “So don’t tell me that Democrats won’t defend this country. Don’t tell me that Democrats won’t keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans — Democrats and Republicans — have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.”

As the stadium slowly filled to capacity throughout the day, the noise level grew to raucous levels. By the time Obama took the stage at 8:12 p.m., there were deafening chants of “Yes, we can” and “Si se puede” spreading across the stadium. Women and men danced deliriously in the aisles. Even the cops were having their pictures taken to memorialize the moment. During Obama’s speech, the crowd responded to even the most banal of sentiments (“We can not meet 21st-century challenges with 20th-century bureaucracy”) with feverish applause.

There were many extraordinary sights on the floor of the stadium: a black woman posing for a picture while carrying a Mississippi placard and grinning like she just discovered an oil well in her backyard; an older white guy with a pronounced southern drawl barking into his cell phone, “It don’t get no better than this, baby!”; an African immigrant in an orange flower-print dress with tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched Obama on the jumbotron; more black folks singing along to “Born in the USA” than has ever previously been witnessed.

When the 45-minute speech was over and the stadium finally started to quiet down — the smell of sulfur filling the air from spent fireworks — I tracked down Hussein Samatar (pictured at right) on the floor with the Minnesota delegation. The Minneapolis resident came to this country from war-torn Somalia when he was 22 years old and now runs the African Development Group of Minnesota. “It is extremely exciting,” said Samatar, who is serving as a delegate for the first time. “I could not ever have imagined in 1991 when the war broke I could be here listening, to be able to be part of history making in the United States of America. That’s what I would want every immigrant, anywhere in the world to feel.”

Dancing to “Born in the USA”

The Rev. Al Sharpton preparing to go on CNN

Waiting for Obama

New York Gov. David Patterson being interviewed on the floor

The Minnesota delegation has Obamamania