Long security lines meant a 3-hour wait for incoming state House Speaker Robbie Wills, D-Conway, before he got into Denver’s Invesco Field for the final night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.

Those Arkansans who made it into the stadium more quickly sat for hours beneath an unrelenting sun waiting for the real star of the night, presidential nominee Barack Obama.

“It was worth the wait,” Wills said.

The delegates waved American flags and posters for the duration of Obama’s acceptance speech. The Arkansas delegation sat about 40 yards to the left of the stage on the football field-turned-convention hall.

As fireworks exploded and confetti drifted down toward some of the estimated 80,000 people in attendance, Arkansan Susana O’Daniel was hard-pressed to find words to capture the moment.

“I am so overwhelmed right now,” she said.

The Washington County resident who supported Sen. Hillary Clinton said Obama correctly used the speech not only to inspire, but to offer some specifics about what he would do as president.

“It was really good to have his point-by-point layout and his plan,” O’Daniel said. “This will go a long way. Everybody is united now. Everybody.”

Karla Bradley, the first vice chairman of the state Democratic party, said the speech “was about bridging the gaps to solve problems that maybe we thought we couldn’t solve.”

“It was a departure from the cynicism we have had the past eight years,” said Bradley, also of Washington County.

One of only eight Arkansas delegates who entered the national convention as an Obama delegate was also impressed with the speech.

“I think it was right on,” said Kedrin Edgerson of Jonesboro. “I think everyone was touched by it. Everyone knows we need change and he has a plan to do it.”

The Obama campaign has a tougher task ahead in its bid to win over Natural State voters.

Tags: Barack Obama, Invesco Field

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 10:00 am and is filed under Conventions, Democrat Convention 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.