Clinton: 'No Way. No How. No McCain'

DENVER -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote the final chapter in her failed campaign for the White House on Tuesday, making way for Sen. Barack Obama as Democrats accused Republican Sen. John McCain of indifference to the working class and coziness with big oil.

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"I am honored to be here tonight," she told a raucus crowd of delegates. "A proud mother. A proud Democrat. A proud American. And a proud supporter of Barack Obama."

"No way. No how. No McCain," she said as the hall erupted in cheers.

"We don't need four more years of the last eight years," she added, in her prime time address. "We don't have a moment to lose or a vote to spare."

"John McCain says the economy is fundamentally sound. John McCain doesn't think that 47 million people without health insurance is a crisis. John McCain wants to privatize Social Security. And in 2008, he still thinks it's OK when women don't earn equal pay for equal work," Clinton said. "With an agenda like that, it makes sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities. Because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart."

Clinton also added a lighter touch to the evening with a humorous quip about the attention paid to her wardrobe.

"To my sisters of the traveling pantsuits ... thank you," she said.

Her appearance followed a long line of party leaders who spent the evening criticizing McCain. Read the highlights here.

"If he's the answer, then the question must be ridiculous," New York Gov. David Paterson said of the Republican presidential candidate.

By contrast, Obama will "appeal to us not as Republicans or Democrats, but first and foremost as Americans," former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner said in the Democratic National Convention keynote address. "We need leaders who see our common ground as sacred ground."

Watch uncut video of Clinton's speech here.Read the transcript of Clinton's speech here.

Warner's Keynote: McCain Stuck In The Past

Warner, keynoting the convention, said Tuesday night that American voters "have one shot to get it right" by electing Barack Obama president to end Republican leadership that is stuck in the past.

Warner rebuked President Bush and GOP nominee-to-be John McCain, but his address was hardly a summons to political arms against them. He mentioned McCain's name only twice, and he said he'd learned in the cell phone business that made him millions that a strategy of tearing down the competition doesn't suffice.

"I know we're at the Democratic convention, but if an idea works, it really doesn't matter if it has an R or a D next to it," Warner said. "Because this election isn't about liberal versus conservative. It's not about left versus right. It's about the future versus the past."

And "in George Bush and John McCain's America, far too many" people don't know whether that future will hold what they need, said Warner, who argued that Obama will change that.

In his sharpest words for the Republican nominee, Warner said, "John McCain promises more of the same."

"A plan that would explode the deficit that will be passed on to our kids. No real plan to invest in our infrastructure. And his plan would continue spending $10 billion a month in Iraq," Warner said.

"I don't know about you, but that's not just right," he added. "That's four more years that we can't just afford."

Obama will change all that, contended Warner, the odds-on favorite this fall to win Virginia's U.S. Senate seat. He holds a hefty lead in the polls against Republican Jim Gilmore, another former governor. The seat now is held by retiring Republican Sen. John Warner, who is no relation.

"Right now, at this critical moment in our history, we have one shot to get it right," Warner said. "And the status quo just won't cut it."

In energy, health care, education and America's world standing, there are opportunities with change and risks without them, Warner said. He said Obama is the candidate who "knows we don't have another four years to waste."

"And Barack Obama knows this too," he said. "We need leaders who see our common ground as sacred ground. We need leaders who will appeal to us not as Republicans or Democrats but first and foremost as Americans."

Watch uncut video of Warner's speech here. Read a transcript of Warner's speech here.

Party Faithful Hammer McCain

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland focused on economic issues. "While families are losing sleep tonight trying to figure out some way to make their paycheck stretch through one more day, John McCain is sleeping better than ever," he said, recalling that McCain had recently said Americans were better off because of President Bush's policies.

And Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said oil companies were "placing their bets on John McCain, bankrolling his campaign and gambling with our future."

"John McCain offers four more years of the same Bush-Cheney policies that have failed us," summed up Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont.

Sorensen was a link to some of the party's glory years, John F. Kennedy's closest aide. As was the case with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's emotional appearance on the convention's opening night Monday, Sorensen's presence on the podium was designed to strengthen the image of Obama as Kennedy's worthy heir.

It was a recurrent theme. Read the highlights here.

"This is our time to revive the spirit of Kennedy," said Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.

Obama delivers his acceptance speech Thursday night at a football stadium. An estimated 75,000 tickets have been distributed for the event, meant to stir additional comparisons with Kennedy's appearance at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1960.

Anti-Abortion Activists Strike

Abortion foes drew police outside the convention hall on Tuesday, but they had an advocate on the podium.

"Obama and I have an honest disagreement on the issue of abortion," Sen. Robert Casey Jr., D-Pa., told the delegates. "But the fact that I'm speaking here tonight is testament to Barack's ability to show respect for the views of people who may disagree with him."

Casey spoke as thirteen anti-abortion activists, including Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry, were arrested during an orchestrated demonstration in which they blocked a security gate near the site of the convention.

Terry shouted, "Don't vote for Obama" as he was led to waiting sheriff's van, his hands held together with blue plastic handcuffs. The arrested, including a 78-year-old priest in a black cassock, stood waiting in single file to get into the vans, each accompanied by two police officers. About 50 officers dressed in riot gear stood guard and processed the protesters while people, some with passes to get into the convention, walked by.

At about the same time at the other end of downtown, about a dozen anti-abortion demonstrators rallied outside the Sheraton Hotel, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Clinton were speaking at a luncheon sponsored by Emily's List, a group that supports women candidates. One demonstrator held a poster with graphic images and said, "Barack Obama change this."

Earlier Tuesday, a group of about 50 anti-abortion activists unfurled a huge sign on a mesa west of Denver equating the Democratic National Convention with abortion, but later hiked back up to remove it at the request of authorities. County officials haven't decided whether to issue any citations. The sign was displayed for about three hours and group president Steve Curtis said the letters were visible from west Denver about 10 miles away.

Before the convention, Terry met with Denver police and then publicly announced he planned to be arrested.

Meanwhile, Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said McCain has voted against "real sex education, voted against affordable family planning. And if elected, John McCain has vowed to appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade," she said, referring to the landmark 1973 case that affirmed women's right to abortion.

More Convention Coverage:

• August 26, 2008: Quoted: DNC Speaker Highlights
• August 26, 2008: Keynote: McCain 'Stuck In The Past'
• August 26, 2008: McCain, Obama Hope For Nevada Jackpot
• August 26, 2008: Hungry At DNC? Bring Lots Of Cash
• August 26, 2008: Kennedy Electrifies DNC
• August 26, 2008: GOP Makes Presence Known In Denver
• August 26, 2008: After Michelle's Night, DNC Awaits Hillary
• August 25, 2008: Michelle Obama Stresses Common Values
• August 25, 2008: Kennedy Addresses DNC
• August 25, 2008: DNC Attempts To Connect With Equal Pay
• August 24, 2008: Dems Give Michigan, Florida Full Voting Rights
• DNC: By The Numbers
• Health Profile: Obama And Biden
• What Do The Candidates Drive?