Mr. Obama takes the ticket
(From The Japan Times August 30 issue)

オバマ候補、大統領選本選へ

The Democratic Party made history the last week of August when it made Mr. Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, its nominee for the 44th president of the United States. Mr. Obama is the first African-American — his father was Kenyan, his mother a white Kansan — to claim a slot on the ticket of a major American political party.

National party conventions are tightly scripted events, designed to highlight the party's appeal, spotlight its stars and climax at the acceptance speech of the candidate. While this meeting in Denver was no exception, a large question mark hung over the event: How would his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, respond? Would she embrace Mr. Obama and rally her disappointed — and often bitter — supporters around him? Or would she vent her frustrations and damage her party's prospects in November.

All doubts vanished when Ms. Clinton made a rousing speech — itself a result of protracted negotiations with Mr. Obama to ensure that she received the respect she felt was due her — in favor of Mr. Obama and called upon the entire party to back him. Then, during the roll call vote of delegates, once it became clear that Mr. Obama would win, Ms. Clinton asked that all delegates back him to make their verdict unanimous "in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory" — another carefully scripted moment that gave Ms. Clinton her due.

While there is still some anger among Ms. Clinton's supporters, her message is clear: They must rally behind Mr. Obama to ensure a Democratic victory in November. The party faithful get that message. The challenge for Mr. Obama is to win over independents and Republicans who are disappointed in his presumptive rival, Sen. John McCain. Despite widespread sentiment in the United States that the country is on the wrong track, that will not be easy.

Opinion polls show the two men running in a virtual dead heat. Mr. Obama must overcome doubts about his lack of experience and the fear that his call for "change" is empty rhetoric. He must show that he stands for something and that there is substance behind his words. And he must overcome the often unspoken sentiment that an black cannot be president. It is a daunting assignment.

米民主党は、一期目のイリノイ州の上院議員バラク・オバマ氏を第44代大統領候補に指名、ケニア人の父とカンサス州出身の白人の母をもつ氏は2大政党初のアフリカ系米国人候補者だ。

指名受諾演説を中心に党をアピールする全国党大会では疑問が残っていた：クリントン上院議員はオバマ氏を認め、彼女の支持者に彼への支持を求めるのか？または不満をもらし、党が11月の一般投票で勝つ可能性を傷つけるのか？クリントン氏は、一つの党として結束するよう代議員に訴え、指名点呼投票を切り上げて満場一致のオバマ氏支持を提案して評価を高めた。

オバマ氏の課題は、マケイン候補に失望した共和党員と無党派を取り込むことだが、容易ではない。世論調査では両候補の支持率が互角とされる。オバマ氏は、経験不足で「変革」は具体性に欠き、黒人は大統領になれない、などの懸念を払拭するという難題に直面している。