The 2008 Democratic National Convention packs everything we've come to expect from the modern-day party gathering: gossip, wonky intrigue, staged demonstrations, made-for-television gestures, pre-fab sound bites.

       It also includes something this country has never seen in it's 232 years of existence: an African-American man as a major party nominee.

       Let that sink in for a second.     Wednesday night brought us a roll call during which Barack Obama ended up as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

       Folks my age and older are able to remember the days when African Americans had to fight to be seated as delegates (Mississippi, 1964), much less be considered as candidates for the most minor of partisan offices.    

       This, truly is, an incredible day.    Making it even more remarkable is the fact that the man nailed down the nomination by narrowly beating out...a woman, Hillary Clinton.      And, no matter what you think of Mrs. Clinton, she could not have been more gracious in being part of the New York delegation calling for suspension of the rules and making the Obama nomination happen via acclamation.     Wow.      

        And so, history is made.

       You can argue about Obama's political viability.    You can argue whether he's ready for the Oval Office.    You can't debate just how extraordinary this evening turned out to be.     Something that we never thought would happen in our lifetimes actually is page two in a lot of circles to the political intrigue between the Clinton/Obama camps.      To our kids, including mine who get to vote tor president for the first time, it's no big deal.       Their grandparents might've marched with Father Groppi over a Milwaukee viaduct or ridden Greyhounds down south.     To them,  race just...isn't...that...big...a...deal.      To us, seeing Diane Carroll star in prime time as "Julia" was pushing the envelope.      Our children chuckle about what our lives had to be like in such backward times.

        The history made Wednesday night gets an extra dollop of poignancy Thursday when Obama gives his acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.     It comes 45 years to the day since Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

                       A dream delayed.      A vision realized.

                      To read more about this historic moment through the eyes of local African American leaders, please check out Steve Jagler's blog at the Small Business Times.