Obamas bring spirit of 2008 to Harris's party

CHICAGO, Aug 21 (AFP): As deafening cheers greeted Barack and Michelle Obama, Democrats could have been forgiven for thinking they had been transported 16 years back in time.
But in 2024, the former US president and first lady were devoting their crowd-pleasing abilities towards putting another trailblazer in the White House-Kamala Harris.
"I've got the same feeling as I did in 2008. I'm just excited and energized and just, I'm ready," said Sherry McClain, a delegate from Alabama who watched the couple wow the Democratic convention in Chicago.
"Obama just brought it home and I think she is bringing it home, the first female black woman. And we know we're going to win on November 5th."
While outgoing President Joe Biden got a long and emotional ovation from the crowd in his farewell speech on Monday, the reaction to the Obamas was closer to a frenzy.
The pair, who still wield enormous influence in the Democratic party, were treated as returning heroes and had the partisan crowd eating out of their hands.