On the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, the first African American to secure a major party nomination becomes the Democratic Party's candidate for president. Win or lose, Barack Obama has secured his place in history.

Expectations for the Illinois senator to hit it out of the park tonight are high. After all, it was his 2004 Democratic convention speech that started the presidential buzz that helped put him on his path to the nomination.

Senior Obama adviser David Axelrod told reporters Wednesday that Obama has written most of the speech himself, and he studied the convention addresses of former presidents. In particular, Axelrod said Obama found inspiration in Bill Clinton's 1992 address, Ronald Reagan's 1980 address, and John F. Kennedy's 1960 address.

He will speak at Invesco Field at Mile High before approximately 75,000 attendees. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter will also speak tonight.

While Obama was not scheduled to appear before Thursday, he showed a little leg Wednesday night when he came on stage following vice presidential candidate Joe Biden's convention address. Biden was nominated by acclamation prior to his speech.

(Wall Street Journal)