Obama Ready for Nomination, but Is He Ready for the White House?
As Obama gears up for Thursday's speech, some ask if he's capable of much more.
DENVER, Aug. 27, 2008— -- The theme of the Democratic convention is "Securing America's Future," a theme Barack Obama, the party's nominee, tried to push while campaigning today in the battleground state of Montana.
Back in Denver, his wife, Michelle, helped assemble care packages for U.S. troops abroad.
National security is a real vulnerability for the Illinois senator, with less than half of the American people saying he'd be a good commander in chief.
While meeting with veterans and military families in Billings, Mont., this afternoon, Obama praised the military service of his rival Arizona Sen. John McCain.
"We owe him our gratitude. We don't owe him our vote. We don't owe him our vote. The stakes are too high," Obama said.
Obama also sought to portray McCain as weak on veterans' issues.
"Do we want somebody who initially fought the GI bill that Jim Webb and I and others sponsored because he thought, 'well if you give benefits that are too good then maybe we won't have good retention rates?'" Obama asked.
"What kind of logic is that?" he added.
The Obama campaign believes the economy -- where he has an advantage -- will ultimately prove a more important issue to voters in November, but his camp is also aware the White House hopeful needs to improve how voters see him on this issue.
According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 61 percent of the American people say McCain would be a better commander in chief of the military. Only 29 percent of the American people say that Obama would be better.
"Barack has to go out and talk about his message and his vision for the country and not let the Republicans define him for something that he's not," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in an interview with ABC News.
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