DENVER -- They waited for hours.

But when Barack Obama finally arrived at Invesco Field in Denver Thursday night and accepted the Democratic presidential nomination -- an historic first for a black American -- he gave a rousing speech that sent many in the crowd of 84,000 to their feet and at least one, Molly Grady, 19, from Marshalltown, Iowa, to tears.

"The fact this guy is going to be president is the most heartwarming, satisfying, comforting and reassuring thing in the world. He is going to change the world," Grady said, crying.

"He gave us the big picture. He told us we are part of the solution. We are the solution," said Stephanie Imhoff, an Obama delegate from Ames, Iowa.

"He spoke the truth," added Paula A. Martinez, of Carlisle, Iowa. "It is going to take all of us to get him elected."

Hours before the U.S. senator from Illinois arrived at Invesco Field, so did everybody else.

It didn't matter, the wait.

The excited crowd waved flags under brilliant sunshine and danced to Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder. And they stomped their feet and roared their approval repeatedly, like when Al Gore came to the stage.

Iowans were right up front for the show, too. It was a celebration that, according to several Iowans who arrived early, sent a message about the party.

"So many conventions are about insiders or people who work the system," said former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. "This is opening up to a whole broad array of volunteers and supporters. I just stood in line for an hour and a half with just ordinary folks. They're excited. They appreciate the opportunity to be here at an historic moment in our country's history."

"This has always been a party that reaches down to those who need to be lifted up. That want to equal the playing field, that want to give people dignity and rights in the pursuit of their lives," said George Dixon, a delegate from DeWitt.

The Obama campaign's decision to move the final night of the convention ï½ which had its share of fundraisers for the well connected, too -- has drawn plenty of critical analysis, from worries about the weather and fears it would play into a Republican narrative that Obama is too much a celebrity and too little a leader.

"After the musical acts are finished, the temple comes down and people go home, they are still left with a candidate who has a meager record, poor judgment and just plain lacks the experience to be commander in chief on day one," said Wendy Riemann, spokeswoman for Republican presumptive nominee John McCain.

How the final night of the convention factors into the election probably won't be known for some time. But, for Thursday, at least the weather held. And the Obama campaign used the occasion to put to use some of the organizing techniques it used in the leadup to the Iowa caucuses.

Phone banks were set up for people coming into the stadium to make calls to friends, soliciting their support. The campaign also used the event to try to build its database of supporters. And there were plenty of opportunities. There were reports that 40,000 people were turned away.

In the hours before Obama's arrival, the stadium that's home to the Denver Broncos football team, a carefully choreographed show aimed at building the enthusiasm for Obama's entrance rolled out.

Gore's exhortation to deal with global warming segued into a recording of the Fifth Dimension's "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in."

Later, former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald burst into "America," dedicating it to people who want to "take their country back."

"This is awesome. This is what America needs: To be included. To be invited," said Imhoff.

Ed Tibbetts can be contacted at (563) 383-2327 or etibbetts@qctimes.com.