Obama: 'We Are a Better Country Than This'

Barack Obama made the most of his historic night at Denver's packed Invesco Field with a broad-based attack on the "broken politics of Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush," Reuters reports. "We are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight," said Obama, who formally assumed the mantle of Democratic nominee. "On November 4th, we must stand up and say: 'Eight is enough.' 

Obama took John McCain to task for backing Bush's policies on everything from foreign policy to the economy. "It's time for them to own their failure," he said. He laid out a raft of specific proposals, including a pledge to end American dependence on foreign oil within a decade, to cut taxes for working families, to invest heavily in clean energy, and to maintain a strong military that will choose its battles more wisely. "America, we are better than these last 8 years,” said Obama. “We are a better country than this.” (More Barack Obama stories.)