When Barack Obama exploded onto the national political stage literally during the 2004 Democratic convention, he used his oratorical skills to elevate his thin resume and undistinguished career into national prominence.
Mr Obama seems to many, by reason of his race, his calm intelligence, his youthful good looks and his powerful oratorical skills, to be well suited to draw a line beneath the bitter Bush years and to repair America's torn relationship with the outside world.