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DENVER: First word on Barack Obama's historic nomination acceptance
speech from a bevy of celebrities in attendance was decidedly partisan: "It was
excellent," Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said. "It was amazing."
"Incredible," said Jessica Alba simply, before joining Fergie, Rosario Dawson,
Wilmer Valderrama and Kerry Washington at a private exit from Invesco Field.
Alba was at the speech with husband Cash Warren.
Other celebrities in attendance included George Lucas with girlfriend Mellody
Hardon and his daughter, Forest Whitaker with wife Keisha and Star Jones, and
Daniel Dae Kim of "Lost," who posed for pictures with the Hawaii delegation.
Next for Obama and his celebrity backers?
"What I hope happens is the country doesn't forget the jubilation and excitement
that's been generated here," Kim said. "And I hope it turns into something that
changes the world."
will.i.am performed his speech-song "Yes We Can" with John Legend during the
run-up to Obama's speech. Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway sang along in the
stands as Sheryl Crow performed "Change is Gonna Come," and crooner Michael
McDonald prompted many a flag wave with his rendition of "America the
Beautiful."
Oprah Winfrey left Denver with the candidate she wanted, but reportedly without
her eyelashes.
The talk-show host said she was moved to tears by Obama's speech. And those
must've been some serious tears.
"I cried my eyelashes off," she said in the bowels of Invesco Field, moments
after Obama accepted the nomination for president before an estimated 84,000
people.
"I think it's the most powerful thing I have ever experienced," she added,
calling Obama's words "transcendent." On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther
King Jr.'s "I have a Dream Speech," Winfrey compared Obama's words to those of
the civil-rights leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
"He's not an African-American candidate," she said. "He's a candidate for
Americans."
Winfrey threw her support behind Obama early — even before the Democratic
primaries got under way last year. She's stayed active since, hosting rallies
and fundraisers that even Obama has acknowledged have given him a boost.
Before singing the national anthem to a slowly filling stadium, Jennifer Hudson
appeared lost in thought, wearing a casual gray dress and listening to iPod
earphones as her handlers asked for directions to the podium. While waiting, she
typed on a Sidekick.
"Fired up!" said an excited Spike Lee on the field. "Bigger than the Super
Bowl!"
The only major party planned for Thursday night was an elite event sponsored by
Vanity Fair and Google.
Among the celebrities spotted in and around the convention on Wednesday was
Steven Spielberg, who directed a short film on veterans that shown at the
convention. Jennifer Lopez spoke at a reception honoring children's rights
activist Marian Wright Edelman. Ben Affleck read excerpts from a Howard Zinn
book and made an appearance at the city's food bank for America's Second
Harvest.
Affleck was joined by his wife, Jennifer Garner, at the book reading at the
Starz Green Room across the street from the Pepsi Center. Also participating:
Dawson, Washington, Taye Diggs, Hill Harper and Josh Brolin.
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