The story

On a historic night in U.S. politics, Barack Obama secured the Democratic Party's nomination for president and emerged for the first time on stage in Denver with running mate Sen. Joe Biden.

Obama on Wednesday officially became the first African American to lead a major party ticket.

Delegates cried and cheered as former rival Sen. Hillary Clinton motioned to cut the roll call vote short, saying "Let's declare together with one voice right here, right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president."

In speeches before the Democratic faithful, Biden and former U.S. President Bill Clinton repeatedly attacked the foreign and domestic policies of Republican George W. Bush. Both criticized the policies of presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain as maintaining Bush policies.

"John McCain is my friend. We've traveled the world together. It's a friendship that goes beyond politics, and the personal courage and heroism demonstrated by John still amazes me," Biden said. Read full article »

CNN's Alan Silverleib contributed to this report.

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