Kennedy to appear, may speak at convention

DENVER -- Ailing Sen. Edward M. Kennedy prepared to rally Democrats with an appearance at the opening of the Democratic National Convention Monday night as the party struggled to present a unified front amid tensions left over from its bruising primary battle.

Barack Obama campaigned in Iowa just days before claiming the party's presidential nomination, while his representatives worked with former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton's camp on a deal to give her some votes in the roll call for the nomination -- but to then quickly end the process in a unanimous show of acclamation for Obama.

Some hard feelings remained. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., acknowledged that Democrats "had not yet achieved the complete reconciliation that we need."

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign unleashed a mocking ad seeking to link Republican rival John McCain with President Bush and failed economic policies. The musical "Don't Know Much" commercial underscored a desire by party leaders to make the convention as much about skewering McCain as about unifying for the fall campaign.

Clinton, scheduled to speak Tuesday night, preached reconciliation at a breakfast for New York Democrats. As supporters waved "Hillary Made History" signs, she took her own shot at McCain.

"Now I understand that the McCain campaign is running ads trying to divide us," she said, referring to recent GOP television spots using her own earlier words against Obama. "I'm Hillary Clinton, and I do not approve that message," she said, to laughter and applause.

Kennedy, who is being treated for a malignant brain tumor, is a beloved figure within the party. The Massachusetts senator arrived in Denver Sunday night and got a checkup at a local hospital. He plans to attend to watch a video tribute to him and may address the convention if he feels up to it, said a senior Democratic official who talked on the condition of anonymity.

"He's truly humbled by the outpouring of support and wouldn't miss it for anything in the world," said Stephanie Cutter, a Kennedy spokeswoman.

Michelle Obama, who will speak Monday night, visited the arena during the morning for a podium check. With her were daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, and other family members. Sasha banged the gavel and said into the microphone, "Hi there."

As Democrats put the final touches on opening night, Obama's campaign released the ad featuring images of McCain hugging Bush and the two smiling in spite of national economic woes. It features a parody of the Sam Cooke classic "Wonderful World," which starts off with the line "Don't know much about history." For the ad it's "I'm not up on the economy," playing on McCain's earlier admission that economics wasn't his best subject.

Ending with a photo of Bush patting McCain's back, the spot asks, "Do we really want four more years of the same old tune?"

McCain's campaign released its own ad to play on Obama's lack of support among some Clinton backers. It features a Clinton supporter who now backs McCain assuring like-minded voters: "A lot of Democrats will vote McCain. It's OK, really!"

Pelosi, who is chairman of the convention by virtue of her post as House speaker, said at a news conference that the Obama and Clinton forces would unite. "The nomination is decided, we have a vice president, we're going to work together and go forward," Pelosi said.

She deflected a question about female voters' comfort level with Obama by saying they show a strong preference for him over McCain in public opinion polls, a gender gap she said has emerged "even before the complete reconciliation that we need."

McCain on Monday called Obama his "very honorable opponent" as he began a busy week of low-key events.

Seeking at least a slice of attention amid the Democratic celebration in Denver, McCain visited the Phoenix high school where his wife, Cindy, graduated. "This is a tough presidential campaign we're in," McCain said. "I have a very honorable opponent. There are stark differences between us."

McCain was also using an appearance Monday on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" to stay in touch with voters. And, there was continued interest in his choice of a running mate.

Opening night at the Pepsi Center, the main site for the four-day convention, was to feature telling the Illinois senator's personal story to the millions of voters nationwide just tuning in to the presidential campaign.

Behind the choreographed show of unity, however, polls showed significant Clinton support still being denied to Obama.

Yet while there were pro-Clinton demonstrations in other parts of town, most Democratic delegates were putting the rough-and-tumble primary contest behind them to focus on electing the first black presidential nominee of a major political party.

Michelle Obama's prime-time Monday speech was meant to both humanize the man to whom she's been married for nearly 16 years and to show up her own critics before her largest audience yet.

"Our stories are the quintessential American stories," she said in an interview CNN aired Monday.

After the speech, her husband was to appear via satellite.

Joe Biden, Obama's new running mate, arrived in the convention city by plane after making an unannounced visit early Monday to the Amtrak train station in Wilmington, Del, that he has used for 35 years to commute to Washington and his day job in the Senate.

"These guys have been my family," said Biden as he greeted vendors and travelers. He visited the station with his wife, Jill, and his security detail.

In Denver, he stopped for takeout barbecue with his wife and one of his sons at a downtown eating place. He said his Wednesday night convention speech "is all ready."

Obama closes the convention Thursday night when the action shifts to Invesco Field at Mile High stadium, where the 47-year-old, first-term senator will accept the nomination from the 50-yard line. He said Sunday he was "still tooling around with my speech a little bit."

War protesters wearing orange, jail-style jumpsuits and black hoods over their heads marched down a pedestrian mall in downtown Denver chanting, "Stop the torture, stop the war." The protesters, estimated at several hundred on Monday, have been kept at a distance from the fenced and guarded convention site.

Besides Michelle Obama, other speakers Monday night include Barack Obama's sister, Maya Soetero-Ng, and Craig Robinson, his brother-in-law. The schedule also includes former Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, a Republican moderate who broke ranks with his party this month and endorsed Obama.