The Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina brought its schedule to a climax on the third and final night with speeches from Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama.

Vice President Biden took to the stage preceding the president and after accepting his party’s nomination, went on to give one of the biggest speeches of his political career.

He made an impassioned appeal to the American people to give Obama four more years. In a passionate speech, sometimes filled with platitudes for his senior partner, President Obama, he used his time to connect with the middle class and made an effective case for the president.

Biden related to the delegates there, and to the millions tuned in to watch the convention, that he knew Obama and of “his profound concern for the average American,” he continued, “he knew that no matter how tough the decisions he had to make were in that Oval Office, he knew that families all over America sitting at their kitchen tables were literally making decisions for their family that were equally as consequential.” Biden went on to say, “And there’s another thing that has bound us together these past four years. We had a pretty good idea what all those families, all you Americans in trouble were going through, in part because our own families had gone through similar struggles.”

He pointed out in his speech, the character of Obama as he spoke about the auto bailout, saying that Obama “had the guts to stand up for the automobile industry when so many others just were prepared to walk away.” Capitalizing on what Romney said in an op-ed piece in the New York Times where Romney said, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” he contrasted the Republican candidate’s approach to the auto industry, calling it the “Bain Way” saying, “Folks, the Bain way may bring your firm the highest profit. But it’s not the way to lead your country from its highest office.”

Biden, as expected also rolled out his “bumper sticker” quote of the last six months as well when he said, “Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.”

One of the most memorable lines of Biden’s speech came out as he spoke of the outsourcing of jobs and Romney’s stance on the glabal economy. He said of Romney’s tax proposal, “It’s called a territorial tax, which the experts have looked at and they acknowledged it will create 800,000 new jobs. All of them overseas. All of them,” he continued to his punch line, “Governor Romney said that as president, he would take a jobs tour. Well, with his support for outsourcing, it would have to be a foreign trip.” The line was met with laughter and applause.

Shortly after, President Obama took over the stage to thundering applause to give his forward-themed speech to the delegates and television viewers nation-wide. After proclaiming love for his wife and pride for his two daughters, then assuring his children that they still had to attend school the next day, Obama thanked Biden for being the best Vice President that he could have hoped for.

He formally opened his speech with, “I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention,” Obama said. “The times have changed, and so have I. I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the president,” this drew further cheers from the 15,000 gathered at the convention.

Spending his time at the podium speaking of the “American Dream,” education, energy, the deficit, jobs and national security, the president spoke of sacrifice, and struggle and told the American people that they must endure as the fight is no yet over. But, he assured America that it led to a better place for their children and America in the future.

Knowing the population of the United States tires of the seemingly endless campaign, and the particularly long one this year, Obama said, “I know campaigns can seem small, and even silly sometimes. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound bites. The truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising. If you’re sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me, so am I.”

That statement was a lead-up to a more serious note , where he said, “But when all is said and done, when you pick up that ballot to vote, you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs, the economy; taxes and deficits; energy, education; war and peace, decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come. And on every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties. It will be a choice between two different paths for America. A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.”

Obama spoke of the dreams and promises that have been with the American people for generations when he spoke of his Grandparents and “the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, D.C.”

Explaining that as he saw that “American Dream” begin to slip away that was the moment he chose to run for the presidency.

While he agreed that not every problem can be cured with a program or government dictate, Obama said to the audience that although he favors tax cuts for middle class America and small business, he didn’t believe another round of tax cuts for millionaires.

In the most memorable poke at the Republican party of the evening, he ridiculed the Republican lack of a plan and stance on the cure for the economy, saying,”They want your vote, but they don’t want you to know their plan. And that’s because all they had to offer is the same prescription they’ve had for the last thirty years:

“Have a surplus? Try a tax cut.”
“Deficit too high? Try another.”
“Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning.”

The bulk of Obama’s speech spoke of challenges, goals, and a better place, of individual hardships and dreams coming true. He related stories in manufacturing, jobs, education and of the spirit of America’s men and women in uniform, all the while urging the American people to continue moving forward toward a dream of a stronger, safer and more industrious nation.

Obama also related the consequences of abandoning that dream, saying, “If you turn away now, if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible, well, change will not happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: the lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election, and those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control health care choices that women should be making for themselves.” he continued, saying, “Only you can make sure that doesn’t happen. Only you have the power to move us forward.”

The president closed with this remark:

“America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won’t promise that now. Yes, our path is harder, but it leads to a better place. Yes our road is longer, but we travel it together. We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.”

The convention closed with thunderous applause and digital fireworks.