Obama emulating Kennedy speech at DNC

DENVER, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is trying to invoke the passion of President John F. Kennedy for his Democratic National Convention speech, officials say.

Obama supporter Theodore Sorensen, who worked on Kennedy's "New Frontier" convention acceptance speech in 1960, said Obama is taking a page from the late president by moving his DNC speech to an outdoor facility in Denver, USA Today said Thursday.

"The decision to move the speech outdoors was brilliant, as was Obama's this year," Sorensen said. "Kennedy's physical presence was electrifying and so is Obama's. A big outdoor audience maximizes their presence."

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley concurred that the Democratic presidential candidate's acceptance speech appears to be following in the footsteps of Kennedy and his "Camelot"-themed presidency.

"The Obama campaign has been purposely modeling its acceptance speech after J.F.K. in 1960," Brinkley told The New York Times of Thursday's speech, "and we'll soon see whether the content on Thursday is another nod to Camelot."