Obama Ready for Nomination, but Is He Ready for the White House?

DENVER, Aug. 27, 2008— -- The theme of the Democratic convention is "Securing America's Future," a theme Barack Obama, the party's nominee, tried to push while campaigning today in the battleground state of Montana.

Back in Denver, his wife, Michelle, helped assemble care packages for U.S. troops abroad.

National security is a real vulnerability for the Illinois senator, with less than half of the American people saying he'd be a good commander in chief.

While meeting with veterans and military families in Billings, Mont., this afternoon, Obama praised the military service of his rival Arizona Sen. John McCain.

"We owe him our gratitude. We don't owe him our vote. We don't owe him our vote. The stakes are too high," Obama said.

Obama also sought to portray McCain as weak on veterans' issues.

"Do we want somebody who initially fought the GI bill that Jim Webb and I and others sponsored because he thought, 'well if you give benefits that are too good then maybe we won't have good retention rates?'" Obama asked.

"What kind of logic is that?" he added.

The Obama campaign believes the economy -- where he has an advantage -- will ultimately prove a more important issue to voters in November, but his camp is also aware the White House hopeful needs to improve how voters see him on this issue.

According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 61 percent of the American people say McCain would be a better commander in chief of the military. Only 29 percent of the American people say that Obama would be better.

"Barack has to go out and talk about his message and his vision for the country and not let the Republicans define him for something that he's not," said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in an interview with ABC News.

What Clinton Didn't Say

A new ad revealed by the McCain camp today tries to define Obama as "dangerously unprepared" to be president and misrepresents comments he made about Iran, considered a rogue nation by the Bush administration and a state sponsor of terrorism.

Other ads feature criticisms that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's one-time rival, made of his national security experience during the primaries.

During her speech at the convention Tuesday night, Clinton praised the soon-to-be nominee and encouraged her supporters to stand behind him. But shortly after her address it was clear that Republicans were more focused on what she did not say behind the podium -- whether her main primary-season criticism of Obama, that he is not prepared to be commander in chief, was still operative.

At a Republican news conference in Denver today, former GOP presidential contender Rudy Giuliani tried to press McCain's arguments further.

"What we don't know is if she thinks he's prepared to be commander in chief," Giuliani said of Clinton.

"She said he wasn't and she said nothing last night to suggest the opposite and she had to know that question was out there," the former New York mayor said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made a similar argument on MSNBC this morning, saying Clinton's supporters would remember her claim during the primary that the junior senator from Illinois "didn't have the experience to be president."

It was only four years ago that Obama was a little known state senator.

In an interview from then that will air on ABC News' "Nightline" tonight, the presidential candidate said voters would realize John Kerry had a better national security vision than President Bush -- and interestingly, he heralded Kerry's greater experience.

"What they are hoping for is somebody who is going to bring a thoughtfulness and a base of experience to decision-making in the White House, which John Kerry possesses, and I think that George Bush does not," he said.

Mile-High Expectations?

During the Billings town hall meeting, veterans sounded supportive of the presidential hopeful.

"I think that he's quite prepared. I think that the issue is not how many years of military service, but style of leadership," said former Air Force Capt. Vern Bass.

But at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention last week in Orlando, Fla., vets were less confident in Obama's presidential abilities: "He just doesn't have the experience he needs, I believe, to be president," said one attendee.

One of the aims of Obama's international tour in July was to make Americans more comfortable with the idea of him as commander in chief. On Saturday Obama added Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to the ticket as his vice presidential running mate.

To some, the move suggests he is aware of the weakness and is unwilling to let it be an obstacle in his path to the White House.

ABC News' Andrew Fies, Avery Miller and Natalie Gewargis contributed to this report.

A new ad revealed by the McCain camp today tries to define Obama as "dangerously unprepared" to be president and misrepresents comments he made about Iran, considered a rogue nation by the Bush administration and a state sponsor of terrorism.

Other ads feature criticisms that New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama's one-time rival, made of his national security experience during the primaries.

During her speech at the convention Tuesday night, Clinton praised the soon-to-be nominee and encouraged her supporters to stand behind him. But shortly after her address it was clear that Republicans were more focused on what she did not say behind the podium -- whether her main primary-season criticism of Obama, that he is not prepared to be commander in chief, was still operative.

At a Republican news conference in Denver today, former GOP presidential contender Rudy Giuliani tried to press McCain's arguments further.

"What we don't know is if she thinks he's prepared to be commander in chief," Giuliani said of Clinton.

"She said he wasn't and she said nothing last night to suggest the opposite and she had to know that question was out there," the former New York mayor said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made a similar argument on MSNBC this morning, saying Clinton's supporters would remember her claim during the primary that the junior senator from Illinois "didn't have the experience to be president."

It was only four years ago that Obama was a little known state senator.

In an interview from then that will air on ABC News' "Nightline" tonight, the presidential candidate said voters would realize John Kerry had a better national security vision than President Bush -- and interestingly, he heralded Kerry's greater experience.

"What they are hoping for is somebody who is going to bring a thoughtfulness and a base of experience to decision-making in the White House, which John Kerry possesses, and I think that George Bush does not," he said.

Mile-High Expectations?

During the Billings town hall meeting, veterans sounded supportive of the presidential hopeful.

"I think that he's quite prepared. I think that the issue is not how many years of military service, but style of leadership," said former Air Force Capt. Vern Bass.

But at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention last week in Orlando, Fla., vets were less confident in Obama's presidential abilities: "He just doesn't have the experience he needs, I believe, to be president," said one attendee.

One of the aims of Obama's international tour in July was to make Americans more comfortable with the idea of him as commander in chief. On Saturday Obama added Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to the ticket as his vice presidential running mate.

To some, the move suggests he is aware of the weakness and is unwilling to let it be an obstacle in his path to the White House.

ABC News' Andrew Fies, Avery Miller and Natalie Gewargis contributed to this report.

During the Billings town hall meeting, veterans sounded supportive of the presidential hopeful.

"I think that he's quite prepared. I think that the issue is not how many years of military service, but style of leadership," said former Air Force Capt. Vern Bass.

But at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention last week in Orlando, Fla., vets were less confident in Obama's presidential abilities: "He just doesn't have the experience he needs, I believe, to be president," said one attendee.

One of the aims of Obama's international tour in July was to make Americans more comfortable with the idea of him as commander in chief. On Saturday Obama added Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to the ticket as his vice presidential running mate.

To some, the move suggests he is aware of the weakness and is unwilling to let it be an obstacle in his path to the White House.

ABC News' Andrew Fies, Avery Miller and Natalie Gewargis contributed to this report.