Obama makes surprise appearance at democrats' convention

NEW YORK - Senator Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night just hours after delegates named him the party's presidential nominee, the first African-American to get that honour.

Obama appeared on stage at the end of vice presidential nominee Joe Biden's speech, as delegates were pumping "Biden" and "Obama" signs in the air and raising slogans.

Biden's wife, Jill, came on stage to hug her husband and tell him about a "very special surprise guest."

"Who?" Biden joked, as the crowd roared and Obama walked on stage.

Hello, Democrats" Obama shouted.

"I want everybody to now understand why I am so proud to have Joe Biden and Jill Biden and ... the whole Biden family," he said.

Obama said he thought the convention was going well so far, complemented his wife's speech Monday night. "If I'm not mistaken, Hillary Clinton rocked the house last night," he said.

Obama said Democrats were moving the party to "Mile High Stadium" Thursday night because he wanted more people to be able to attend. "At the start of this campaign we had a very simple idea: Change doesn't start from the top down, it's starts from the bottom up," he said.

After Obama's brief remarks, his family joined him on stage. Biden's wife and family appeared as well. They danced, waved and hugged as "We Are Family" blared out of the Pepsi Center speakers.