DENVER -- Here in the Pepsi Center, the process that will eventually lead to the official nomination of Barack Obama as the Democratic Party's candidate for president has begun. Both Hillary Clinton and Obama were nominated, and each of the nominations was then seconded by several people speaking on their behalf.

There was a good deal of symbolism involved in the choice of one of the speakers who seconded Obama's nomination. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was a staunch Clinton backer during the primaries, but today she rose on Obama's behalf.

"I know what's at stake in this election. So don't be fooled by any political ad from John McCain," Wasserman Schultz said to the assembled delegates. "No matter where we stood at the beginning of this political campaign, Democrats stand together today. We believe passionately in Barack Obama's message ... we support enthusiastically his plans to restore the American dream ... and we stand united, proudly, in our determination to elect Barack Obama."