Sometimes we overlook how far Western society and the United States have come. And how quickly.
Just eight years ago, the Democratic Party took the historic risk of nominating a little-known African-American, Barack Obama, for president. He won that year, then overcame stumbles and an economic slump to be returned comfortably four years later.
![Hillary Clinton is trying to present a more human image to counter her critics.](/web/20160803161153im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/g/j/p/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gqgtfx.png/1469957269499.jpg)
Now the woman Mr Obama beat to the nomination in 2008, Hillary Clinton, is the first woman to run for the highest office in the US, if not the Western world.
"When any barrier falls in America it clears the way for anyone. When there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit," Mrs Clinton told her party's national convention as she accepted the nomination on Friday.
Hers was an appeal to disillusioned Americans to work together, not resort to scapegoating and division in the face of community violence, terrorism and economic upheaval.
Hers was a positive, inclusive pitch to young girls who might aspire to change the world.
Hers offered a stark contrast to the dark, divisive and individualist approach of Republican nominee Donald Trump.
"Don't believe anyone who says 'I alone can fix it'," Mrs Clinton said of the billionaire's claim last week. "That should set off alarm bells for all of us. Isn't he forgetting troops on the frontline, fire-fighters and police …, doctors and nurses, teachers who change lives, entrepreneurs … … mothers who lost children to violence?"
Mrs Clinton needed to reconcile with supporters of her left-wing Democrat rival Bernie Sanders. She thanked him and pledged to focus on economic and social justice issues: "I've heard you. Your cause is our cause."
Indeed, her economic mantra included protectionist elements of Senator Sanders' campaign and Mr Trump's "America first" platform.
While Mrs Clinton leads her rival in the polls and can expect a lift from her speech, she knows that registered white voters without a university degree are backing Mr Trump's "outsider" politics by 58 per cent to 30 per cent.
Mrs Clinton knows her insider status is a potential drawback. She has been first lady, a senator and secretary of state.
But on Friday she turned that to her advantage, asking whether Mr Trump had the temperament to be commander in chief. "He loses his cool at the slightest provocation," she said, adding that "a man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons."
Knowing that she also has a reputation of being cool and aloof, Mrs Clinton drew on her family values, supported by daughter Chelsea who said her mother " never ever forgets who she's fighting for".
Mr Obama had weighed in on Thursday with a glowing endorsement: "I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States of America."
It was one of his great speeches.
Mrs Clinton, often seen as a dour and uninspiring orator, peppered her speech with jokes and referenced her tough times at the hands of her husband and in losing to Mr Obama in 2008.
"More than a few times I've had to pick myself up and get back in the game," she said.
The Democrat mocked Mr Trump for saying he knew more about ISIS than US generals did. She did not resile from playing what she called the woman card, either. And she specifically mentioned systemic racism in some police forces – a factor Mr Trump notably overlooked in his law and order pitch.
The Republican outsider's success so far is redolent of the Brexit vote in Britain and the Pauline Hanson resurgence here.
But Mrs Clinton played up her appeal to Hispanics, African-Americans and women who fear Mr Trump's approach.
"You have to stand up to a bully," she said "We will stand up against mean and divisive rhetoric wherever it comes from ... So enough with the bigotry and bombast."
Mr Clinton hopes Mr Trump's unscripted approach leads to errors before the November 8 election.
If he avoids mistakes, though, Mrs Clinton needs registered Democrats, Independents and even anti-Trump Republicans to outnumber highly motivated Trump supporters.
Every time Mr Trump's name was mentioned at the convention, the Democrat faithful voiced their anger. Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama had more constructive advice: "Don't boo. Vote."
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