Mock up: Barack Obama in a toga in the New York Post

Barack Obama was mocked in the American press yesterday for making the most important speech of his life on a set decked out like an ancient temple.

Finally nominated as the first black candidate for the U.S. presidency, he moved the Democratic Party Convention from the conference hall to an 80,000-seater football stadium for his landmark address.

His challenge was to turn his trademark soaring rhetoric into simple ideas to improve the lives of hard-pressed American families. But the Greek pillars of his backdrop prompted ridicule before he stood up to speak early today.

The New York Post portrayed him mocked up in the style of Frankie Howerd's toga-clad TV romp Up Pompeii!, threatening to tip this historic moment into bathos - the Greek term for dignity descending into farce.

And rival John McCain's camp was quick to make more fun of him. Republican spokesman Danny Daz called the set - designed by Britney Spears's concert team - 'the Temple of Obama' and observed sarcastically: 'It's only appropriate that Barack Obama would descend from the Heavens and spend a little time with us mere mortals.'

Held at Denver's Invesco Field stadium at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos, the extravagant event before a full audience and tens of millions of TV viewers was also to feature performances by Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow.

American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson was to sing the national anthem.

Democrats wondering if the kitsch setting wasn't a mistake are comforted by the thought that John F Kennedy's nomination acceptance event was held at the Los Angeles Coliseum, and it too was ridiculed.

Obama takes a tour of the temple set

Party officials fearing what Americans might think of 'Obamapolis' say privately that it was dreamed up before his recent 'rock star' visit to Berlin, where he drew a crowd of 200,000 - and Republican criticism for being out of touch with ordinary Americans.

Had they anticipated that, the affair in Colorado would have been more low-key.

McCain's set next week in St Paul, Minnesota, is stark by comparison: He'll speak before a giant stars and stripes.

But for Obama, the Greek columns had a twin appeal: his speech came 45 years to the day since civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr's historic 'I have a dream' address at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, which also boasts Greek pillars. And Lincoln is America's favourite president - especially for blacks, whom he released from slavery.

Sound check: U.S. music stars Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder go through their paces on the last day of the Democratic Convention

With Americans proving resistant to Obama's appeal, his task was to pull off a speech with the same historic impact as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, while addressing the 'kitchen table' concerns that voters are worrying about.

Obama seeks to stand up for what are called the 'middle classes' - what in Britain we would call the hard-working poor. He promises to turn the economy around and make the nation safer.

But his grandiose style lends itself to accusations of hubris - the Greek word for pride before a fall - and he was advised to keep things simple as he made an impassioned call for change. However, Obama also had to top Bill Clinton's barnstorming performance on Wednesday night.

The former president, who had described Obama privately as 'a roll of the dice' as a presidential prospect, now oozed warmth for Barack - far more so than wife Hillary the night before.

Lights, camera, action: The stage is set for Obama's speech tonight

The Invesco Mile High Field, home of the Denver Broncos, where Obama will make his speech tonight

Obama at 47 too inexperienced to be president? Clinton reminded the convention that he, too, had been described as too inexperienced to be America's commanderin-chief.

Clinton was by turns funny, angry, warm and even tearful but it was more than a speech offering support to Obama, whom a few months ago he had sought desperately to prevent winning the Democratic nomination.

This was Bill in his 'if you can't beat them, take them over' mode, establishing himself as the titular head of the Democratic Party.

Describing his performance as insincerity on stilts is accurate enough but inadequate. Clinton on stage believed in Barack Obama.

Obama has already inspired a rock-star like devotion that even leaves some Democratic supporters wary - will tonight be his undoing?

'I say to you: Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world,' he said. Then a Clinton riff that brought the house down: 'People have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.'

Is it true? It doesn't matter. It is in Bill's world and his real message was obvious: Barack will succeed only if he follows Bill's advice. Become Bill Obama.

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Presidential image: A full-scale replica of Air Force One fuselage arrives at Invesco Field before Mr Obama speaks

Democrats are still level-pegging with the Republicans in the polls, getting no appreciable 'bounce' from their convention despite enormous coverage. All this despite the deep unpopularity of the Bush administration, McCain's age - he turns 72 today - and before the Republican convention next week.

What Obama needed early today was a modern Lincoln-at-Gettysburg moment that remakes the American political landscape - if voters can see past the Greek columns.