WRAPUP 9-Backers of Hillary Clinton cloud Obama show

* Obama appears to convention on video screen

* Michelle Obama disputes elitist charge

* Edward Kennedy speech sets off celebration

By Steve Holland,

DENVER, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Democrats opening their national convention tried to smooth over a rift with Hillary Clinton's resentful supporters on Monday and portrayed Barack Obama as a down-to-earth American patriot bidding to make history.

Chairman Howard Dean pounded a gavel to start the four-day convention where Democrats say their presidential candidate must unite the party, get tough on Republican rival John McCain and back up soaring oratory with specific policies.

The aim of the first day was to frame Obama's personal story, the son of a black man from Kenya and white woman from Kansas who spent his early years in Hawaii and Indonesia, worked his way through college and began his political career as a community organizer in Chicago.

His wife, Michelle Obama, headlined the opening night. In front of a huge crowd waving "Michelle" signs, she said her husband represented typical American values, rejecting Republican charges that Obama is an aloof celebrity.

"What struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, and even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine," she said.

"He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did," she said.

Michelle Obama also put a gloss on her own assertive personality. She has drawn fire from Republicans for saying she only recently became proud of her country.

"I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president. I come here as a mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world," she said.

After she spoke, Obama himself appeared for the first time to the convention, showing up on a large video screen to praise his wife as she stood on stage with their two young daughters, Malia and Sasha.

"Malia, Sasha, how did you think Mom did?" said Obama, who spoke from Kansas City.

"I think she did good," was the reply.

Speaking to reporters in Illinois, the first-term senator tried to calm anxiety among some Democrats about a mild slide in opinion polls that has left him in a dead heat with McCain heading toward the Nov. 4 election.

He said his nomination acceptance speech on Thursday would be "workmanlike," short on lofty words and long on policy details.

He also played down divisions with the Clintons, Hillary and Bill, the former president still stewing over having been accused by Obama of trying to inject racial politics into the Democrats' primary battle earlier this year.

"I am absolutely convinced that both Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton understand the stakes," Obama told reporters in Moline, Illinois.

In her speech, Michelle Obama praised Clinton for seeking to advance the cause of American women "so that our daughters and sons can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher."

In an emotional high point, Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, 76, a symbol of Democratic liberalism who is battling brain cancer, appeared before the cheering crowd after a videotaped tribute to his long political life.

"My fellow Americans, it is so wonderful to be here," said Kennedy. "And nothing -- nothing -- is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight."

Casting a cloud over the convention was ongoing resentment from supporters of New York Sen. Clinton, miffed that she lost the nomination and upset that she was not picked as Obama's vice presidential running mate. Obama chose veteran Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who arrived at the convention on Monday.

Clinton, speaking to sign-waving supporters from her home state delegation before the convention began, urged party unity.

"We are after all Democrats, so it may take a while," she said. "We're not the fall-in-line party. We are diverse. But make no mistake, we are unified," she said.

ASSAULT ON MCCAIN BEGINS

Speakers began an assault on McCain, charging him with wanting to maintain policies of unpopular President George W. Bush.

"Republicans say that John McCain has experience," said House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "We say that John McCain has the experience of being wrong."

Obama would be America's first black president, a fact emphasized by Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the famous civil rights leader.

"I know what a great leader can do to help us find common ground. America, we need such a leader today, a leader who can heal the wounds of the last eight years, a leader who knows that what unites us is greater than what divides us," said Jackson.

The crowd of Democratic delegates, clearly in a party mood, reveled in the speeches. Wearing colorful hats, they cheered and waved signs that said "Change We Can Believe In."

Behind the scenes, negotiators from the Clinton and Obama camps came up with a plan to placate Clinton supporters by allowing three speeches on behalf of a symbolic nomination for Clinton before the floor turns to nominating Obama as the Democratic candidate.

Amid reports that Bill Clinton was upset that he was asked to speak about foreign policy on Wednesday night instead of the U.S. economy, Obama told reporters traveling with him that he had told Clinton in a phone conversation last week he could talk about whatever he wanted.

"I said, Mr. President, you can say whatever you like. Bill Clinton is a unique figure in our politics," Obama said.

A new opinion poll showed how much work lay ahead to rally Clinton supporters behind him. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll said the race between Obama and McCain was even, each with 47 percent support.

(Additional reporting by John Whitesides, Caren Bohan, Thomas Ferraro and Rob Doherty; Editing by Howard Goller and David Wiessler)