The potential running mates -- those who never were -- got their moment at the lectern Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention just hours before Barack Obama's real No. 2., Joe Biden, gave his acceptance speech in a forceful address to the delegates.

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed and Texas Rep. Chet Edwards, all of whom at one point were considered contenders to be Obama's running mate, all had speaking slots.

Bayh, a member of both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, was considered a boon to Obama given his foreign policy resume.

Reed, also on the Armed Services Committee, got a bump in the speculation game after he traveled with Obama to Iraq and Afghanistan last month.

And Edwards, who is actually President Bush's representative in the U.S. House, saw his stock rose late in the cycle as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began to tout him as a running mate for Obama.

Now among the dozens of speakers who serve as the warm-up acts to the headliners in Denver, they used their few minutes on stage to celebrate Obama's candidacy and skewer John McCain in the running theme that he is the threat of a next Bush administration.

Bayh: "The time for change has come and Barack Obama is the change we need. ... John McCain is not a bad man, but he's badly mistaken to embrace the Bush agenda for America."

Reed: "The power of American ideals will always remain unsurpassed so long as we as citizens accept the responsibility to advance the cause of freedom and equality everywhere. ... Barack Obama shares these values.

"There is a clear choice in this election. For eight years, John McCain has fallen in line with every one of George Bush's national security decisions, and now he offers up four more years of the same failed policies."

Edwards: "Barack Obama is the change we need. In the 21st century we are the land of the free because we are still the home of the brave."

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, another possible veep, had been scheduled to address the convention Wednesday, but his remarks were pushed to Thursday after the program fell behind schedule.

Richardson, who ran against Obama in the primaries before he dropped out and endorsed him in March, brought a resume that included time as energy secretary and United Nations ambassador under former President Clinton. His Obama endorsement drew grumblings from Clinton loyalists, including James Carville.

Hillary Clinton and Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, also considered potential candidates, spoke Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.