I thought it was pretty good. Liked the first part more than the end, and I'm sorry he felt he had to load it with so many promises to not fulfill the Republican stereotype of a Democrat (soft on religion and national defense, big on taxes). But he looked presidential and passionate, and I don't think he could have made a much stronger appeal to swing voters…that is, if any of them were watching.
As a couple of my friends have not noticed, I have not shown much enthusiasm here for Mr. Kerry. I have such a history of feeling disappointed by politicians that I'm reticent to make that emotional commitment. It's easier to deal with them letting you down if you never thought they were that wonderful to begin with. I'm sure Kerry has the capacity to turn into Michael Dukakis or worse on us…but so far, so good.
One hopes someone will tell Kerry, "Fine, we all know you were in Vietnam. You can stop mentioning it." I understand why it's up front and center. If Bush had Kerry's history and vice-versa, Republicans would be arguing that the guy with the medals was inarguably the better human being than the guy with the massive hole in his National Guard record. But I think it would be classier, and show that there's a better argument for Kerry than what he did several decades ago, if he reduced it to an aside.
I'm just watching the end of the C-Span coverage right now. A chaplain is trying to deliver the closing benediction with confetti and late-arriving balloons still cascading down from the rafters. A lot of what he's saying ("Send me…") sounds like replays of campaign-type speeches we've heard the last few days. I like my politics with as little religion as possible but I guess, when you're running for office these days, you need to cover your butt on such matters.