Some random thoughts on day 4 of this happy and confident convention.
Pat Buchanan was absolutely gushing about Kerry's speech on MSNBC. It was odd, just on the face of it. But it was even odder if you know the history of Buchanan being directly involved in the 1971 effort of the Nixon White House to attack Kerry.
No one ever seems to notice that rushing through speeches in this format is the rule, not the exception, and is by design. Kerry rushed through his speech tonight. So did Edwards last night. And Clinton on Monday. And Gore four years ago. It's not by accident, and no one ever seems to catch on.
At first, the sweat was freaking me out. Elections have been lost on this (see 1960). But I think it actually played out well. It humanized him, and helped emphasize the fighter theme.
It's not an original thought, but the HVT Pakistan announced this afternoon was captured on Sunday! I wonder if Team Kerry will think it wise to push back gently on this.
Whatever you thought of Kerry's speech, I think we can safely say that it got the job done.
We've seen the campaign throw a pretty good punch this week. Between now and the end of the Republican convention, we'll get to see how well they can take a punch.