Well, that was a relief. More than a relief, actually, a genuine surprise. John Kerry “reported for duty” and rose to the historic demands of the occasion. This was, I swear I’m not exaggerating, the most important speech any American politician has given in perhaps half a century. The election is tied between two extremely different alternatives. Kerry was given exactly once chance by the network moguls who control our democracy to speak directly to the people who would be choosing America’s next president, a more crucial job than it has perhaps ever been. Kerry had a terrible reputation as a speech-giver and nobody I talked to really knew what, exactly, he should say.
The speech itself was mostly a masterpiece, delivered competently. It gets a strong A for content and a B/B+ for delivery. The beauty of it was that it took the war into Bush’s territory and redefined the terms of the debate to Kerry’s advantage. If you thought about national security this way, think again. If you thought about the war on terrorism, think again. If you thought about patriotism, think again. It threw subtle but unmistakable red meat to the liberals who are apoplectic about Bush without alienating swing constituencies. (The “Saudi royal family” line was the equivalent of a positive review for “Fahrenheit 911.”)
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3449870/
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