John Kerry Steals the Show ... (But Did You See It?)

With all apologies to former President Bill Clinton and his magnanimous and crucial speech, Senator John Kerry absolutely blasted Senator John McCain in a speech that, if it gets the amount of attention it deserves in Democratic circles and in the lefty blogosphere, will be remembered with Senator Hillary Clinton's speech as one of the highlights of the Democratic National Convention.

Many Democrats and progressive online denizens have been worried the past few weeks about the lack of effective and structured messaging coming out of the Obama campaign. Well, problem solved -- and John Kerry set the frame of debate that Democrats need to hammer during the fall campaign in order to reclaim the White House:

I have known and been friends with John McCain for almost 22 years. But every day now I learn something new about candidate McCain. To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say, let's compare Senator McCain to candidate McCain.

Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.

Let me tell you, before he ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself.

So remember, when we choose a commander-in-chief this November, we are electing judgment and character, not years in the Senate or years on this earth. Time and again, Barack Obama has seen farther, thought harder, and listened better. And time and again, Barack Obama has been proven right.

When John McCain stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier just three months after 9/11 and proclaimed, "Next up, Baghdad!", Barack Obama saw, even then, "an occupation of "undetermined length, undetermined cost, undetermined consequences" that would "only fan the flames of the Middle East." Well, guess what? Mission accomplished.

So who can we trust to keep America safe? When Barack Obama promised to honor the best traditions of both parties and talk to our enemies, John McCain scoffed. George Bush called it "the soft comfort of appeasement." But today, Bush's diplomats are doing exactly what Obama said: talking with Iran.

So who can we trust to keep America safe? When democracy rolled out of Russia, and the tanks rolled into Georgia, we saw John McCain respond immediately with the outdated thinking of the Cold War. Barack Obama responded like a statesman of the 21st century.

So who can we trust to keep America safe? When we called for a timetable to make Iraqis stand up for Iraq and bring our heroes home, John McCain called it "cut and run." But today, even President Bush has seen the light. He and Prime Minister Maliki agree on guess what? a timetable.

So who can we trust to keep America safe? The McCain-Bush Republicans have been wrong again and again and again. And they know they will lose on the issues. So, the candidate who once promised a "contest of ideas," now has nothing left but personal attacks. How insulting to suggest that those who question the mission, question the troops. How pathetic to suggest that those who question a failed policy doubt America itself. How desperate to tell the son of a single mother who chose community service over money and privilege that he doesn't put America first.

You can read the rest of the speech here, but I recommend instead that you watch the video clip above.

The introduction of Senator Obama's great-uncle from the gallery was a stroke of emotional genius, just as the video about our veterans was.

This entire night gets an A+ from me (even despite Joe Biden's slightly disappointing speech) -- because it expertly set up the frames that ought to be used to rightfully and finally hoist John McCain on to the petard that he built with George W. Bush and Karl Rove.

Thank you, Senator Kerry.  

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