Kerry Reaction

On Wednesday John Edwards promised us hope was on the way, and last night John Kerry reassured us that help is coming, too.  I'm certainly not the first to point out that this was a clever slap at Dick Cheney, who used the same line in appealing to military families four years ago in his own acceptance speech.

Kerry also appropriated a Bush theme from four years ago - promising to restore trust and integrity to the White House.

Overall, I think Kerry delivered last night.  He showed passion and drew a clear distinction between himself and the idiot currently holding the office of president - damn, I forgot that civility thing already.

Everyone knows I'm more of a political junkie than a policy wonk, so I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch Frank Luntz with his focus group in Cincinnati.  I just love the instant dial doohickeys and try to talk every client I meet with into spending way more money than they need to just to use the dial thingies.

Anyway, Kerry's biggest jump in the testing came here:

"We value an America that controls its own destiny because it's finally and forever independent of Mideast oil. What does it mean for our economy and our national security when we have only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves, yet we rely on foreign countries for 53 percent of what we consume?

"I want an America that relies on its ingenuity and innovation, not the Saudi royal family."

When he hit that line about the Saudis, the measurements went off the charts.  And Michael Moore's movie isn't making a difference?

Personally, my favorite part of the speech was this:

"You see that flag up there. We call her Old Glory, the stars and stripes forever. I fought under that flag, as did so many of those people who were here tonight and all across the country. That flag flew from the gun turret right behind my head and it was shot through and through and tattered, but it never ceased to wave in the wind. It draped the caskets of men that I served with and friends I grew up with."
 
"For us, that flag is the most powerful symbol of who we are and what we believe in: our strength, our diversity, our love of country, all that makes America both great and good.  That flag doesn't belong to any president. It doesn't belong to any ideology.  It doesn't belong to any party. It belongs to all the American people. "

I'm damn tired of being looked at as some sort of subversive who hates America because I dare to disagree with George II and Prime Minister Cheney, and Kerry articulated my resentment at Republicans who impugn our patriotism as well as anyone ever has.

Full text is here for those who want to begin the critique.