But Bill Clinton - well, I wish he could run again. He was incredible in presentation and message.

Kerry!!! When the hell did he finally show up??

And Biden - a man's man, a woman's man, a people's man...

I can't WAIT for the debates!

My nerves are gone. This is different than 2004.

... but Larry King invites three GOP feces-tossing fecal-breathed spinners to explain to his viewers what to think about events in Denver. No pretense of balance, not even one limp-wristed pseudo-Dem anywhere in sight.

This place sucks, where do I go for a refund? I want the country promised to me by The Constitution.

The national average may be a dead heat, but if you look at it state by state Obama's got an almost insurmountable lead in EVs. It's not over by a long shot but the facts are that the campaign is not the dreaded tie that everyone has been pushing in the media.

Bill Clinton went way further than I expected him to and although he was probably gritting his mental teeth internally, he laid out a solid argument steeped in rational thought. He strayed from the typical hyperbole bullshit that most politicians pass off these days as speech and focused on actual issues that resonate with people. In many ways I believe he went above and beyond the rather lesser attempt made by Hillary last night and I attribute this to his incredible ability to lie with a straight face. The contempt and revile for Obama is not so easy to conceal on Hilary's face and never has. That said, I believe it was just enough to fool the masses and restore the party... and I am grateful for that.

I admit I was never fond of Hillary but would have been left with an incredibly sour taste in my mouth had the Hil-Dems cost us the election and handed it to McCain in spite of the last 8 years of utter insanity. It aint over yet, but I feel much better about the DNC's chances after that speech.

Like many citizens of other countries, I would like but I cannot vote in this presidential election. To us outsiders, American political conventions leave us somewhat puzzled, somewhat amused. Far more stage-managed than the first conventions I followed close up in 1968 – the second one in Chicago really anything but stage-managed – the Denver convention reveals how much of play acting is called for in today’s politics.

And most of the major players did their acting well. It started out with a superb entrée by Michelle Obama, followed by one of Hillary’s best performances. And though they spread it over two nights, one could not help to compare both Clintons: When it comes to finding the right words, of creating sweeping emotions, Bill is still the master. I know, most of it is show but you have to admire the Clintons’ shtick in their combination: Bill complemented superbly the gaps that Hillary might have left. Both speeches combined produced an overpowering effect, potent as each one of them alone has been.

And yet, in a way they managed something which many feared they could not, they did not outshine the star of Wednesday night, Joe Biden. (Incidentally, while even John Kerry was less wooden yesterday, Mark Warner’s keynote was disappointingly flat.) Biden’s stemwinder was impressive, and he managed, once more, to show tight discipline in his wording.

The “surprise visit” by the candidate himself not only was a nice gag, it certainly proves that the Democrats and the Obama-Biden campaign in particular are aware that in order to beat the Republicans at their game, you have to show more than just better policies.

We all know what the Clintons are capable of and we also know their shortcomings. But Tuesday and Wednesday they showed a discipline that so woefully lacked in Hillary’s campaign – not in Hillary herself. As a baby boomer I tended towards Hillary in the beginning but the inadequate management of her campaign made me wonder about the wisdom of her personnel choices – not the least of presidential duties. A lot might have been media hype, but particularly Bill’s sour grapes actions were quite a disappointment.

The contrast with the quiet, disciplined approach of the Obama crew was not to their favour but the Clintons’ last two days show that they were not only capable but willing to be good foot soldiers in the Obama campaign.

Yes, I know the theatrics of politics is not all, but still: chapeau!

It's all about the C-Span.

Thank you for mentioning Kerry. That was the biggest shocker of the night. I knew Bill and Joe had it in them, but Kerry was stunning! My jaw is still dropped. His stock went through the roof tonight!

But for many casual voters, the Bill Clinton and Kerry speeches never existed, since they were not shown on network television, even here in Denver.

That's where you are wrong...the ratings for the cable channels has been higher than the networks, simply because people DID want to see Clinton...Kerry was not interesting at all...

Kerry has never been such a great attack dog. I loved when he took the lines used against him, and humorously but sharply spat them back in the GOP's face. That included the "I was for it before I was against it" thing, which Kerry deployed to great effect. I gotta track down a YouTube or CNN video of his speech and watch it again. Kerry dug right in, and his delivery was really brisk, which made it that much better.

I really wanted Kerry to win in 2004. Even then, I considered him sort of a weenie, in terms of not being terribly witty or hard-hitting when he needed to be. Kerry was slaying Bush in the debates, but Bush had a mini-comeback (which in my mind wasn't much of one, but people gave him points simply for holding his own, so it was interpreted as a comeback). Man, if only Kerry could have been as on fire then as he was tonight! He was full of charge and purpose. He still had a couple of "weenie" moments, but so what.