Diablog: Real-time repartee

During each convention night's keynote address, watch political analysts and keyboard comedians Peter Robinson and James Norton exchange wit and wisdom in a real-time format.

Read Monday night's Diablog, featuring commentary on Hillary and Bill Clinton.
Read Tuesday night's Diablog, featuring commentary on Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Read Wednesday night's Diablog, featuring commentary on John Edwards.

Transcript of Thursday night's Diablog, featuring commentary on John Kerry

Josh Burek (Thu. 7/29, 9:46:14 pm ET)

Good evening, and welcome to Diablog: real-time repartee. We're delighted to welcome back, from the right, Peter Robinson, and from the left, James Norton.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:46:31 pm ET)

Peter and Josh, it's a pleasure as always. I hope you're as excited as I am tonight.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:47:18 pm ET)

My emotions are indeed running high, James, although I'm not sure they all come under the heading of "excitement." Good to be back with you both, though.

Josh Burek (Thu. 7/29, 9:47:31 pm ET)

Everything at this week's Democratic National Convention in Boston has led up to this: John Kerry's acceptance speech. For months, his nomination has been a foregone conclusion. But tonight, he finally gets to drop the qualifier "presumptive" from his title – and the presidential campaign will begin in earnest. This is John Kerry's historic moment to introduce himself to the country. Democrats remember that John F. Kennedy used his acceptance speech to great aplomb; they still wince at Walter Mondale's too-honest acknowledgement that he'd raise taxes.

Josh Burek (Thu. 7/29, 9:47:54 pm ET)

Let me begin tonight's discussion with two questions: 1) How well did his biographical film portray John Kerry as a leader? 2) What will you be listening for in his speech?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:49:01 pm ET)

I don't think leadership was the focus of the film; I think the unspoken key to the video was its emphasis on Kerry's humanity. You hear about Kerry as a kid. Growing up. Raising a blended family.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:49:22 pm ET)

The film struck me as reasonably good short bio (and after that narration – what a voice! – I myself would be tempted to nominate Morgan Freeman). But as an intro to Kerry as leader? It spent much too little time on his record in the Senate for that, in my view.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:49:46 pm ET)

And in that respect, I think it was very successful. The leadership flourish, as it were, was the Swift boat stuff. Hearing Kerry equate his battle experience with the patrols that our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq are going on right now was powerful stuff.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:49:46 pm ET)

Yes, James is quite right: Leadership simply was not the focus of the film.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:50:11 pm ET)

Peter, I think you're right – there's a lot of red meat in his Senate career that could have been served up.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:50:39 pm ET)

As for the speech...

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:50:42 pm ET)

What will I be looking for tonight? Kerry must clear at least one hurdle: That of demonstrating enough strength and competence to permit Americans uncomfortable with W to feel that Kerry would be, at the very least, acceptable as president in this war on terror.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:51:09 pm ET)

1) He's got to exhibit some evidence of humanity and humility. He's constantly tarred and feathered by the press, the TV press in particular, for this. I think the video helped, but there have to be some warm gestures that feel genuine.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:51:20 pm ET)

Red meat? If you mean half-baked (or -cooked) I'd quite agree.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:51:47 pm ET)

2) He's got to remind us that he's battle-tested and rugged without beating the Swift boat thing to death any further. Coming into Boston by water ferry with fellow Swift boat veterans felt a little cheeseball to me, and I'm deeply impressed with his war record and genuine courage. I can't imagine how pre-cooked and stagey it seemed to someone less politically engaged.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:52:21 pm ET)

Kerry's Senate career is full of prosecutorial moments as juicy as a good bratwurst.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:52:29 pm ET)

I'll also be watching to see whether Kerry clears the higher hurdle, that of not merely showing himself plausible or acceptable as president, but of laying out a positive, comprehensive vision for the nation. (Since no one else at this convention has even hinted at a Kerry vision, I don't really expect one from Kerry himself. But should he indeed lay one out, we may have a real race on our hands.)

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:52:49 pm ET)

3) He's got to lay out a positive vision for America that implicitly rebukes the status quo while continuing, expanding upon and uniting the various "united America" salvos we've seen fired through the convention.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:53:09 pm ET)

I think we've seen the threads of that united vision in this convention, actually.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:53:47 pm ET)

He's got to tie 'em up into a presentable package. The theme is unity. Domestically, ending the bitter divisiveness of the Bush years. Internationally, reconciling with our allies, and healing some of the damage we've done diplomatically.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:53:55 pm ET)

Your point 3), James, sounds like my second, higher hurdle. We shall see....

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:54:24 pm ET)

Did you hear Alexandra's hamster story...?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:54:44 pm ET)

I actually think that could get some bounce. Painted a great mental picture.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:55:26 pm ET)

The damage we've done diplomatically? Do you really mean to suggest that the great body of Americans think Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder knew better what to do in Iraq than did our own president? I'd be just delighted to hear John Kerry try to sell that one over the next few months.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:56:00 pm ET)

Uh, yeah, I would say the damage we've done diplomatically by launching a preventative war on a nation that turned out to be totally contained.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:56:07 pm ET)

And defanged, to boot.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:56:32 pm ET)

We played into Chirac's hands on this – it was poorly and recklessly handled from a diplomatic perspective.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:56:48 pm ET)

Oh, your mention of bounce reminds me of something I've been meaning to ask, James. How much bounce would you expect? After the 1988 convention, to name a benchmark, Dukakis led George H. W. Bush by 17 points. By how much do you expect Kerry to lead the younger Bush in polls taken tomorrow and over the weekend? And have you seen polls showing much bounce so far this week?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:56:55 pm ET)

Half the problem: Iraq was the wrong war. The other half: It was sloppily executed, costing lives, money, and diplomatic capital.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:57:05 pm ET)

I don't expect much bounce.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:57:29 pm ET)

I think it's been a great convention, but it's been so undercovered / derided as mere theater that it lacks the power it might have had 8 years ago.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:57:50 pm ET)

When, then, do you expect Kerry to pull ahead? (The race is now virtually tied–and has been for weeks.)

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:57:56 pm ET)

Likewise, though, I don't think we'll see a big bounce after the RNC. But the 9/11 factor makes it a much more volatile event.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:58:32 pm ET)

Yes, a fair point: The press hasn't been paying much attention, and, if my own casual observations are accurate, the country has been paying even less.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 9:58:34 pm ET)

I think Kerry will pull ahead with the new voters who have been registered by MoveOn and ACT. The Americans who are independents, who will make up their mind in the voting booth. The Nader voters who sober up.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 9:59:38 pm ET)

Hmm. An interesting tactical point: I wonder whether, because the GOP convention will be taking place so much later–the last couple of days of August and the first couple of days of September – more people will be paying attention? Summer will seem more nearly over, Election Day all the nearer, and so forth. What think?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:00:24 pm ET)

I think there's a good possibility. Also, there may be more intrinsic news potential because so many of the attendees are government officials, and any news that breaks during the convention will drag the convention further into the limelight.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:01:03 pm ET)

The question: Will the 9/11 link come off as crassly as it did during the Bush commercial that showed firefighters bringing the body of one of their brothers out of the rubble of the World Trade Center?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:01:39 pm ET)

First responders across the country don't like this president. Not just because they're union; there's a feeling that aid to first responders has been poorly handled and underpowered.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:02:19 pm ET)

By the way, there's comment I haven't made yet – but more or less have to, since it's so central to what we'll all be looking for in this evening's big speech: Kerry seems, somehow, a negative life force – listening him seems to drain one's energy rather than replete it or ramp it up. I don't want to sound nasty about a very formidable man. But even during the biographical film this evening, the only really slow, flat moments took place when Kerry himself was on camera and speaking. Can he get over that tonight? Can he convey, oh, say, a third as much energy and enthusiasm tonight as Edwards did last night? There. I've said it.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:02:42 pm ET)

Peter: Will this overwhelming emphasis on military service (Cleland and Kerry's fellow vets) have any swaying power on wavering conservative independents...?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:03:56 pm ET)

Ah, the energy and enthusiasm thing. Well, I think there are three ways to deflect that. One: He can be incredibly pumped up, and look good doing it. Two: He can humanize himself through other ways (talking about his rock band). Three: He can show people through other stories (like his Swift patrols) that appearances aren't the most important thing to consider when voting for the next US president.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:04:18 pm ET)

The military stuff has terrific power, I grant you – so much so that, absent those gallant four months in Vietnam, I'd consider it all but inconceivable that Kerry would be the nominee this evening, or ever. But how will it wear? Aren't people bound to start asking over the next few months just what he'd do as prez?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:04:44 pm ET)

I think it's quite helpful that his daughter told a story about him performing CPR on a hamster. That charmed the socks off of me.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:05:07 pm ET)

I think they will, I think they will.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:05:20 pm ET)

You say he can be "incredibly pumped up." Query: Have you ever seen that? I mean, with your own eyes? Or are you suggesting that he might prove capable of an exceptional performance tonight, conveying more excitement than he has before?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:05:58 pm ET)

But can you extrapolate that a man brave under the fire of real bullets might take a cautious but decisive course in terms of foreign policy? I think you can. As for real policy statements... I'm with you on that. But the conventions aren't about the planks of the platform anymore.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:06:05 pm ET)

If they ever were.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:06:19 pm ET)

I'm sort of being non-knowledgeably nostalgic, here.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:06:20 pm ET)

Cleland is running long, isn't he? It's bad form to push the candidate out of prime time.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:06:46 pm ET)

Ah, here he comes....

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:06:48 pm ET)

I think John Kerry's political career suggests that he performs best when his back's to the wall. He rises to the challenge. Here he comes... let's see how he does.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:07:17 pm ET)

Interesting point about the back-to-the-wall business. That's true of Bush, too.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:07:36 pm ET)

What's that theme song? I can't quite make it out, but it's Bruce Springsteen, isn't it? [Moderator's note: Kerry's entrance music was Bruce Springsteen's "No Surrender."]

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:07:58 pm ET)

We're in for a hurricane of an election, I think. I just hope the Diebold machines don't break.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:08:11 pm ET)

Or if they do, it doesn't happen in overwhelmingly Democratic districts.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:08:46 pm ET)

My musical taste is a little more Massive Attack / Belle and Sebastian than classic rock...strangely enough, not-very-well-represented at this convention.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:08:51 pm ET)

What is that music? C-SPAN, on which I'm watching this, must have its microphones under the delegates' chairs.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:08:56 pm ET)

I have high hopes for the RNC, though.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:10:12 pm ET)

The crowd is pretty tuned in. I mean, they have to be. It's required. But they're there. He's got a safety net.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:10:44 pm ET)

Nice tie. I've thought all along that if we elected presidents on the basis of shirts and ties, I'd give your boy my vote in an instant.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:10:52 pm ET)

I wish he'd change up the "thank yous" a bit, though. Clinton would have some other things to pepper around at this point.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:11:32 pm ET)

Be honest, now: How did the "reporting for duty" bit strike you? (It made me wince.)

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:12:02 pm ET)

It was a little wince-inducing. I'll say it. But let's see how he opens here, in-depth...

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:12:49 pm ET)

This "home" passage is very nice. Not powerful, but sweet, warm...nice.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:13:26 pm ET)

I agree. Human without being a giant bag of saccharin.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:13:58 pm ET)

First we're "home." Now, "I was born." Looks as though we're getting a biographical speech. Wise, I suppose.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:14:01 pm ET)

I liked the West Wing remark. I'm grinning without effort. That's a good sign.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:14:17 pm ET)

So help me, I thought he was going to say he was born in the left wing.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:14:57 pm ET)

I don't think voters doubt his chops or his gravitas. We just want to know that we like this guy. That we can get excited about him, not just swallow him like the medicine we supposed to take because it's good for us.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:18:30 pm ET)

He just dropped a bomb.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:19:12 pm ET)

The whole drift of this convention has been, "dance around the Bush as liar / dishonest meme." But he just embraced it.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:20:21 pm ET)

Ah, that is terrific. Skewering Rumsfeld by referring to Shinseki's wise advice on troop numbers in Iraq, and going after Ashcroft, America's favorite spooky Orwellian punching bag.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:20:24 pm ET)

Just had a technical glitch that took me offline for a moment, but you're right: He's decided to go right ahead and go on the attack. Very risky, in my view. He'll get this crowd charged up. But the rest of the country? As I say, tricky – tricky at best.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:21:20 pm ET)

He's in dangerous waters here, I agree. He's trying to turn it positive – let's see where the bulk of the speech lies. This may have just been the hammer to get our attention.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:21:57 pm ET)

Well, this diablog isn't the place to go into detail, but it would be fun to be part of the GOP response team tonight: Just for starters, Kerry voted for the Patriot Act, and now he's accusing Ashcroft of acting unconstitutionally? And wages are NOT falling, as the NY Times detailed this very day (wages fell for two years after the bubble – the Clinton bubble – burst, but they've been climbing for months now). And of course Kerry knows all this perfectly well.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:22:29 pm ET)

Well, do you recall the circumstances that the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act was passed under?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:22:32 pm ET)

See what I mean? The direct attacks instantly engender counterattacks. I'm just not sure he wants that right now.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:22:58 pm ET)

No one had time to read it. The nation was terrified. Only one senator – the courageous Russ Feingold of Wisconsin – voted no.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:23:34 pm ET)

I do indeed recall the circumstances – and repeat that your boy voted for the Patriot Act. But that's just what I mean. In living rooms across America, people are now having side arguments over the Patriot Act, or wages, or some other charge Kerry just made.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:24:25 pm ET)

Wages are not falling, but they're not rising commensurately to the way the crippled recovery is helping corporate profits. And the jobs that are coming back are not in particularly good sectors. And remember when the administration proposed reclassifying fast-food workers as "manufacturing workers"?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:24:50 pm ET)

Well, he's got another half-hour to go, but it's hard to imagine he'll demonstrate as much energy – or excite the crowd as much – in any later part of the speech as he did during the attack section. There's no shaking the impression that just about all this convention has going for it is anger.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:25:08 pm ET)

I think that says a lot about how this administration has handled empirical data – and about its confidence in its own, dearly pricey recovery.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:25:26 pm ET)

Anger? Have you seen the same speeches I've seen?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:26:02 pm ET)

If you want anger, talk to veterans whose health care is being cut, or environmentalists who have watched our national forests destroyed, or elderly pensioners dealing with our new, terribly flawed Medicare law.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:26:10 pm ET)

James, James. You mean you Democrats have been so angry for so long it doesn't even feel like anger any more?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:26:18 pm ET)

This has been a convention of restraint – where "unity" has been the key theme through all four nights.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:26:45 pm ET)

No, I mean when you've got people like Edwards and Obama front and center, viewers see smiling faces, and a call for unity in dark, divided times.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:27:03 pm ET)

There you go again. Forests destroyed? The proportion of forested land in the United States has increased every year for more than half a century. But I hereby agree to stop this side spat and get back to Kerry.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:27:11 pm ET)

The rhetoric has been incredibly warm, overall. Respectful. Talking about national service, the need to defend against terror, and rebuild alliances.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:27:39 pm ET)

Yes, all the new logging roads must be incredibly invigorating to the national forests.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:28:33 pm ET)

Back to the attack. And the cheer is...enormous.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:28:37 pm ET)

Ah, more tough talk. Look for "Mission Accomplished" to keep coming up...

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:29:13 pm ET)

Should Democrats be ashamed of being legitimately outraged at the mess the Bush Administration has made? I don't think so. Should it be the only message we deliver? Absolutely not.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:29:26 pm ET)

And it hasn't been.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:30:14 pm ET)

Gee, James, I really think he's opening up one broad avenue for counterattack after another. Saddam Hussein needed to be taken out, and it won't be remotely difficult to demonstrate same.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:30:22 pm ET)

Yes, this is great. Kerry is speaking directly to the heart of the irresponsible way Iraq was fought. This is tough. It's not bitter. It's not screechy. It's responsible.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:30:38 pm ET)

He "needed to be taken out"? According to whom?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:30:49 pm ET)

As opposed to Kim Jong Il, who actually has nukes?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:31:06 pm ET)

Or the Iranian regime, with it's increasingly disturbing links to Al Qaeda?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:31:17 pm ET)

According to the relatives of the tens of thousands he gassed, imprisoned, and tortured. Have you not been reading John Burns in the Times?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:31:37 pm ET)

Ah, that's right! This was a humanitarian war!

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:31:52 pm ET)

It's hard to remember that when all the pre-war talk was WMD this, WMD that, Al Qaeda this, Al Qaeda that.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:32:10 pm ET)

But I must admit: The Bush Administration's powerful response to the Darfur genocide does let us know where its heart is at.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:32:13 pm ET)

Iran, yes: George W. Bush included Iran in his "axis of evil" speech in the first State of the Union Address after 9/11–many months before certain Democrats awoke to the problems in Iran.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:32:46 pm ET)

The major effect of putting Iran into that speech was to destroy the credibility of Iranian moderates at a time when they were fighting for life.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:32:57 pm ET)

It was the worst possible thing Bush could have done.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:33:23 pm ET)

Ending the "back-door draft?" Is that an explicit call for a very large expansion of the Army? (Not that that would necessarily be a bad idea. I'm just wondering where he's going with that.)

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:33:55 pm ET)

I think he's trying to put up a flag for people who want to see us get out of foreign entanglements and step down our Iraq presence.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:34:04 pm ET)

But that, of course, is much easier said than done.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:34:15 pm ET)

We're building permanent bases willy-nilly over there.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:34:40 pm ET)

Darfur? Colin Powell flew to Sudan to protest in person, and W's UN ambassador John Danforth has been all over that issue. Or are you suggesting that there are, after all...limits to diplomacy?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:35:51 pm ET)

Of course I'm suggesting that there are limits to diplomacy. A truly moral and courageous administration would have intervened in Darfur – with military force – 6 months ago. People are dying by the tens of thousands. In the case of Iraq – the genocide was years old by the time we got around to invading it... for non-humanitarian reasons, I reiterate.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:36:09 pm ET)

The business about container ships and fire houses seems strong–going on the attack while putting forward a plan, at one and the same time. But he seems to have achieved this only for a moment.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:37:10 pm ET)

This reference to the flag is pretty powerful. Out of someone else's mouth, it would sound overwrought. But it's more credible when you hear a guy with five medals talking about it.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:37:30 pm ET)

And there's the uber-theme – we are one people. We have one flag. Let's forge forward together.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:37:59 pm ET)

Huh. I didn't expect the "USA USA USA" chant...is that unusual for a Democratic convention?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:38:36 pm ET)

Who threw his medals away? Or was it just the ribbons? Or someone else's medals? My point is that Kerry seems close to a split personality: pro-war one moment, anti-war the next; a McGovernite in one setting, a Scoop Jackson Democrat tonight.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:39:23 pm ET)

Is it so incredibly hard to fathom what would make someone who saw needless death and killing come home and "flip flop" by protesting the war?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:40:18 pm ET)

Here's another thing, James: He's playing almost entirely on GOP turf. First he's been at pains that he, too, would be strong enough to handle the war on terror. Now he's at pains to show that he, too, would be a family values president. Now there are points to be made in both categories of issues, but the entire effort here seems defensive, intent on playing catch-up with the identity and issues the Republicans have already established.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:40:23 pm ET)

How about a president who gets elected as a "compassionate conservative" – and then acts in such a consistently uncompassionate way that the phrase just vanishes from his lexicon?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:40:38 pm ET)

That sounds like a flip-flop to me.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:41:33 pm ET)

Oh, Lord: I simply cannot permit that one to pass. Bush has spent more on education, more on farm programs, more–much more – on Medicare. None of that pleases me, but to say that he dropped the "compassionate" half of his "compassionate conservatism" is simply meaningless.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:43:19 pm ET)

"Help is on the way?" That was the refrain of Cheney's speech four years ago. You know what they say about imitation, James. Dick Cheney must be beaming.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:43:40 pm ET)

If his Medicare program has been so generous, why have only one million people signed up for it, out of the seven million who were expected? Why does Bush try to stop elderly people from getting drugs from Canada? And why did it take deceptive "news reports," a falsified actuarial table and a bribe to pass it?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:43:58 pm ET)

Why did Bush stop the government from negotiating with big drug companies to get a volume discount?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:44:17 pm ET)

"New incentives" for this, "investment" for that. In other words, more corporate welfare.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:44:34 pm ET)

Is that compassionate? Yes – absolutely. There are pharmaceutical execs across the country crying little tears of gratitude for this administration's compassion.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:45:40 pm ET)

He just pledged to cut the deficit in half in four years. Bush has pledged to cut it in half in five years. There just isn't much diff.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:46:21 pm ET)

This is pretty much the usual: More government spending on this, that, and the other domestic program. I don't blame him for being unable to make this sound fresh. Nobody could.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:46:22 pm ET)

Uh, one possible difference: Kerry can raise an enormous amount of revenue by just ensuring the richest 1 percent is taxed at a rate resembling what the rest of us pay.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:46:33 pm ET)

Bush's hands are tied there.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:47:33 pm ET)

Also – and I hate to mention this – Iraq has been expensive. Crushingly expensive. Despite what Natsios of USAID said, this has not been a cheap war. If you want to point fingers at possible reasons we're in a money crunch, that's a good place to look.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:47:58 pm ET)

Healthcare? Here he's onto something, inasmuch as W hasn't put together any healthcare policy at all. (There are actually free-market approaches that would help lower costs, but the administration just hasn't shown much interest.)

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:48:43 pm ET)

"Crushingly expensive?" To quote Joan Rivers, oh puhleeze. The total cost is going to come in at something like half a percent of GDP for perhaps three years.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:48:55 pm ET)

I agree – I don't think this administration even has its conservative bona fides in order. Reckless spending. Reckless intervention. One thing I liked about the Reagan administration – it corrected for mistakes.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:49:42 pm ET)

Treating Gorbachev as a partner in peace was amazingly bold. Bringing back "revenue enhancers" (AKA taxes) was bold. And they were good choices, even if the tax scheme was less progressive after the tax-cut / tax-rise two-step.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:50:03 pm ET)

To say so and get it out of the way, I'd agree that Bush's domestic spending has indeed demonstrated far too little restraint.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:50:58 pm ET)

He's a little vague on the misuse of the Constitution there. Was that a fair charge?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:51:20 pm ET)

A standing ovation for the Constitution? I presume, then, that Kerry voted to confirm Robert Bork, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas, the Constitution's signal defenders in our day? (I can't recall, but you'll remind me, right?)

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:51:53 pm ET)

To quickly backtrack: How do you know that Iraq will be a half-percent of GDP for three years? The exciting thing about uncorking an incredibly well-armed, unstable Middle Eastern pseudostate is that anything can... and probably will... happen!

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:52:56 pm ET)

If we find ourselves enmeshed in a Sunni/Shiite civil war, the cost in blood and treasure could be considerably more horrible than it already has been.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:53:46 pm ET)

A nice word for God? What courage. Before this is over, he may have a kind word for apple pie.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:53:59 pm ET)

To get back to the meat and potatoes here: How has Kerry done so far? How's his delivery? How's his substance?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:54:18 pm ET)

Yes, but will he have the courage to praise blueberry pie?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:54:28 pm ET)

That's my favorite. With ice cream. For breakfast, if possible.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:54:32 pm ET)

Now, hang on, there. Kerry has no plan for Iraq that differs by any more than a detail or two from that of George W. Bush. "Stay the course" – that's Kerry's position.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:55:07 pm ET)

As a meta-note, I notice that my comments are now about 3:1 food-related versus not food-related. I'm going out for a burger once Kerry wraps up.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:55:17 pm ET)

Well, no – there is a difference.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:55:35 pm ET)

We've hit it before – he's going to use the nation's regenerated diplomatic standing to bring in international help.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:55:40 pm ET)

Bush just can't do that.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:55:45 pm ET)

Huh? It is now up to the federal government to make sure our children are safe after school?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:56:22 pm ET)

By which you mean to say that he will give Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder just what they want?

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:56:51 pm ET)

OK, quick: Was there a line or sentence that will be recalled tomorrow morning? Something that frames the campaign? (I didn't hear one myself.)

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:56:52 pm ET)

Very upbeat, very patriotic ending there. I'm amped. But I'm partisan. What's your feeling on how Kerry did?

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:58:05 pm ET)

I think his line where he called Bush out – near the front of the speech – will reverberate. Hannity, O'Reilly and Limbaugh will point to it as an example of how unhinged and hateful the Democrats are. But I think it's a gauntlet that needed to be thrown down, so long as it came in an otherwise upbeat context.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 10:58:26 pm ET)

Did Edwards and Kerry just kiss? My C-SPAN webstream is kind of fuzzy.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 10:58:53 pm ET)

My feeling? That was the most energetic – the most human – speech I've heard Kerry deliver. But at a time when the economy is doing pretty well and when Iraq is coming around (the unrest continues, and it is certainly dreadful; but a handoff has taken place to Iraqi authorities, transforming the dynamic), I just don't feel that the speech tonight cut much ground from under Bush. I could be wrong. But this wasn't one of those events when I could sense the earth shifting.

Peter Robinson (Thu. 7/29, 11:00:48 pm ET)

One encouraging note, though: Kerry does seem fundamentally honest – that is, he has laid out quite a standard Democratic domestic agenda, and seems to want to stick with it–and seems to have zero interest in the sort of class warfare that Gore tried in his own acceptance speech. What the Democrats have here, in other words, is a well-spoken, intelligent man who will give the nation a clear choice while stressing our fundamental unity as Americans. Not bad.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 11:00:55 pm ET)

Peter, I actually agree with you – I don't think this is going to give Kerry a huge electoral boost. But not because it was lacking. I just don't think conventions pack the punch they once did. As a Kerry-backer, though, this motivated me. This made me feel powerfully strong about my candidate as a person – and as a smart fighter who can win.

James Norton (Thu. 7/29, 11:02:16 pm ET)

Have a great night, guys. This has been a real pleasure. And goodnight to our readers, wherever you may be.

Josh Burek (Thu. 7/29, 11:03:33 pm ET)

Gentlemen, it's been a privilege to watch your thoughts unfold this week. We'll look forward to joining you again when the Republicans take center stage in New York August 30.