Kerry's speech, though it had strong -- if rambling -- content, was delivered in such an awkward way, you had to wonder what he was thinking. There was lots of positive showmanship -- Max Cleland, his Navy buddies, etc., but in his own speech he had absolutely no rhythm with the audience response. It showed you how Clinton was a master at public speaking; he was in sync with the audience, knowing the spaces to pause and absorb the crowd response. Kerry kept stepping all over applause and aborted ovations from the crowd, verbally wrestling them rushing through each paragraph of the speech as if there was a stopwatch going.

Of course, the pundits were all saying there was a stopwatch -- that the plan was to make sure Kerry stayed within the prime-time window for viewers, but that is a lame-ass excuse for that delivery. I'm sure no network would have cut him off, so he looked fairly stupid trying to rush through what is supposed to be the climactic event of the convention. The mood was almost spoiled as he tried to talk over the revved-up audience. It made him look impatient, irritated and distracted from the strength of the content itself. And the content was considerable; I did think it felt patched together, an attempt to hit as many topical notes as possible.

William Saletan @ Slate wrote an interesting piece that captured the essence of Kerry's points scored at the expense of the Bush admin.

First Kerry released the outrage at America's disrepute around the world. Recalling his boyhood days in West Berlin, he said, "I saw the gratitude of people toward the United States. … I am determined now to restore that pride to all who look to America."

Explosion of applause.

He released the outrage at the debunked and shifting rationales for the Iraq war. America must be "true to our ideals," he said. "And that starts by telling the truth to the American people."

Explosion.

He released the outrage at abuses of executive power. "I will have a vice president who will not conduct secret meetings with polluters to write our environmental laws," he said. "And I will appoint an attorney general who will uphold the Constitution.'

Explosion.

He released the outrage at corporate scandal. "Next January," he said, "Americans will be proud to have a fighter for the middle class to succeed Dick Cheney as vice president."

Explosion.

You get the idea. But damn, after the electricity generated by Obama, Clinton and Edwards, Kerry's delivery was disappointingly stolid.