Just hauled in to catch the Kennedy speech. First impression, wow! Apparently the rumors of his feebleness were exaggerated. I detect a political mastermind at work there, but it was an effective moment nonetheless.

Most interesting thing in the speech is his call for healthcare as a fundamental right. This is probably in the platform somewhere, but whether they mean it or not is another question. I wonder if Obama endorses the Kennedy cry. It’s certainly worked up the crowd.

Of course, a lot of people respond positively to health care as a right. Most of those people respond negatively when they’re told what it would cost, or what the options would be for rationing it. That’s why government health care proponents focus on what it will do for the voters, rather than it what it will cost.

(Someday a capitalist Democratic party will announce that we need government health care, and to pay for it we have to get as rich as possible, and so we need unbridled rampant capitalism to kick our growth rate into the stratosphere.)

Overall a good speech, if understandably somewhat brief. There is definitely a palpable love for this man in the hall. A substantial minority seems somewhat unmoved, though - more ‘yay, Kennedy’ than truly inspired. Hard to say, but the overall tone has definitely stepped up and the crowd is amped.