The transcript:
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/07...ript/index.html
I watched much of it, but not all. He acknowledged "we are a nation at war" and called the election the most important "of our lifetime." Not just any election, but the most important in 50 years. Is he right about that? Perhaps he is. He talked of a government that would spend what it could afford, rather than deficit spend as Bush has. He sold the Clinton economic record - the prosperity of the 1990's - and said it will return under Democrats. And he wove his military record into the fabric of his speech from top to bottom because he probably knows if he can defeat Bush on security, then he's probably won. Manufacturing jobs going to China and India is a growing hot button topic in the USA.
I think he also defended his flip-flopping by saying the Bush team are narrow thinkers, that once they're in the glue they can't adjust or even change their minds.
If you believe image is more important than substance, he probably needed better TV makeup because he looked like he was sweating a bit (or a sheen on his face) and seemed to lick his lips a lot.
:P I switched to a few different stations just to see if the sweaty look just happened to be one camera. It wasn't. Does image matter?
Cowperson