Kerry Spot    [ jim geraghty reporting ]
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Our first "big name" speaker of the convention is up, Sen. John McCain.

UPDATE ONE: "I do not doubt my Democratic friends' sincerity and they should not doubt ours." Sounds a bit whiny.

He's picking up his performance a bit as he goes on. Speaking more directly about President Bush and his post-9/11 leadership, and the crowd is loving it.

"We promised our enemies they would soon hear from us, and so they did. And so they did." That's what the crowd has been waiting to hear.

UPDATE TWO: WOW! McCain just took a slam at Michael Moore, and the crowd went nuts! My hastily-typed transcript:

And especially not a disingenuous filmmaker who would have us believe … (huge reaction, boos when Moore appears on the Jumbotron) My friends… my friends…

That was so good, I’m going to do it again. And especially not a disingenuous filmmaker who would have us believe that Saddam’s Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribable cruelty…

Well, that's going to be the soundbite of the night.

UPDATE: Overall, a solid speech — B+/A- territory. Full of patriotism, tributes to America's armed forces, and a solid, clear defense of the President's policies on national security. For those who were worried whether McCain might try to promote himself ahead of the president this evening, those fears appear to have been overblown.

[Posted 08/30 10:02 PM]