Written by: Beck

Kerry's moved onto the obligatory, "Naming poor people I've met and detailing their stories of misery," section of the speech. Time to give my fingers a rest.

Update: More "help is on the way" chanting. And evidently 15% of children in Harlem have asthma because of air pollution. What percentage of children normally have asthma might I ask? Oh, sorry, I forgot, you're never allowed to say anything disparaging about something for the children.

Update: More firm policy recommendations: 1st, new incentives to improve manufacturing, 2nd incentives for technology, 3rd, close tax loopholes. That's all their is to it. Incentives and further complicating the tax code. Oh, and that loop hole for corporations? They're talking about not taxing income made overseas by companies until they repatriate those profits. You know how many countries in the world tax foreign made profits? Didn't think you did.

More Kerry: "What we won't do: raise taxes on the middle class... I will cut middle class taxes, I will reduce the tax burden on small businesses, and I will roll-back the tax cuts on the wealthiest individuals." Time for some economists to begin crunching some numbers.

Update: Kerry will save $1000/year on waste and abuse with his health care plan. "Medicare will negotiate lower drug prices for seniors." What are they doing now precisely? Begging for higher prices?

Update: "We will stop being the only advanced nation in the world which thinks that health care is a privileges of the wealthy... it is the right of all Americans." Yeah, I definitely feel an anti-socialized health care rant coming on.

I just missed a dig regarding "The Saudi Royal Family." Ugh.

Update: "I want to address these next words to George W. Bush." First mention of Bush's name in prime time. Kerry wants to be friendly and respectful. "Let's never misuse for political purposes... the Constitution of the United States." Them's fightin' words Clem. The gauntlet is tossed, and the crowd goes wild.

"The high road may be harder... this is our time to reject the kind of politics calculated to divide race from race, region from region, group from group... People may see things as red states and blue states, but I see us as one America, red, white and blue." Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What happened to John Edwards' "Two Americas." I'm so confused now.

Update: Kerry just pissed away the religious vote. He was trying to include them, but I'm fairly certain he alienated them. "I don't wear my faith on my sleeve..." and so on. It was definitely an attempt to reach out to the 40% of Americans who go to church every week, but I'm pretty positive he just floated a raft of offensive nonsense.

Update: He's speaking, as many have, about how we shouldn't let bigotry and hatred divide us. I'm curious what exactly he's speaking to. Is he suggesting that his opponents have been using hate and bigotry to divide us? Last I checked, the Republicans would love to have every racial group on their side. Where is this hate and bigotry? They keep using these phrases to tug at the emotions of minorities, but they're grasping at straws that just aren't there.

Update: He's done. Thank god. I say that because I'm exhausted, not because the speech was dragging. For such a long acceptance speech (46 minutes), it passed remarkably quickly. Commentary to follow, but don't expect too much, my fingers are about to fall off.