Stirring speeches and Balancing the Books

Cynthia, decisions about how to count delegates aren't handed down on high from the DNC. In this case I can assure you they were thoroughly worked out between the Obama and Clinton campaigns together with the DNC.

The Democrats aren't cooking the books so much as they are balancing them. This is the type of challenge that Democrats tend to take on -- balancing various legitimate interests while maintaining unity around core values. This is one of the reasons I'm proud to be a Democrat.

Wow. Tonight was the first time I had heard Michelle Obama in person. (If you count being behind the stage in the nose-bleed seats of the Pepsi Center...) For me she accomplished exactly what the campaign set out to do -- give me a strong sense that she is a genuine and thoughtful wife, mother, professional, and patriot.

Of course they didn't have me in mind in terms of who they were trying to convince. The campaign was thinking about the family that Barack Obama was on the living room couch with in Kansas City, Missouri, as Barack was talking to his own family via live feed. That is, a middle-class family from the heartland.

Incidentally, I thought I saw Barack Obama's eyes getting misty as he was talking to his daughters ("How do you think mommy did?").

And what can one say about Ted Kennedy? The epithet of the Senate's 'lion' is so fitting. The majesty of a lion comes from the fact that he takes care of his pride. He roars when necessary. He is at the top of the food chain. Obviously the mane. And even as he sits and watches the sun set, he maintains a watchful eye over all.