Right after the convention ended, a PBS commentator noted that the Republican party had been transformed over four days -- from defeatist and dispirited to thrilled and optimistic. Most of that was due to Sarah Palin’s selection (and we shouldn’t rule out the impact on morale of having the presidential nominee flanked by two beautiful women, Palin and his wife, Cindy).

In his acceptance speech McCain intelligently and artfully revealed his own transformation through his Vietnam experience -- from cocky and self-reliant soldier (read, George W. Bush, perhaps) to a humbled servant dedicated to his country. His speech was, ultimately, inspiring.

One thing bugged me though – McCain’s comment on Obama. McCain started to express respect for Obama as an individual (I thought) but then began quoting from the Declaration of Independence about equality and our inalienable rights. That sounded to me as though he was saying that Obama, even though he is black, is an equal – patronizing, I thought, and not called for. But maybe others heard it differently – with politics, I sometimes pick up on the wrong things.