As the evening closed to orchestral strains from the film ‘The American President’ playing in the background, there was not one fictional note in Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s acceptance speech before a crowd of 90,000 people at Mile High Stadium. Reflecting on the tone, all I could think of was the archetypal movie line, “now you’ve done it, you’ve made him angry,” as the slumbering beast awakens and wipes out his attackers.

The Republicans were so stunned by the sheer measured ferocity of Obama’s counterattack that they spun once again into kitchen sink mode as no fewer than 20 hate-spewing e-mails filled the In-Box by 9 am (and the speech ended at 4:00 am our time).

Before a global audience in a speech that will play on YouTube for months if not years to come, Democratic nominee Barack Obama stepped firmly into the role of Presidential candidate and eviscerated the Republican slime machine point by surgical point (29 specific policy points by most media accounts) and set the real tone for the next 60-days.

Attacking from a defensive position… he answered every Republican attack and asked the tough questions that also defined him. The more memorable quotes:

“I’m not ready to take a 10% chance on change.”
“Are we a nation of whiners?”
“If this is an ownership society, you own your failure.”
“Was my upbringing a celebrity’s upbringing?”
“If you’re going to follow bin Laden to the gates of Hell, how about going to his cave and getting him?” and my favourite…
“how dare you say this election is a test of patriotism when we’re all in this together?”
 

In one word though, Senator Obama took the stupidity of Bush’s last 8 years, the inanity of the attacks on his character from the hate machine and shouted ENOUGH!

And, most importantly, he introduced the temperament of hot-headed John McCain by asking, “do you have the judgement, do you have the temperament?” This is the one issue that most scares Republicans because of the many documented cases of his explosive temper and can the nation afford to have his finger on the nuclear button during a fit of pique?

When he stood before an open microphone and invoked memories of 9-11 two weeks ago by saying “we are all Georgians now,” President Saakashvili called him out and said that was a nice sentiment but where is the support we thought we would from the US and NATO, John?

When he further threatened Russia with expulsion from the G-8, British Foreign Secretary David Milliband, other EU leaders and even the Republican Bush Administration signalled they were not ready to abandon diplomatic means of pressure as yet.

This is not the sign of a balanced temperament.

The speech though was vintage Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. Reagan in that he dismissed McCain almost as well as he eviscerated Jimmy Carter by saying, “there you go again”. It was Clinton because of the way he looked at the camera and point by point attacked the other side’s arguments. Obama proved he could throw all of McCain’s rhetoric back in his face. “Let’s not make this big election about small things,” Obama has repeatedly said. And he threw down the gauntlet.

Normally you want your convention to be the last one. After last night, I’m not so sure the Republicans know how to counterpunch this one above the belt. Off to the Twin Cities John and George.

You’ve next on court, watch the skinny black guy, he more than punches his weight and has a deadly outside shot…