This Just In:

RedState.com is reporting that McCain has chosen Tim Pawlenty as his running mate. Quick, who was Bob Dole's running mate in '96? That's where Pawlenty is going to end up.

Debate between Biden and Pawlenty? Pawlenty would be better off getting waterboarded. It won't be as uncomfortable for him. Watch for the McMinions to set the bar so low for Pawlenty's performance that it will be considered a victory if he doesn't soil himself on national television.

This Just In Part 2: Since I started writing this, Karl Rove has leaked the name of Sarah Palin, beleaguered governor of Alaska, as the VP choice. Keep the pundits talking about the VP choice, not Obama's speech. Won't work well.

Obama's speech last night was not what I had expected. I noticed myself thinking part way through it " Why am I strangely unmoved by this?"

But he wasn't talking to me. He was talking to the naysayers, the curious tuning in for the first time, the undecideds who had heard this guy was all rhetoric, and no substance.

Well, the boy had substance in spades.

So, did you gasp when you saw that? or guffaw? Why? All I said was "the boy had substance in spades." What's wrong with that? Men often call each other "boy", and having something "in spades" just means there is a lot of it. Right? Wait, you're telling me I am using racist language? There you go, dealing out the race card again.

And that, children, is what it will be like in the next two months. All the coded language will be brought out. And everytime they get called on it, we will be the ones called out for playing the race card. Just a little hint. Look for a running glossary of Dog-Whistle terms to show up here soon.

Anyway, back to the speech. Imagine you're John McCain watching this thing. Obama looks right into the camera and calls you out on questioning his patriotism. To paraphrase: "Don't mess with me, suckah. I'm coming for you."

Now, if you're John McCain, you've just been challenged to a fight, mano a mano. Obama is all up in your grill, and the veins in your neck are starting to throb, and steam is starting to come out of your ears. Your cage has been thoroughly rattled. McCain in fight mode doesn't engage the brain so thoroughly, and the remark about "I have the temperament, and judgement, to be President" just stokes the boiler.

And rest assured, we will hear a lot about temperament, and McCain voting with Bush 90% of the time. Expect to see photos of McCain and Bush in a man-hug in just about every ad you see.

Things You Probably Didn't See on TV:

There were celebrities of every description in the hall. We constantly had people coming by and getting mobbed by people who wanted pictures of themselves with What's-His-Name, which is who most of them were to me. I did have fun meeting Mike Dukakis, though. I introduced myself: "Governor, I'm Chris O'Brien, from Duxbury. I have always been a huge fan. Great to see you!"

( For the non-O'Briens reading, my brother Chris has the same deep and abiding affection for Dukakis that I have for Dick Cheney.)

Anyway, I was constantly taking pictures of other delegates with famous politicos, media types, TV actors and actresses, most of whom I didn't recognize.

Case in point: Wandering around behind the media booths, getting a look behind the scenes, I found myself standing next to this nattily dressed young African-American man. He was sporting a fedora, a long jacket resembling a nehru coat, and blue jeans. We nodded to each other, and I moved on. I saw him a little later, on the stage, singing with John Legend. Yeah, I was hangin' with Will.I.Am, who did the "Yes We Can" video, and didn't have a clue. ( So what else is new?)

The california delegation was in front of us, and one of the actresses from one of the CSI shows was there, apparently a delegate. Damned if I can remember her name. She's one of the lab types, I think, the one with the short brown hair and radiant smile. She was a good sport about getting pictures taken with her, and seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself like a regular person.

The Absolute Best Moment I Wish I Had on Video:

Between speeches, they often play music so the crowd can get up and dance. They played "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", and of course I was up and dancing. Turned around, and saw that everybody, and I mean everybody, in the CBS booth was up and dancing. The makeup person, camera operators, director, CBS news executive types, didn't matter the pay grade, they were ALL up and shakin' it. And I am not talking about just tapping their feet and bobbing their heads, they were all WORKING it, baby. Looked over to NBC, CNN, FOX, ABC...sitting there, stonefaced, watching the proceedings. Meanwhile the CBS crew was interacting with the delegates, waving and winking and looking like they wanted to come down and dance with us. After the song was over, they cheered wildly, we cheered wildly, and chants erupted from 4 delegations: "CBS! CBS! CBS!"

I know which network *I'm* watching from now on.

Here is how smart the Obama people are: One of the organizers from Colorado got onstage and urged everyone to text "DNC" and their first name to 62262 (OBAMA) and add a little message about why they got involved. 84,000 people in the hall. Subtract from that maybe 30,000 delegates, media, family members, etc. Now you have 54,000 people. If half of them actually text to Obama, that's 24,000 cell phone numbers Obama's campaign has captured, most from the swing state of Colorado. Those are numbers that they can text to get out news, requests for volunteers, and get-out-the-vote information.

Brilliant.

ok, off to read some reactions to the speech. I wanted to write before I was tainted by talking heads.