What he did do, however, may be more important.
He rebuked the Republican Party for an era of corruption and lack of fiscal restraint that (allegedly) got them removed from power in Congress in 2006. In truth, the Republican Party lost far fewer seats in the sixth year of a President's term than average. Still, the rebuke was deserved and necessary.
He laid out some of his economic policies that will help revitalize the economy while drawing a distinction between himself and Barack Obama. He could have gone farther. However, cutting the corporate tax is an absolute necessity to keeping jobs in America, so at least he mentioned it.
He mentioned his energy plan, which basically amounts to doing everything possible to create more energy here in America. Also necessary, but also a little lacking in specifics.
He talked about education reform, which is important. Juan Williams of NPR was very supportive of him calling it the civil rights issue of the 21st Century. And McCain was right - what good is equal access to schools if the schools aren't any good. Don't get me wrong, I don't think schools or teachers are entirely to blame. But there are a lot of poor ones of each.
He talked a lot about foreign policy and keeping America safe. For a lot of Americans, this is still the number one issue. And is is also his biggest strength.
Finally, he spoke from the heart about his own past failings, and how his time in the Hanoi Hilton convinced him to care more about his country than himself. This explained his captivity in a much different light than all of the other speakers and I found it to be quite effective (maybe even a little moving).
The speech was probably as effective as John McCain could make it. It won't be the political flash point of the convention (I didn't get any angry emails from the Obama camp last night like I did after Gov. Palin's speech the night before). But again, that's not John McCain's forte. John McCain is no Barack Obama - and that's a really good thing.
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McCain's speech, and the entire presentation of it, vividly showed the stark contrast between himself and Senator Obama. Obama is a rock star with the lights and the set and the adoring fans, talking a lot but saying very little. McCain's speech, while admittedly lacking in specifics, did what it needed to do. He told us Republicans (and as of today I still am one)that he understands and agrees with our criticisms of our party. He showed us that he doesn't need all the flash and glitz. All he had to do was level with us. That's all any of us really want is a leader who is going to level with us, rather than one who is looking to win Grammys.
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