Obama Makes His Case of the Day

No gaffes from VP Joe Biden, so it's on to President Obama, who accepted the Democratic Party's nomination Thursday night in a speech much more heavy on policy and specifics than his convention rhetoric of 2008. Here are the Cliff's Notes.

The policy checkmarks:

• "I will never turn Medicare into a voucher."
• "Selfless soldiers won't be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love."
• "As long as I'm commander-in-chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known."
• "Climate change is not a hoax."

The GOP-directed zingers:

• "They want your vote without telling you their plan."
• "You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can't visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally."
• "Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!"

And the requisite humble brags:

•  "Osama bin Laden is dead."
• "The times have changed -- and so have I. I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the president."

Obama ended by circling back to his 2008 message of hope, though he projected it onto voters for the occasion: "As I stand here tonight, I have never been more hopeful about America. ... I'm hopeful because of you." 

Slate economics writer Matt Yglesias put it best: "This is the speech you give when you think you're winning and just want to avoid screwing up."

Fact-checking to come, as usual.

[image: andersoncooper]