Update [2008-4-18 21:23:1 by Todd Beeton]:OK, the speech is over. It started really late and was super short -- ran just under a half hour, usually he does about 40-45 minutes. I'm actually a little puzzled by how short his speech was. Usually he goes further in depth on issues than he did tonight. The structure was essentially 1. McCain 2. Hillary 3. issues. The central theme of the speech was "declaring independence from politics of division." Expect to hear that formulation as he treks through Pennsylvania this weekend. It was a really good, tight speech and typically chill-inducing. I do wonder if people might feel a bit short-changed, as it were, considering some of them have been here for hours. But man it was a beautiful night so there are worse places to be stuck for a few hours.

Beginning of the speech is below the fold. Oh and by the way, props to Philly -- the wireless I signed into was, while not free, public wifi. Hopefully the future is free wireless everywhere but this is a start.

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Update [2008-4-18 21:4:49 by Todd Beeton]:"Senator Clinton is a tenacious opponent. She is also a committed public servant." Boos. "Listen up, guys. But her message really comes down to this...'we can't really change the same old special interest culture in Washington so you might as well pick the candidate who knows how to play the game. You might as well elect me because we can't expect real change in Washington.' She's accepted more lobbyist money than anyone in this election, even John McCain, because she believes lobbyists represent real people."

"She has come at me with what she called the kitchen sink and her argument is that she's better at playing that game so you should vote for her. Well, I'm not running to play the same old Washington games...We need to declare our independence from the same old Washington politics." The crowd loved that.

Politics that exploits our differences...that feds on fake controversies and distractions where you keep track of how many points you score on your opponent but not how many problems of the American people you solve."

Update [2008-4-18 21:14:28 by Todd Beeton]:The upside of "bitter-gate" and last night's debate: Obama's central message of getting beyond the politics as usual has far more potency. They are essentially proving his point, providing evidence for the entire rationale for his candidacy.

"In four days time you get the chance to bring about the change you deserve. We can declare our independence from the politics that has shut us out...We need to declare our independence from the cynicism and the doubt that tells us real change can't happen."

There's more...