Mr John Kerry and his Democratic Party have had a good week at their convention in Boston. Mr Kerry's acceptance speech was engaging, fluent and successful in differentiating himself constructively but sharply from President Bush.
It contained several memorable lines, which bear out his assertion that this is "the most important election of our lifetime". This should give the Democrats' presidential bid the boost it needs going into the next three months of campaigning. But it remains President Bush's election to lose, as is indicated in the extremely close balance between the two men in the small minority of swing states which will decide the outcome.
While the speeches during the convention concentrated on praising the Democrats' positive alternatives to the Bush administration, Mr Kerry was much more direct and spirited in his criticisms - most of them implicit rather than head on. This was a surprise, and it worked. His opening line - "I'm John Kerry, and I'm reporting for duty" - set the tone effectively on the war in Iraq and against terrorist movements. He put his record in Vietnam up front, saying he would "never mislead us into war", go to war unless he had to, or plan one without an accompanying plan to win the peace. He would spend more on the military and not tolerate any veto on the US defending itself. But he would expect to repair alliances and thereby regain badly needed international support.
A constant theme was the plight of the US "middle class" of blue and white collar workers. They are losing jobs, having to work harder to stand still and suffering from health and educational cuts. Job losses, pollution and homelessness were underlined. He outlined an orthodox programme of manufacturing incentives, higher spending on technological innovation, fairer trade, cutting middle class taxes and curbing deficits. These details will be spelled out further in the campaign.
Personality counts as much as policy in this contest. Mr Kerry remains relatively unknown to many swing voters. He projected a more sympathetic and relaxed image in this speech than before and now has the chance to convince voters he has the qualities of leadership needed to be president. He puts trust, credibility and truthfulness centre stage, along with an optimism that change is possible, for his core supporters. To the Bush campaign's charge that he is inconsistent, Mr Kerry acknowledged he has a sceptical mind and is ready to recognise complexity. He will find the charge returning on Iraq and should find a way to say he made a mistake in voting for the war. The US is profoundly divided on this and much else. This convention promises a lively campaign.