Jim Geraghty at NRO had a short and simple take on the long John McCain speech, titled “Pure McCain”.

It’s McCain, because my readers were already grinding their teeth over the sections on “healing the planet” and the kind tone in referring to guest workers.

It’s McCain, because of instead of a litany of applause lines, he takes us into that cramped little cell, in solitary confinement, in Hanoi. Few speakers want an arena this size silent, but he does it. How many speakers get up before the nation, describe the torture, and then say, “and they broke me”?

It’s McCain, because the speech is stuffed to the gills with anecdotes and tales of what makes America great – moments of grit, and humor, and appreciation.

The speech certainly illustrated clearly what McCain watchers already knew, and that is that he’s a lot better in short bursts. A John McCain State of the Union speech is going to be something you’ll really want to go to great lengths to avoid watching, even to the extent of perhaps taking a camping trip in January.

He expresses himself better in a give and take. It reminds me that he has proposed that (should he win the presidency) he may go before congress regularly and take questions, in a similar way to the “Prime Minister’s Question Time” in the British Parliament. This no doubt horrifies people who value American constitutional concepts and traditions related to the separation of powers — and perhaps for good reason. But it sure would be darned entertaining.

McCain always uses this line, “Friends, I will make them famous!” — when he’s talking about cracking down on pork barrel spending and budgetary earmarks. Perhaps this is how he envisions doing it. While taking questions, he can point to some offender in the seats, and say, “You there! Yeah, you, the congressman from California. What’s this about twenty million dollars for a Warren Beatty Museum?”

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