"You could picture him in the White House, and we would be proud he was there."

The Washington Post sat with undecideds in swing states during Kerry's speech the other night. There are two quotes that made me think he did really well. The first is Kathryn Paolilli, 46, a mother of four who voted for Bush in 2000. She is from Pennsylvania.

Paolilli also said Kerry made her feel that she had a role to play as a citizen. "He seemed to be saying we all have to make this happen. Give me a shovel. I want to dig," she said. "With Bush, it's like he's going to take care of it and we're supposed to go about our business."

The second is a guy from Oregon.

"He is not supposed to be full of energy," said Greg Maurer, 37, an intellectual-property lawyer and a Catholic Republican from a military family. "He was energizing me. I felt like I need to go out and do something for the country."

I remember when the stereotype was that liberals tried to do things for people, as if they were shepherding a flock. These two (hopefully) belie a larger belief that it is Republicans who have now taken the crook. People want to feel involved in government, not feel that government doesn't need them. Kerry managed to call people to action last night, and they were inspired.

These are the signs of a great speech.